The 2015 World Series of Poker Europe rolls on and Tuesday night, Richard Gryko (not to be confused with former “21 Jump Street” star Richard Grieco) picked up his first WSOP bracelet, winning Event 3: €3,250 Eight-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha. Gryko picked up €126,345 ($143,489) for his achievement.
It was a small event compared to most World Series of Poker tournaments (though the WSOP Europe events to tend to be less populated than their Las Vegas counterparts), as just 161 players signed up for a run at the bracelet. Only 31 made it to Monday’s Day 2 before playing down to the final eight.
It was a tough final table, so extra kudos to Richard Gryko for navigating the minefield. In attendance were Benjamin Pollak, who ranks 38th on the Global Poker Index, 2014 WSOP Asia Pacific High Roller champ Mike Leah, who ranks 28th and now has nearly $5 million in lifetime live tournament earnings, Poker Hall of Fame finalist and four-time bracelet winner Max Pescatori (who has already won two WSOP bracelets this year), and Roberto Romanello, who has $3 million in lifetime earnings.
The initial stages of the final table went by relatively quickly, with six players hitting the rail in just three and a half hours, but once it got to heads-up between Gryko and Leah, play slowed to a crawl. Leah entered heads-up with about a 2-to-1 chip lead, but within about an hour, Gryko had come back to tilt the table in his favor. Gryko maintained his lead from there, but just couldn’t close the deal.
Finally, after five hours of one-on-one play, it ended. Gryko raised to 90,000 pre-flop and Leah called. On the flop of A♦-K♦-6♠, Leah checked, Gryko threw out a 70,000 chip bet, and Leah check-raised him all-in for 280,000. Gryko called quickly and the two revealed their cards:
Gryko: A♣-J♥-T♦-2♦
Leah: A♥-K♠-7♣-6♣
Thus, Gryko had top pair, the nut flush draw, and a gutshot straight draw, while Leah had the temporary lead with top two pair. The turn was the T♣ and the river was the 3♦, giving Gryko his flush and the victory.
As mentioned this is Gryko’s first WSOP bracelet, though he did nearly nab one in 2009 when he placed fifth in WSOP Europe event and in 2011 when he finished 12th in a WSOP event in Las Vegas.
Afterward, in a WSOP interview, Gryko expressed his elation, saying, “The sight of the river card…I’ve never given a fist pump for winning a tournament before. That alone should tell you how much it means.”
He added, “I haven’t really begun to process it, to be honest. All I can say is I’ve been a poker player since well before I should legally have been a poker player. So a long time has been leading up to today.”
2015 World Series of Poker Europe Event #3: €3,250 Eight-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha – Final Table Results
1. Richard Gryko – €126,345
2. Mike Leah – €78,150
3. Mikkel Plum – €55,755
4. Roberto Romanello – €40,480
5. Lawrence Lazar – €29,940
6. Benjamin Pollak – €22,535
7. Max Pescatori – €17,240
8. Ismael Bojang – €13,445
