Europe’s least-liked poker pro, Martin Kabrhel, has taken down WSOP Europe’s biggest buy-in event with a €529,000 scoop of the €50,000 NLH Diamond High Roller.
Noted for his abrasive manner and Kassouf-like ability to annoy anyone unlucky enough to share his table, Kabrhel beat off Germany’s Sirzat Hissou heads-up to win his third gold bracelet.
The nosebleed-stakes MTT drew 30 entries, with Kristen Foxen, her other half, husband Alex, Viktor “Isildur1” Blom and Daniel Dvoress among those to fire two bullets in a bid to share a top five paid spot. Hissou was responsible for two of those rebuys early on day two…
Hissou had the worst hand in the pre-flop, all-in showdown…
Sirzat Hissou: A♣ Q♠
Viktor Blom: 5♠ 5♦
Alex Foxen: A♠ K♠
…but the board had other ideas…
Flop: Q♦ A♦ 2♣
Turn: 8♣
River: 6♣
Stephen Chidwick, Orpen “Orp the Turk” Kisacikoglu and online beast Niklas “Lena900” Astedt ensured it was an SHR worth the name, while Leon Tsoukernik, former owner of the host venue, Rozvadov’s King’s Casino, also bought in.
The final table of nine ranged from Hissou on 111 big blinds down to Blom and Astedt on 8 bigs, but it was Chidwick who departed first at the hands of Kabrhel, who cracked the Englishman’s aces.
Stephen Chidwick: A♣ A♥
Martin Kabrhel: J♠ 9♠
Flop: 10♠ K♠ 6♣
Turn: 8♠
River: J♥
The polarising Czech pro also busted Kristen Foxen and Dvoress, but it was Fahredin Mustafov who ended the money bubble after snapping off Astedt’s short stack shove…
Niklas Astedt: A♠ J♣
Fahredin Mustafov: K♦ K♥
Flop: 7♥ 8♣ 2♥
Turn: 2♥
River: 4♠
In the money now, Blom, Camosci and Mustafov all fell in rapid succession leaving Sirzat Hissou heads-up against Kabrhel. A to-and-fro battle ensued but the Czech pro eventually gained the upper hand. The finale was a typical race…
Sirzat Hissou: A♠ 8♣
Martin Kabrhel: 5♠ 5♥
Flop: 5♦ 8♥ 10♠
Turn: 3♥
River: K♠
..and with that, Martin Kabrhel had bagged his third WSOP bracelet, all won at his home casino.
€50,000 NLH Diamond High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Martin Kabrhel | Czech Republic | €529,000 |
| 2 | Sirzat Hissou | Germany | €353,000 |
| 3 | Fahredin Mustafov | Bulgaria | €222,000 |
| 4 | Enrico Camosci | Italy | €159,000 |
| 5 | Viktor Blom | Sweden | €132,900 |
Kabrhel was once described as “unbelievably unpleasant” to play with by Dan Smith and “Nobody worse to have at your table!” by Daniel Negreanu.
After his victory last night, he told reporters: “I think I’m both [a hero and a villain]… Most people really enjoy playing with me, especially in Vegas… I get that some moments with me might not be so pleasant.”
