The inaugural World Series of Poker stop at Atlantis Spa Resort in the Bahamas – christened the WSOP Paradise by its organizers – has wrapped up its festivities for 2023. In the $10,000 Main Event, Stanislav Zegal was able to ride his stack to the championship despite a massive charge from fan-favorite Matt Glantz. While the final table was going on, the WSOP also announced the dates for next summer’s renewal of the biggest event in poker, the 2024 World Series of Poker, so players can begin their preparations.
Rapid Final Table Leads to Zegal’s Victory
Thursday afternoon saw the seven contenders for the inaugural WSOP Paradise championship gather at the Atlantis for action. Leading the way after a good run late on Wednesday night was Daniel Neilson, who saw his stack sit over 37.4 million to begin the day. There was a two-way tie for second place between Zegal and Gabriel Schroeder, while Glantz was mired in the next-to-last slot after doubling up Neilson on Wednesday. At the final table start, Glantz only had the edge over Montgomery McQuade as the cards went in the air.
McQuade, massively short stacked with only 4.9 million chips, had to find something quick and he would make his move on the second hand of play. Out of the hijack, McQuade pushed his remaining stack to the center and only got Glantz in the big blind to look him up. McQuade was on the steal, with only a K-10 off suit for battle, but Glantz still had to fade over cards against his pocket fours. A four on the flop removed most of the drama and, after a blank on the river left McQuade drawing dead, the Englishman was out of the tournament in seventh place.
The next elimination was a surprise to many in the arena. After a Neilson open, Michael Sklenicka three-bet the action to 3.3 million and Schroeder, in the big blind, saw Big Slick in his pocket. Not hesitating a moment, Schroeder pushed his twenty million-plus stack out and, after a fold from Neilson (held pocket nines), only Sklenicka made the call with his pocket Queens.
The race was on but, like the hand that eliminated McQuade, the real drama was over fairly quickly. A Queen on the flop delivered a set for Sklenicka but a third heart on the turn opened doors to a flush for Schroeder. The river blanked and, after a count of the chips, it was found that Sklenicka was all in and got the double, while Schroeder shrunk down to under two million in chips (he would depart on the next hand, courtesy of Sklenicka).
Magical Glantz Run Ends in Fourth Place
Now the new chip leader, Sklenicka kept the pressure on the table. He would take out Rui Sousa in fifth place to crack the 60 million mark, while Glantz tried to survive. He got a big double through Neilson when his pocket sixes turned a full house against the pocket Aces of Nielson, but it wouldn’t be enough for Glantz to stay viable. Neilson would get a measure of revenge in taking out Glantz in fourth place, his A-Q outpipping Glantz’s K-Q on a six-high board.
Now down to three-handed, the tournament took a stunning turn, one that was the pivotal point of the tournament. Neilson’s elimination of Glantz pushed him into the lead, but another push did not work out so well for the Australian. After Zegal opened, Neilson three bet the action and Zegal called to see a Q-K-5 flop. Neilson put up a continuation bet, which Zegal also called, and a nine came on the turn. Neilson decided that he was done playing and moved all in, which was met immediately with a call from Zegal. Why? Zegal had flopped two pair with his K-Q, while Neilson’s A-K was outflopped. Needing an Ace to take the hand, Neilson saw a blank on the river ten as he doubled up Zegal to 110 million; he would depart on the next hand in third place, with Sklenicka getting the leftover chips.
Heads-up action was brief in the WSOP Paradise Main Event. On the first hand, Zegal took a sizeable pot off Sklenicka, even though Sklenicka was correct in his fold of his pocket pair of sevens after Zegal flopped two pair with his K-6. On the final hand, Sklenicka tried to get something going by raising with his 7-3, but Zegal was defending with not much more in his Robbi Jade Lew (J-4). That was enough on the 10-2-4 flop, the Queen turn, and the five river as Sklenicka fired an all-in bluff on the river. Zegal, after a great deal of thought, made the correct decision in his call with only a baby pair and the inaugural WSOP Paradise Main Event championship was his.
1. Stanislav Zegal (Germany), $2,000,000
2. Michael Sklenicka (Czech Republic), $1,200,000
3. Daniel Neilson (Australia), $900,000
4. Matt Glantz (USA), $685,000
5. Rui Sousa (Portugal), $510,000
6. Gabriel Schroeder (Brazil), $400,000
7. Montgomery McQuade (United Kingdom), $300,000
8. Luke Graham (USA), $250,000*
(* – eliminated on Wednesday, part of official final table)
This was the first major championship of any sort for Zegal, who qualified for the WSOP Paradise Main Event through the online poker site GGPoker’s satellite system. Zegal, who has been a recreational poker player for nearly two decades, credited his success in the WSOP Paradise to increased study of the game of poker since he started playing for a living in 2016. That study certainly paid off in a nice trip to the Bahamas and a memorable championship.
While the final table of the WSOP Paradise Main Event was ongoing, the WSOP announced the dates for next year’s return of the Granddaddy of all poker tournaments. The 55th running of the World Series of Poker will take place from May 28 through July 17, with the $10,000 Championship Event set to run from July 3-17. For the third consecutive year, the tournament will be held at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
“There’s not much more that can be said about what a special year 2023 was for the WSOP and the game of poker,” said Ty Stewart, the Senior Vice President and Executive Director of the World Series of Poker, during the announcement. “But it’s time to turn the page and begin the countdown to 2024. Records are made to be broken. We’re busy (making) improvements to make sure 2024 is both the biggest and best event in poker history. Mark your calendars and bank those vacation days. We’ll see you in Vegas.”
