White Russian, Welsh Wizard On Top of the World

The Montesino Casino played home to the World Poker Tour Vienna and its 555 players in late March, but it was Russian Dmitry Gromov who made himself king of the castle when he took down the €3,200+€300 buy-in main event for a €447,840 payday.
Gromov started the final table as he meant to finish it — with all the chips. Going into the ultimate day, the top three players on the leader board would be the last three players standing, and the leader would become the winner.
The first player to go at the final table was Mark Jenisch. He moved all in with pocket queens and found himself up against Gromov and his pocket nines. A 9 came on the flop sending Jenisch out in eighth place for €36,180.
He was followed by WPT Venice champ Alessio Isaia. Isaia moved all in for 1.4 million with K♦ Q♠ but it was bad timing as Valentin Stroiescu was holding pocket aces and insta-called. Isaia was left with 230,000 in chips and didn’t have to wait long to get them in the middle. The Italian was all in the very next hand but his pocket fours were no good as Gromov’s A♦ 10♣ hit a 10 on the flop and finished him off. Isaia left in seventh place for €49,100.
Maximillian Noll made his all-in move with A♦ J♠ but he had one caller in Simon Ravnsbaek who held A♣ K♣ which stayed ahead to send Noll out in sixth place for €65,460.
Valentin Stroiescu had a bit of a rough time at the final table and was finally put out in fifth place for €83,550 by Maxim Kolosov. It was Kolosov and his J♣ 10♣ versus Stroiescu and his A♥ 9♥. A 10 on the flop was enough to cause the fatal blow.
Gromov was back at it again, putting Mario Adinolfi in peril. His A-J sent Adinolfi and his A-7 to the other side of the rail in fourth place for €115,420.
Three-handed, Gromov was on fire, his pocket sixes held versus Simon Ravnsbaek’s A-J and Ravnsbaek struck out in third place for €169,690, leaving the two Russians to battle it out.
Five hands later it was all over for Gromov and Kolosov.
It was A♠ 10♥ versus 8♣ 8♦ respectively in the ultimate hand, but a 10 landed on the flop putting Maxim Kolosov out in second place for a chunky sum of €241,180.
Here are the final results and payouts:
First Dmitry Gromov €447,840
Second Maxim Kolosov €241,180
Third Simon Ravnsbaek €169,690
Fourth Mario Adinolfi €115,420
Fifth Valentin Stroiescu €83,550
Sixth Maximillian Noll €65,460
Seventh Alessio Isaia €49,100
Eighth Mark Jenisch €36,180

The WPT did not get a moment’s rest as it moved directly to the Golden Casino in Bratislava, Slovakia for day 1A of a €2,500+€220 main event.
WPT Bratislava
Just a couple of months after taking down the European Poker Tour Prague for €640,000, Welshman Roberto Romanello did it again, this time in Slovakia at the World Poker Tour Bratislava.
The Welshman added €140,685 to his tournament winnings, plus a $25,500 WPT World Championship seat, and a Tiffany bracelet. After beating 210 players to the highest rung of the €493,155 prize pool, an emotional Romanello said, “I don’t quite know what to say, it means so much to win a WPT title. I am so grateful to everyone who has supported me.”
It was Mayu Roca who looked as if he could be the one to stand in Romanello’s way of another victory, and when the two got heads up, a battle of wits and skill ensued. In the end, the Full Tilt pro was victorious, while Roca had to make do with €71,000 for second place. In generous fashion, the two then threw a party for all the supporters, players, staff, and dealers.
Action at the final table started off with a couple of bluffs. The first was by Jesper Hoog, although it didn’t work out because Mayu Roca wasn’t falling for any of it. Romanello was more successful against Lubomir Kublicka as he bluffed him off a healthy pot and left Kublicka with just 300,000 behind. In the very next hand, Kublicka got the rest of it in against Alexander Jager, this didn’t go Kublicka’s way and he left in ninth place for €11,000.
Marek Tatar was the next to go. After a raise from Roca, Tatar re-raised all in with 5♥ 4♠ and Roca made the call, flipping over A♠ 7♠. The board looked good for Tatar as it fell 10♠ 9♦ 5♦ 9♣, but the A♦ on the river sent him spinning out of the event in eighth place with €14,000 for his efforts.
After doubling up through Jesper Hoog, Bodo Sbrzesny found himself back in the middle of the action yet again. With pocket queens on the button, Sbrzesny raised to 40,000 and Roca made it 114,000 from the small blind. Sbrzesny then four-bet to 195,000 and Roca moved all in. Sbrzesny made the call and saw he was behind against pocket kings. The board didn’t change anything and Sbrzesny hit the rail in seventh place with €17,000.
It was up to Romanello to put the next player out as both he and Roca competed for the chip lead. Chris Williamson bet 32,000 from the hijack and Romanello pushed it up to 69,000 from the cut-off. It folded to Williamson who watched his opponent intently before electing to raise it up by 58,000. Romanello showed no fear and made it 100,000 more. Williamson then moved all in and Romanello called. The Welshman’s pocket queens managed to stay ahead of Williamson’s A-K and as Romanello moved onwards and upwards, Williamson went out in sixth place with €21,000 more to his name.
Jesper Hoog was next to go after moving all in with A-J and getting called by Roca with pocket kings. The kings held and Hoog took €26,000 for fifth place. Frank Dollinger then followed him out in fourth for €33,000 after shoving with K-10 and getting called by Jager and his A-7 which stayed ahead.
Jager’s celebrations did not last too long however as Romanello was ready to finish another opponent off. He raised with pocket fours from the small blind and Jager reraised with A-K from the big blind. Romanello then moved all in and Jager called. The board fell 8-5-3-8-7 and Jager busted out in third place for a payday of €42,000.
Heads-up chip counts:
Roberto Romanello 3,500,000
Mayu Roca 2,800,000
The heads-up duo battled for the lead with chips flying back and forth. Finally, Roca raised to 90,000 and Romanello three-bet to 255,000. As the atmosphere bubbled explosively with anticipation, Roca made it 590,000. Romanello then popped the tension by announcing that he was all in. Roca made the call and there was nothing more either player could do.
It was down to the cards but before the board could be dealt, Romanello asked Roca did he have a pair and Roca answered “no”. This excited Romanello as he exclaimed, “It’s a race!” It was Roca’s A-K versus Romanello’s pocket fives and the cards came down J♣ 8♥ 6♣ 3♦ Q♠ to give Romanello another title. Roca walked away with €71,000 while Romanello steamrolled forward in the hope of becoming the first player to achieve the triple crown in one year.
The World Series of Poker is on its way, and with an EPT title and a WPT title now in the bag, Romanello is hungry for the final course.
Here are the results and payouts:
First Roberto Romanello €140,685
Second Mayu Roca €71,000
Third Alexander Jager €42,000
Fourth Frank Dollinger €33,000
Fifth Jesper Hoog €26,000
Sixth Chris Williamson €21,000
Seventh Bodo Sbrzesny €17,000
Eighth Marek Tatar €14,000
Ninth Lubomir Kudlicka €11,000