In fewer than six and a half hours on the final day, the 2022 World Series of Poker International Circuit crowned a champion in the €1,700 Main Event at King’s Resort, Rozvadov. Out of a field of 808 entries, Turkey’s Feyzullah Karaarslan prevailed in heads-up against Aleksandar Tomovic to claim the biggest slice of the €1,189,780 prize pool and his first WSOP Circuit gold ring.
For his efforts, Karaarslan walked away with a cash prize of €204,053 while Tomovic had to settle for a €127,017 payday. In addition, both players received entry to the 2022 WSOP Europe €10,350 Main Event as part of a year-long promotion in Europe’s biggest poker arena. In fact, the top 12 finishers in the tournament all received the ticket and will be back at King’s Resort in late 2022 for the pinnacle European poker event of the year.
Local player Roman Chochola finished in third place while three Italians, including 2021 WSOPE bracelet winner Simone Andrian, made the final table. Andrian came into the day as one of the shortest stacks and fell shy of another victory at the venue, bowing out in 8th place.
2022 WSOPC Rozvadov €1,700 Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feyzullah Karaarslan | Turkey | €204,053* |
| 2 | Aleksandar Tomovic | Serbia | €127,017 |
| 3 | Roman Chochola | Czech Republic | €90,894 |
| 4 | Ronnie Lemmens | Netherlands | €70,328 |
| 5 | Claudio Di Giacomo | Italy | €55,410 |
| 6 | Do Tran | Germany | €43,369 |
| 7 | Sharon Sade | Israel | €32,074 |
| 8 | Simone Andrian | Italy | €22,058 |
| 9 | Michael Ugucctoni | Italy | €17,369 |
*The top 12 finishers also received a 2022 WSOPE Main Event ticket worth €10,350
2022 WSOPC Rozvadov €1,700 Main Event Final Table Recap
Dutchman Ronnie Lemmens entered the day as the chip leader ahead of Karaarslan and Tomovic. He was one of the most active finalists despite complaining to the rail that he had “no hands to play with” and proceeded to live and die by the sword. Ultimately, he was eliminated by Chochola in fourth place for a six-figure prize.
While Lemmens retained the top spot during the early stages, the two Italian short stacks, Michael Ugucctoni and Andrian, were never able to get things going to become the first two casualties. Once Sharon Sade was eliminated in seventh place, the ladder-up of Do Tran ended in a flip. His ace-king flopped best but Chochola hit running cards to make a flush.
Veteran player Claudio Di Giacomo was handcuffed in the middle of the pack and succumbed in fifth place to miss out on a repeat victory for Italy in this WSOP International Circuit stop. Chochola took over the lead in three-handed play but went from hero to zero in half an hour.
While heads-up play was very deep at the start, the gloves went off right away between the most aggressive and the most experienced contender among the final nine. Ultimately, the duel lasted all but 15 minutes and it was Karaarslan who prevailed in an aggressive four-bet pot. His ace-ten suited would go on to make a flush for the victory, after Tomovic flopped top pair.