The 2018 World Series of Poker Europe is underway at the King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic, with the first event of the 10-tournament roster dominating the last five days. That event, the €550 COLOSSUS, has come through in the end as players flooded the King’s Casino over the past couple of days.
A Slow Start, but A Smashing Finish
The first four days of the COLOSSUS (the tournament started on October 9) featured eight flights of competition to build up what was hoped would be a monstrous field. Two flights took place each day, with players actually earning money based on the number of players in the flight if they were eliminated. Not only was reentry allowed, players could also enter multiple flights, even if they cashed in a previous flight, meaning that there was plenty of action around the King’s Casino…even if it took some time to warm up.
Here’s a breakdown of the numbers for each flight of the COLOSSUS:
Day 1A: 154 overall entries (12 survivors)
Day 1B: 167 overall entries (17 survivors)
Day 1C: 125 overall entries (12 survivors)
Day 1D: 164 overall entries (10 survivors)
Day 1E: 317 overall entries (33 survivors)
Day 1F: 405 overall entries (38 survivors)
Day 1G: 820 overall entries (85 survivors)
Day 1H: 839 overall entries (89 survivors)
There was a €1,000,000 guarantee placed on the COLOSSUS, which was broken on Saturday during Day 1G play. With 2991 total entries received for the event, the prize pool should settle in just under €1.5 million and players that move on to Day 2 will receive a decent four-figure payout from the eight starting days pooled together (many of the cashes in the flights were for less than €1000). What we don’t know currently is who will come out on top of the standings as Saturday night’s Day 1H flight has just ended; it is likely that the chip leader will come from the Day 1H field.
Nine Events Still Left on the Calendar
The COLOSSUS has served as a very good warmup for the 2018 WSOP-E, because it can be said that the best is yet to come. On Sunday Event #2, a €1650 Six Handed No Limit Hold’em Deepstack tournament, will kick off at noon while Day 2 of the COLOSSUS is going on. That will be followed on Monday by Event #3, the €550 Eight Handed Pot Limit Omaha Hold’em tournament. A €1100 Turbo tournament, a €1100 Monster Stack event, and a €1650 Mixed Pot Limit Omaha/No Limit Hold’em tournament will take everyone through the first week of the WSOP-E.
Starting a week from Monday, it is arguable that the REAL action will be taking place. The four highest buy in tournaments will be featured starting next Sunday and they should draw sizeable fields of top-flight pros looking to do battle. Those four events are as follows:
October 22-23 Event #7 – €2200 Eight Handed Pot Limit Omaha
October 24-25 Event #8 – €25,500 Super High Roller
October 26-28 Event #9 – €100,000 King’s Casino Super High Roller
October 27-November 2 Event #10 – €10,350 Main Event
The COLOSSUS will continue play on Sunday, bringing the 296 survivors from the field back for Day 2. It will be a long day for the COLOSSUS players as the plans are for the players to get to the final table before ending action for the night. On Monday, the first bracelet of the 2018 World Series of Poker Europe will be awarded and the final events on the 2018 WSOP schedule will be underway.