Bracelet number four of this year’s WSOP Europe was scooped last night by French recreational player Theodore McQuilkin. Prior to last night, the player had just around $24,000 in live tournament winnings. But a combination of luck, love for the game, and skills secured him with a piece of WSOP jewelry and a first-place prize of €88,043.
McQuilkin is from Strasbourg, where he co-manages a real estate firm. He told interviewers that he loves poker, although he does not play the game that often. Back in France, he plays private games once or twice a week. And it has been only for a year now that the player has been traveling around Europe occasionally to enter one tournament or another. McQuilkin said that he has not been running particularly well on the circuit, but this has not discouraged him from trying.
The Frenchman won the €1,650 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Max. He admitted that the format was not among his favorite ones, but still he wanted to give it a go. The player said that he had a particularly good feeling about this tournament and guided by that feeling, he was eventually crowned its victor.
McQuilkin traveled to King’s Casino Rozvadov, where the WSOP Europe is currently taking place, with a friend of his. His travel companion, who plays poker for a living, advised him strongly against joining the six-max event as it would be one of the toughest within the festival.
Six-handed tournaments are traditionally particularly difficult and action-packed, and attract some of the best tournament players. Luckily, McQuilkin did not listen to his friend and jumped in the action to remain the last man standing in the end.
McQuilkin’s Run in the Event
The €1,650 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Max attracted a field of 240 players from different parts of Europe and the rest of the world. They created a prize pool of €345,420 and the money was split among the top 36 finishers.
The tournament was played over three days and Day 3 saw seven players return to the host venue to play down to a champion. McQuilkin was fifth in chips at the time. The player began gaining momentum shortly after the official final table of six was set. He eliminated several fellow players to eventually made it to heads-up against Czech player Jan Bednář. The Frenchman entered the final battle with 2-to-1 chip advantage that served him well.
The heads-up duel did not last long. McQuilkin actually needed just two hands to finish off his opponent. On the final hand of the tournament, the eventual winner raised pre-flop to 165,000 and his opponent shoved. McQuilkin called, tabling [Kh][Kc] against Bednář’s [Ad][Qs]. The [10s][8c][5c][9c][Ac] ran out on the board to secure McQuilkin with a flush and the title. Bednář collected €54,410 for his runner-up finish.
