After five unsuccessful final table attempts, Vivian Saliba laid claim to her first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet at the 2024 WSOP Europe. After nearly 17 hours of Day 2 play, the 888poker ambassador triumphed over the field in Event #4: €2,000 Pot-Limit Omaha to earn her first WSOP bracelet and the €91,400 top prize. Saliba defeated Germany's Markus Anheier heads up to close out her victory. Hokyiu Lee, the defending champion of the event, rounded out the winner's podium with a third-place finish.
229 players ponied up the €2,000 buy-in to generate a prize pool of €398,231, with 50 of that number advancing on to Day 2 to determine a winner. With 35 places paid, the first step for surviving players was making the money. After that, all eyes were firmly fixed on the top prize and the bracelet.
Final table action
It took roughly 90 minutes for the money bubble to burst and, afterwards, the pace of action increased greatly as players looked to build stacks for the final table. When the unofficial final table of nine came together, Lee held a commanding chip lead and remained a favorite to defend his title. David Sosic bowed out first when his aces failed to hold up against Samuel Albeck's kings. Milan Skacel fell soon after, eliminated in eighth place by Lee.
Saliba scored the next elimination, taking out Eran Carmi by cracking his aces with a straight. Albeck followed suit shortly after and Thomas Hueber, who started the final table on the short stack, ran out of double ups to end his run in a fifth-place finish.
Four-handed play saw the chip lead change hands multiple times, with each player taking the advantage at some point. Alen Sabic bowed out in fourth place after running into Anheier's rivered flush. Saliba entered three-handed play as the short stack, but two quick doubles through Lee saw a reversal of their positions in the chip counts. Now in the danger zone himself, Lee eventually busted in third place when he couldn't improve against Anheier's kings.
Saliba, left, pictured with her 888 ambassador colleagues Lucia Navarro, Aaron Barone, Ian Simpson, Nick Eastwood and Alexandre Mantovani.Saliba began heads up play with a 3:1 chip lead over her opponent, but Anheier found a double up after connecting with a fortuitous turn card and the lead changed hands. It was Saliba's turn to get lucky next as she rivered a flush to stay alive when all-in and at-risk. The final hand of the tournament saw the Brazilian turn a flush to take the lead against Anheier's two pair. Saliba then faded a board-pairing river card to secure the title, the bracelet, and the first place prize money.
2024 WSOP Europe Event #4: €2,000 Pot-Limit Omaha final table results
| Place | Player | Prize (Euros) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vivian Saliba | €91,400 |
| 2 | Markus Anheier | €59,700 |
| 3 | Hokyiu Lee | €40,100 |
| 4 | Alen Sabic | €27,700 |
| 5 | Thomas Hueber | €19,700 |
| 6 | Samuel Albeck | €14,500 |
| 7 | Eran Carmi | €11,000 |
| 8 | Milan Skacel | €8,600 |
| 9 | David Sosic | €6,980 |
A look ahead
The action from King's Resort in Rozvadov continues this weekend and into next week. Currently, Event #3: €1,350 Mini Main Event is down to the final 20 players from a starting field of 1,286 entrants. The Mini Main will play down to a final table today before resuming Saturday to play down to a winner.
Meanwhile, in Event #5: €550 No-Limit Hold'em Colossus, the fourth of seven starting flights plays out today before Day 2 action begins next week. The Colossus dominates the weekend schedule at King's Resort, but Event #6: €5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha also kicks off on Sunday. The two-day event carries a €500,000 guarantee and will play to a winner come Monday.
Monday also marks the start in Event #7: €1,650 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Max and Event #8: €25,000 GG Million$. On Tuesday, the ever-popular Mystery Bounty format will take over at King's Resort with the start of Event #9: €1,100 Mystery Bounty.
On Thursday, the high rollers will draw all eyes as Event #12: €50,000 Diamond High Roller kicks off with a €1,000,000 guarantee. Then, on Friday, players will enter into the first of two starting flights for Event #13, the €10,350 Main Event European Championship. The Main Event boasts a €5,000,000 guaranteed prize pool and, of course, the highly-coveted Main Event bracelet for the eventual winner.
Image courtesy of Tomas Stacha/888Poker
