Event 3 ($25,000 Freeroll) 27th March 2008

Day 3 of the Prague Poker Palooza featured the $25,000 Freeroll portion of the festivities. With the field capped at 50 anxious competitors and the upper balconies of the Spearmint Casino offering an ideal vantage point for the gallery, the stage was set for a dramatic evening. Little did we suspect the major surprise that awaited us when the evening’s champion was ultimately revealed.

The evening started with a relaxed champagne reception with many of the players taking a moment to pause for a souvenir photograph with their stunning hostesses gamely attired in VC Poker red (naturally). Shortly afterwards, the players passed the velvet ropes and took their seats in the lush, golden confines of the Spearmint’s poker den. Traditional to the freeroll format, the field was a varied lot from the mystery players sporting sunglasses to the more demonstrative players who whinged, cringed and leapt to their feet with every bad beat, tough call or river saviour that ensued.

Once play commenced, it was quickly apparent that this event would be a sprint, not a marathon. With an aggressive blind structure favoring the bold and many of the players fueled by youthful exuberance and the free drinks on offer, the first stages of the tournament saw chips trading hands early and often. For the gallery assembled, the fast paced action proved a compelling spectator sport with the table action proving to be as unpredictable as it was rapid. From queens cracked by trip fours on the river to pocket kings, jacks and eights all falling to an improbable straight draw; this fishy freeroll was delivering solid poker entertainment ‘in spades.’

A particular favorite of the crowd was Matthew Bell from York. One of the first arrivals to Prague, Matt had told us he was showing up on form and eager to cash, and having committed to playing in all four of the festival events, we could certainly see he was a man on a mission. Whilst he failed to land in the money on either Day 1 or 2, the quality of his play had clearly won him the respect of his peers and the crowd was certainly entertained by his animated antics. Whether hanging his head in his hands to deliberate a tough call, fixing the competition with a steely stare when someone had the temerity to re-raise him, or simply retreating to the comfort of his iPod to play smooth, focused poker, Matt Bell was proving a joy to watch. He also proved to have a flair for the dramatic, arriving on the final table on Day 3 with the smallest stack and a chip on his shoulder.

Sitting opposite Matt was the chipstack leader, the dapper Greek Konstantinos Karelas, wielding his chip stack lead to considerable advantage as final action progressed. Beside Karelas sat William McMurray, Mr. McMurray providing one of the more memorable moments on Day 3 when a third lucky lady arrived on the river for trey queens much to the chagrin of the player who’d pushed him in with pocket aces. As the penultimate table winnowed down to the lucky six who’d beat the bubble, young guns Michael Werbowy, Thomas Haddon and Sebastian Wiza joined Karelas and McMurray in heated battle against the aforementioned Matt Bell who proceeded to parlay his short stack into a shot at the title – twice pushing in a pair of deuces to take the pot down. In one of the tournament’s defining moments, Bell faced off against Karelas in a series of hands with each pot larger than the last and Bell coming out the victor to complete his final table journey from short stack to clear favorite.

With Bell’s stack renewed and his place in Palooza lore secure, the players and the crowd were now ready for the climactic showdown between Bell and the stoic Sebastian Wiza.

Wiza, a 22-year-old from Dusseldorf, Germany had taken a break from his studies at the University to Cologne to qualify for the Prague Poker Palooza. In a story reminiscent of the Chris Moneymaker legend, Wiza’s story proved to be one for the poker annals.

Starting with a free $10 stake on VC Poker.com, the aspiring champion promptly lost the lot, leaving himself naught but the 25 action points he’d earned from his initial stake. Seizing the opportunity to play his final asset, he entered an entry level Sit ‘N’ Go satellite to the $25,000 Freeroll and won it. He won the next MTT satellite after that and then finally the super satellite event, qualifying for his seat in Prague and a shot at the $9,000 first prize as well as the added value Leaderboard booty!

Undaunted by the fact he’d never played in a live event before, and surely somewhat flushed from the success of his qualifying odyssey, Wiza now found himself heads up against a seasoned player clearly on a roll with the winner’s title hanging in the balance. As it turned out, Wiza would prove to be destiny’s child and neither Bell’s experience nor his momentum was enough to surmount the chip stack advantage and intuitive play of the taciturn German.

Short stacked and on the verge of obliteration from the massive blinds, Bell pushed all in with 8.10 unsuited only for Wiza to reveal pocket Kings. When the board provided no respite for either man, Wiza shook his head in disbelief, his unbelievable journey from free cash bust out to live event champion complete at last.

Interviewed shortly afterward, Wiza was humble, confirming that luck had definitely been a factor in his win and that his next steps would be to return to the lower staking limits on VC Poker to continue to polish and refine his game. Wise words indeed from a worthy champion.

Amidst all the hysteria of the young German’s shocking win came the pithy observation that not a single Czech had cashed in the Day 3 event. Momentum had shifted at least it seemed and as the final event beckoned on the morrow, it seemed as if the battle for Prague poker supremacy would be decided by the richest tournament of the festival and the most competitive field to date. We could hardly wait.

Lee Ferris – VC Poker: On location at the Prague Poker Palooza

Event Three Winners ($25,000 Freeroll)