Hanh Tran won his second WSOP gold bracelet of 2018 in Event #3 €550 PLO Eight Handed.

Austria’s Hanh Tran fought his way to the final table of Event #3 (€550 Pot Limit Omaha 8-Handed) of the 2018 World Series of Poker Europe and outlasted the 572 player field to earn his second gold bracelet of 2018 plus the €59,623 first place prize.

At the start of the final table Germany’s Florian Sarnow was sitting on a short stack. After taking second place in last nights Turbo Bounty Hunter, Sarnow hoped to make it one step further in this event. However, his stay at the final table would be a short one. Romain Lewis limped his AsKd9s8c from the button, Sarnow completed from the small blind holding Qh9c3h2h and Oleg Pavlyuchuk checked his option with JsJcTh2c. The flop dropped Jd8h3s and Sarnow checked to Pavlyuchuk who bet out with his top set. Lewis folded and Sarnow shipped the rest of his short stack. Pavlyuchuk called and the 9d peeled off on the turn providing Sarnow with two pair. The Kh river bricked off for Sarnow who finished in eighth place for €5,198 for a 24-hour, two tournament total of €42,876.

Fifteen minutes later the next player headed for the door as Michael Magalashvili bowed out in seventh place. He opened the action with AhKdJc5h and was three-bet by Sebastian Obermeier who held KhKc6s4h. Magalashvili committed the rest of his stack and was at risk. The flop came 8c6d5s providing a little help for Magalashvili. However, when the turn came Ks, the hand was over and Magalashvili was drawing dead to the river. He hit the rail with a €6,896 payday.

After taking a hit at the hands of Tran, Manish Goenka was all-in for his tournament life holding AsQhTc8s on a Qs8d3h board. Tran, who was trying to finish the job he started two hands earlier was holding KhTs9s8h and was behind. But when the Ks appeared on the turn, Tran took the lead and Goenka would need help on the river. The 6h was not what Goenka was looking for and he finished in sixth place, collecting €9,313 for his efforts.

After getting doubled through by Pavlyuchuk, Tarek Sleiman was left with less than a blind. What little he had was in the middle with KsQhJh6c. He was up against Lewis’ KhKdQs2c as well as Pavlyuchuk’s big blind hand. The action checked through to the river on a Td2sTs4c9d board when Lewis finally put in a bet, folding Pavlyuchuk out. Lewis was good and Sleiman fell in fifth for €12,802, a career-high cash for the Chilean.

The final four batted for roughly another two and a half hours, with a break, before the next player bowed out. With blinds escalating, Obermeier found himself with roughly five big blinds. He raised from the small blind with Qc9s8h4c only to be three-bet by Lewis who had [qhJdTd5d. Obermeier obliged and called the rest off, putting himself at risk. The board came AsJs9d8cQs giving Lewis a straight and Obermeier a fourth-place finish and €17,905 in cash, more than quadrupling his total recorded previous cashes combined.

After some back and forth with the chip lead, Lewis was forced to settle for the bronze. Lewis and Pavlyuchuk were in the blinds and together saw a flop of 5s7s8s. Lewis bet out holding AsQd9d4c, Pavlyuchuk made the call having flopped a set with  Jd5c5d3h. The turn brought the 9h. Lewis bet again, Pavlyuchuk called again. The river came the 8d and Lewis shipped the rest of this stack only to be snapped off by Pavlyuchuk and his full house. Lewis, who made three top-three finishes at the WSOP in Las Vegas this summer, walked with €25,473 for this fourth top-three finish in 2018.

Pavlyuchuk held a 4-to-1 chip lead when heads-up play began, however, Tran quickly turned the tables and through a series of double ups, took over the chip lead.

On the final hand of the tournament Pavlyuchuk held KdKh4d4s and Tran had 9s7h6h4c with a Qs7c6c flop. All the chips were in the middle, Tran holding two pair and Pavlyuchuk the overpair. The turn was the 5d and then the river came the 2d Pavlyuchuk’s tournament was over. He finished as the runner-up and collected €36,851 for the largest live cash of his career, putting him over $200,000 in lifetime recorded live cashes.

With the win, Tran secured his second bracelet of 2018 and earned another €59,623 for finishing first. The victory propels Tran to over $500,000 in total live earnings.

Final Table Results

1st: Hanh Tran – €59,623
2nd: Oleg Pavlyuchuk – €36,851
3rd: Romain Lewis – €25,473
4th: Sebastian Obermeier – €17,905
5th: Tarek Sleiman – €12,802
6th: Manish Goenka – €9,313
7th: Michael Magalashvili – €6,896
8th: Florian Sarnow – €5,198