Edmond Jahjaga Wins First WSOP Europe Bracelet in Event #5: €550 NLH COLOSSUS for €147,775
Another World Series of Poker Europe gold bracelet has been awarded as Edmond Jahjaga has captured his first-ever title in Event #5: €550 No-Limit Hold'em COLOSSUS. Jahjaga steam-rolled his way to a victory and €147,775 after defeating 2,478 players including a very brief heads-up match with Riadh Farhat.
The 43-year-old from Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, is a business owner and started playing poker roughly five years ago, and is now a new WSOP Europe champion. He considers himself a recreational player and headed to King's Resort for the second time after a brief spell here back in 2020. Jahjaga can often be found playing live cash games and only takes part in tournaments a handful of times throughout the year.
"It means a lot to me. I don't know how to describe it because it comes so unexpected. The whole experience feels like a movie and it just happened." You could tell just how much winning a tournament like this meant to Jahjaga, even for someone who just plays the game as a hobby.
He also mentioned that he got very lucky on Day 1 when he found himself all in with an overpair against his opponent's set. Jahjaga managed to hit a bigger full house on the river which kept his tournament life alive. "I also got lucky on Day 2 but that's part of the game. You have to get lucky at times to win tournaments and fortune was on my side."
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edmond Jahjaga | Kosovo | €147,775 |
| 2 | Riadh Farhat | France | €91,318 |
| 3 | Matteo Calzoni | Italy | €67,596 |
| 4 | Andrea Ricci | Italy | €50,506 |
| 5 | Roman Krahula | Czech Republic | €38,095 |
| 6 | Zlatin Penev | Bulgaria | €29,008 |
| 7 | Aurelio Reggi | Italy | €22,302 |
| 8 | Fotios Ntamaris | Greece | €17,314 |
| 9 | Gabriele Re | Italy | €13,574 |
Final Day Action
There were 10 players who returned to their seats for 10 a.m. at King's Resort and it only took a mere 14 minutes until Merijn can Rooij was sent to the rail in 10th place thanks to the pocket nines of Jahjaga. After that, the remaining nine players took a 90-minute break, awaiting the live stream to begin at 12 p.m. Once the action got underway, there were a few short stacks that needed to navigate their way through the pay jumps.
Unfortunately for Gabriele Re, he was the first casualty on just the second hand at the feature table. He was quickly followed by Fotios Ntamaris and Aurelio Reggi who also entered the day as short stacks. With six players left, Jahjaga took a stranglehold on the chip lead when Zlatin Penev shipped into his pocket kings, leaving just five players remaining.
Roman Krahula was the next shortest stack and his patience finally came to an end. He picked up an ace in the big blind but Andrea Ricci was waiting with his pocket nines to snap him off. Krahula was unable to improve and he headed for the payout desk in fifth place.
The final four players all made it to the first break at the final table but when they returned it became a blood bath. Matteo Calzoni started with a double up through Ricci, which left Ricci on the short stack. Just a couple of hands later, Ricci fell to a two-outer from Farhat and was ousted in fourth place.
Once three-handed play began, Calzoni attempted to take a couple of shots at Jahjaga's chip lead but failed time and time again when Jahjaga always had the best hand. His last straw came when he shoved all in with jack-ten suited but Jahjaga once again woke up with ace-king. Calzoni couldn't connect with the board and bowed out in third place, leaving Jahjaga with a big chip lead versus Farhat.
The heads-up battle didn't last long as Farhat raised it up on the button with king-queen in the very first hand. Jahjaga shoved all in from the big blind with ace-nine and Farhat called off his stack. The board ran out clean for Jahjaga and he quickly ended the match on the very first hand. Farhat was forced to settle for a runner-up finish but still claimed his largest ever tournament score.
That wraps up the coverage for this event, but the PokerNews live reporting team will be here to bring you the live updates throughout the rest of the WSOP Europe from King's Resort.