Tobias Schwecht Wins WSOP Super Circuit London Main Event

During the 2023 World Series of Poker International Super Circuit in London, the main event featured a £3,300 buy-in for a no-limit hold’em tournament. With a total of 910 entries spread across four starting flights, the player pool was substantial. After several days of intense competition, the multitude of contenders was whittled down to a single victor: Tobias Schwecht. Hailing from Germany, Schwecht, a seasoned poker professional, emerged as the champion, securing his inaugural WSOPC gold ring along with £480,000 (equivalent to $609,600 USD) in prize money.

Notably, this triumph marked Schwecht’s largest live tournament win, surpassing his previous high of $254,000 earned from a successful run in the Triton London series held at the same venue just a week prior. With this victory, Schwecht’s total recorded winnings have now exceeded $2.1 million.

The event was initially guaranteed to offer a prize pool of £3,000,000, but it ended up slightly exceeding this guarantee. A total of 136 participants eventually secured cash prizes for their efforts. Throughout the competition, well-known poker figures made deep runs, including Ami Barer, a bracelet winner and Aussie Millions champion (finishing 49th), Taylor von Kriegenbergh, a World Poker Tour winner (finishing 41st), Chris Moorman, a two-time bracelet winner and WPT champion (finishing 18th), Dean Hutchison, who claimed sixth place in the 2023 WSOP main event (finishing 15th), and high-stakes regular David Yan (finishing 10th).

The final table saw the early exit of recent WSOP main event seventh-place finisher Toby Lewis. His departure came after losing a classic showdown with Catalin Pop. Lewis held Q♠Q♣ and faced Pop’s A♥K♥. The board ran out with three hearts, granting Pop a flush and eliminating Lewis in ninth place for a $38,100 payday. This result expanded Lewis’s lifetime earnings to over $9.9 million.

David Miscikowski’s tournament journey also ended when he fell victim to a turned nut flush. His A-8 lost to Kattapong Thanarattrakul’s A-6 suited, sending him out of the competition with $45,720.

Thanarattrakul continued his ascent, eliminating Catalin Pop in seventh place ($57,150) and amassing over 21 million in chips. Schwecht remained competitive, knocking out bracelet winner Christian Rudolph in sixth place ($76,200). However, Thanarattrakul’s momentum persisted as he eliminated another player. Philip Ward’s A-K couldn’t overcome Thanarattrakul’s A-J suited, and Ward finished in fifth place ($114,300).

Ravi Sheth went all-in with A♣9♣, leading against Schwecht’s A♥7♥. Schwecht took the lead with a seven on the turn, needing to dodge clubs and nines on the river. The board completed with J♦, sealing Sheth’s fourth-place finish ($177,800).

Pavel Plesuv, a WPT champion and winner of the 2023 WSOP ‘millionaire maker’ event, faced dwindling chips during three-handed action after making a correct fold with the lower end of a straight. With 9-8, Plesuv eventually went all-in against Schwecht’s A-10 suited. Despite hitting a pair and a flush draw on the flop, Plesuv couldn’t outdo Schwecht’s top pair. He finished in third place ($266,700), bringing his career earnings to nearly $7.9 million.

As a result, Thanarattrakul headed into the heads-up phase with 35,100,000 chips, while Schwecht had 19,500,000. Though Thanarattrakul initially expanded his lead, Schwecht managed to level the playing field with a significant pot won with fours full of sevens. From there, Schwecht gradually gained an advantage.

In the final hand, Schwecht made a strategic move by shoving with K♥5♥ after Thanarattrakul’s raise from the big blind. Thanarattrakul, holding J♠J♣, called with around 16 big blinds. The board revealed K♣Q♦7♥K♦10♣, concluding the event. Thanarattrakul secured second place with $387,350 in winnings, pushing his career earnings to nearly $5 million.

WSOP £3,300 Super Circuit London Final Table Results