Sandor Mate won the WPT Prime Slovakia main event
From May 3 to May 15, the WPT Prime Slovakia series was held in Bratislava for the first time in history. The central event of the series began on May 11 and ended on May 15. 552 players registered in the six starting flights. Hungarian player Sandor Mate won the WPT Prime Slovakia main event and earned 109,660 EUR (118,964 USD).
In addition to the money and the title, Mate received a nice bonus: a place at the WPT World Championship with a 10,000 USD buy-in, which will be held at the end of the year in Las Vegas. He will also be paid for accommodation and flight.
Thanks to 552 entries, the prize pool amounted to 529,920 EUR, exceeding the original guarantee, which was 500,000 EUR. 71 players earned money, and the minimum payout was 1,840 EUR.
Sandor Mate and Marco Niederdeppe remained in the heads-up
On the final day, the remaining 9 players returned to the table, and it took only five hands for the first knockout. Marco Niederdeppe collected two top pairs, ahead of pocket aces of Patrik Zidek (9th place — 9,500 EUR). Zidek’s compatriot Ondrej Drozd with A-J lost to Szymon Bujok and left the game. The blackbird earned 12,100 EUR.
The 7th place was taken by Thomas Ward (15,600 EUR), who lost a coinflip with 6-6 to Niederdeppe with A-K. Then the action began to slow down, and Niederdeppe scored the third and fourth knockouts at the final table. The German player beat Szymon Bujok (20,300 EUR) and Tal Herzog (26,600 EUR).
Niederdeppe’s dominance continued when he knocked out Giovanni Ursoleo (35,400 EUR) with pocket aces. Dmitry Lineburg put his last 3 BB, but lost to Mate’s straight and took 3rd place (47,600 EUR).
- Sandor Mate (Hungary) — 109,660 EUR
- Marco Niederdeppe (Germany) — 64,700 EUR
- Dmitry Lineburg (Israel) — 47,600 EUR
- Giovanni Ursoleo (Italy) — 35,400 EUR
- Tal Herzog (Israel) — 26,600 EUR
- Szymon Bujok (Poland) — 20,300 EUR
- Thomas Ward (Great Britain) — 15,600 EUR
- Ondrej Drozd (Czech Republic) — 12,100 EUR
- Patrik Zidek (Czech Republic) — 9,500 EUR
Sandor Mate and Marco Niederdeppe remained in the heads-up. The decisive game lasted only eight hands. In the final hand Mate had K-Q, Niederdeppe had Q-8. None of the players improved, and Mate became the champion, earning 109,660 EUR. The German player took 2nd place, for which he received 64,700 EUR.
This is where the championship in Bratislava came to an end. The next in line is WPT Prime Vietnam, which starts on May 25. The central event of the series will cost 1,055 USD.