The 2025 World Series of Poker Europe rolled on this week with the €2,000 no-limit hold’em Monsterstack. The final day began with 95 left from the field of 419 total entries. Cards got in the air at 2:00 pm local time for what proved to be a marathon session. Heads-up play did not get started until 6:00 am. In the end, Italy’s Giuliana Bendinelli emerged victorious with his first bracelet and $198,725.
A Career-Making Bracelet
The final battle between Bendinelli and bracelet winner Zdenek Zizka played out over the course of 90 minutes, with each player holding the lead and coming close to closing out the win. This victory brought Bendinelli two-thirds of the way to the exclusive Triple Crown club, having won the European Poker Tour Barcelona main event in 2022.
He spoke with PokerNews reporters after his win and said, “It was my dream from the beginning, winning an EPT and winning a WSOP bracelet. Now I have both. Barcelona was the biggest one, but this is also really special.”
“I didn’t have the stack to command the final table, so I just paid attention and played ICM. Then, from about three to four players left, I started to play for the win. I won some showdowns, even a miracle runner-runner at one point, and that helped me survive.”
The Miracle Run
Bendinelli staved off elimination at least four times during heads-up play – including the first hand. He began down 4-1 in chips, moved in holding pocket sixes, Zizka called with A♣10♣, and the flop fell 6♣4♣4♠ to give Bendinelli a full house, which held through the turn and river.
Then, he got all in preflop holding A♥2♥, Zizka called, and had him dominated with A♦J♠. The board ran A♣8♥5♣8♠K♦ and the miracle king on the river chopped the pot when Bendinelli looked like he was set to be eliminated.
He caught another miracle runout when his A♦8♦ was outflopped by Zizka’s 10♥8♠ when it came A♥10♣10♦. One of his two outs came on the turn with A♣. The river was 9♥ for another Bendinelli double up.
Bendinelli took the chip lead when he caught runner-runner for a flush after Zizka flopped an ace in a preflop showdown. But the final hand came when Zizka shoved with A♥10♦ and Bendinelli called holding pocket jacks. The board ran nine high and Bendinelli’s early morning miracles won him the bracelet.
Zizka earned $135,311 as the runner-up. The professional backgammon player earned his first WSOP hardware this summer, defeating Shaun Deeb heads-up in a $1,000 no-limit hold’em event.
Pawel Wojciechowski, who earned the first bracelet awarded at this festival, looked to quickly add more jewelry but was eliminated in 21st place. Pascal Vos took 13th place, Antonello Ferraiuolo (25th), Lukas Pazma (32nd), and Axel Bayout (41st). The top ten finishers earned a seat in the €10,300 WSOPE main event.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Giuliano Bendinelli | $198,725 | 720 |
| 2 | Zdenek Zizka | $135,311 | 600 |
| 3 | Oleh Okhotskyi | $95,297 | 480 |
| 4 | Silviu Baltateanu | $69,557 | 360 |
| 5 | Jose Gaona | $52,650 | 300 |
| 6 | Daniel Knuth | $41,418 | 240 |
| 7 | Ioannis Chorianopoulos | $33,813 | 180 |
| 8 | Yehonatan Behor | $28,548 | 120 |
| 9 | Ratmir Kesidis | $24,921 | 60 |
Photo credit: King’s Resort.
