Stanislav Zegal raised to 2 million from the button with the K?6? and then called when Michael Sklenicka three-bet to 9 million with the 7?7?.
The K?2?6? flop hit Zegal hard with two pair, and he faced a bet of 8 million from Sklenicka. Zegal called and the 2? paired the board on the turn.
Sklenicka bet again, this time 4.8 million, and Zegal took his time before just calling.
The 3? river changed nothing and Sklenicka slowed down with a check. Zegal thought long and hard before he moved all in, but Sklenicka got away from it by folding his pocket pair.
Level 38
: Blinds 600,000/1,200,000, 1,200,000 ante
Michael Sklenicka
Michael Sklenicka raised to 2.7 million from the button and Stanislav Zegal three-bet to 7.5 million. Sklenicka four-bet all in for 25.1 million and Zegal quickly called.
Michael Sklenicka: A?J?
Stanislav Zegal: A?9?
Sklenicka got it in as a big favorite, and his kicker played after both players paired their ace on the K?6?A? flop. The 4? turn changed nothing, but the 4? river did as both players made aces and fours with the king kicker on board playing.
Level 38
: Blinds 600,000/1,200,000, 1,200,000 ante
Michael Sklenicka
Michael Sklenicka raised to 2.7 million on the button with the 7?3? and Stanislav Zegal defended with the J?4? to see a 10?2?4? flop.
Zegal check-called a bet of 4 million and the Q? appeared on the turn. Action went check-check and the 5? completed the board on the river.
Zegal checked and Sklenicka bluffed by moving all in for 16 million.
Zegal hit the tank, even removing his hat and glasses, and stayed there for several minutes. Eventually he did slide in the chips and just like that it was all over!
Level 38
: Blinds 600,000/1,200,000, 1,200,000 ante
Winner main event Stanislav Zegal
The first-ever World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise Main Event champion has been crowned as Germany's Stanislav Zegal took down the $5,000 buy-in event for $2 million and his first WSOP bracelet. The GGPoker qualifier defeated heads-up opponent Michael Sklenicka of the Czech Republic to wrap up a final day that only lasted four hours.
The inaugural WSOP Paradise Main Event at the five-star Atlantis Resort in The Bahamas drew 3,010 players for a prize pool that just squeaked past the $15 million guarantee. The field included dozens of online qualifiers, including Zegal, who was able to parlay his online poker prowess into a life-altering seven-figure victory.
“I was so lucky, the cards just fell my way all the time," Zegal told PokerNews in a winner's interview. "I think I played well too, but obviously (there’s) tons of luck ... “This is what you call life-changing money, I guess.”
Zegal was joined at the international final table by Brazil's Gabriel Schroeder, Portugal's Rui Sousa and American Matt Glantz, who was looking to bring "TeamLucky" a second Main Event title this year after his good friend Daniel Weinman won $12.1 million earlier this summer.
Place
Player
Country
Prize
1st
Stanislav Zegal
Germany
$2,000,000
2nd
Michael Sklenicka
Czech Republic
$1,200,000
3rd
Daniel Neilson
Australia
$900,000
4th
Matt Glantz
United States
$685,000
5th
Rui Sousa
Portugal
$510,000
6th
Gabriel Schroeder
Brazil
$400,000
7th
Montgomery McQuade
United Kingdom
$300,000
8th
Luke Graham
United States
$250,000
"I Felt Comfortable Here"
When asked about his poker background, Zegal told PokerNews he "started playing with friends in home games 18 years ago" for "a couple of Euros." He took a few years off from poker before he started studying and playing more in 2016, the year he started playing poker professionally.
Stanislav Zegal
The German was at a loss for words after winning $2 million and said "it has to settle first."
"It was somewhat exhausting and needs to settle," he said. "You always make plans for when stuff like this happens, but then when it happens it’s so overwhelming.”
How will the seven-figure score change Zegal's plans? “I guess I’m going to do something for myself, for my health more, study more poker and just enjoy the time (with) friends and family … But I won’t play higher. I felt comfortable here.”
"TeamLucky" Denied On Day 4
Day 4 got off to a quick start with seven players returning as McQuade was eliminated in just the second hand as he lost a flip to Glantz. Winning a flip was just the beginning of the run-good for Glantz, who memorably binked a $1 million bounty at the 2022 WSOP. The poker veteran was at risk of going out in fourth place when his sixes were far pipped by the aces of Neilson. That mattered little as a six on the turn gave Glantz the lead to stay alive with a major double.
As it turned out, Glantz would still go out in fourth when he got it in with king-queen against Neilson's ace-queen as Jeff Platt interviewed his good friend Shaun Deeb. Neilson had a sizable chip lead during three-handed play but lost most of his stack to Zegal as his Big Slick was out-flopped by the eventual champion's king-queen.
Matt Glantz
“That was pretty crucial," Zegal recalled about the hand.
Neilson was left short and went out soon after as he jammed the flop with a gunshot and couldn't improve against the two pair of Sklenicka. The heads-up battle was brief as Sklenicka bluffed the river with just seven-high as Zegal found a hero call with fourth pair.
It was another victory with "The Robbi" here in The Bahamas as the final hand saw Zegal's jack-four winning out right after China's Dong Chen took down Event #15: $10,000 High Roller 6-Handed with the same offsuit jack-four.
Stanislav Zegal and runner-up Michael Sklenicka
That wraps up the PokerNews live reporting team's coverage of an exciting WSOP Paradise Main Event here in The Bahamas. Be sure to check out the live reporting portal for coverage of other events.
Michael Sklenicka Stanislav ZegalWinner main event Stanislav ZegalWinner main event Stanislav Zegal
