Asian Pros Dominate in Europe as WSOPE Heats Up

October 21st, 2019 | by Greg Shaun

The World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) has crowned more winners in recent days as some of the game’s top pros have fallen just short.

James Chen, seen here at the WSOP, bagged a bracelet and a career-high win at the 2019 WSOPE. (Image: Winamax)

Following the start of this year’s big-money bracelet events, poker’s finest have started to generate headlines. First to make a mark but not necessarily in the way he would have wanted was Phil Ivey.

Ivey Slips as Chen Takes Control at WSOPE

Joining the €250,000/$279,000 Super High Roller inside King’s Casino Rozvadov, Ivey made a rare slip. Putting out a bigger bet than he intended, the veteran pro proved that the pressure of a WSOPE can take its toll on anyone.

Although that mistake didn’t put Ivey out of the Super High Roller, he wasn’t present in the finale. When the final five convened for Day 3 on October 18, Taiwan’s James Chen emerged as the victor.

Despite winning three flips to snatch the chip lead on Day 1, Chen’s volatile style meant he started the final table as the short stack. However, with experience in some of Macau’s richest cash games, the Asian pro wasn’t fazed.

Telling WSOPE reporters his intention in all tournaments is to play for the win, Chen didn’t sit on his stack. That strategy proved effective as he quickly got the best of it.

Taking out Tony G after Cary Katz had fallen by the wayside, Chen soon found himself in a back-and-forth battle with Christoph Vogelsang. The pair traded chips for multiple rounds before the latter eventually slipped.

After moving all-in with pocket fives, Vogelsang couldn’t win a race against Chin Wei Lim’s A♣T♣. With the final European out, the heads-up match was an all Asian affair.

Asian Pros Take Control in Europe

One the one side, Chen was flying the flag for Taiwan. On the other, Lim stood as the latest poker prospect to emerge from Malaysia.

In the end, it was Taiwan that came out on top after Chen hit a fortunate river. Moving all-in with A♦4♦, the latest WSOPE champion looked to be heading for a chop after Lim called with A♥5♣.

An ace on the flop only made that more likely. However, the 4♣ on the river was enough to steal victory from the jaws of a draw.

With that, Chen became the latest WSOPE champion and $3.1 million richer, while Lim took home $1.9 million.

As the super-rich departed, Espen Sandvik and Tomas Fara seized the spotlight.

The former claimed WSOPE gold in the $2,800 8-Game Mix. The latter bagged a bracelet in the $1,200 Turbo Bounty Hunter.

The action in the Czech Republic is certainly starting to heat up. With plenty more to be won, including the WSOPE Main Event title, expect more big wins and even bigger moves in the coming days.