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Of course you go to live events with the intention of winning the trophy and the coveted cheque. But sometimes, things don’t go according to plan…

So, if you happen to be one of the first 5 online qualifiers to bust, on day 1A or day 1B in Tróia, we’ll give you a €255 + €20 Sunday Final ticket as a consolation prize. That’s right! It may just be your ticket to the French Riviera and Unibet Open Cannes.

Don’t forget, your last chance to qualify for Tróia is this Sunday, 26th May, at 20.30 CET. If you fail to win a package, make sure to buy your seat or package directly through the poker client, by Tuesday 28th May 23.59 CET.

• Unibet Open (Tournament ID: 9282379) – Full Package
  

• Unibet Open (Tournament ID: 9282420) – Seat Only

At Unibet, even if you lose, you can still be a winner. Good luck and see you in Tróia!

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“I will never play the Dane” – so goes the classic lament. Luckily, 336 poker players from all around the world can no longer say that, as last week the Unibet Open took its first foray into Denmark, emerging four days later with Kassem Yassine taking the title in a high-octane final table at the Casino Copenhagen. Yassine took home DKK 800,608 (approx. €107,367), becoming the second player from Sweden to wear the Unibet Open crown. See the final table highlights below.

The tournament had completely sold out its 300 cap before dawn had even broken on Day 1a; alternates were accepted through the first two levels of both start days, bringing the overall field to 336 by the time registration officially closed on Day 1b, paying out 36 places and generating a prize pool of DKK 3,604,608 (approx. €483,315).

The action from the feature table was broadcast live over all four days of the tournament on a high-definition live stream with continuous commentary from Graeme Morl and a cast of former Unibet champions and experts – and the final table was broadcast live on March 10th with hole cards visible on a slight delay. Familiar faces who graced the feature table on the business end of the felt over the four days included Unibet Ambassador Dan Glimne, Unibet Open winner Mateusz Moolhuizen and two-time WSOP bracelet winner Jan Sørensen.

The two start days roughly bisected the field; among those who did not make Day 2 were WSOPE finalist Rifat Palevic, Unibet Open Paris winner Jaroslaw Barglik and two-time Unibet Open champion Dan Murariu. Murariu, who has become the de facto face of the Unibet Open after winning Unibet Open St Maarten last year – his  second win and his sixth Unibet Open final table – and finishing the season top of the Leaderboard to win full packages to every event in 2013.

The chip leader headine 146 players into Day 2 was Denmark’s own Rasmus Biehl on 168,300, head and shoulders above the rest of the field, but he wasn’t able to maintain his position and crashed out short of the money. Joining Biehl at the rail before the money were EPT Copenhagen finalist Nicolas Dervaux, Finnish poker journalist and Unibet Open regular Ilkka Heikkila and former Unibet Open champions Mateusz Moolhuizen and Paul Valkenburg.

Down to the bubble following the elimination of Daniel Camus, it took almost an hour of hand-for-hand play before Johnny Mehl succumbed in the unluckiest position, moving in with for a double-belly-buster straight draw on the the turn of a board but failing to hit against Rasmus Vogt’s for a pair of eights.

With all 36 players now guaranteed a minimum of DKK 24,000 (approx. €3,218), the pace picked up once more and the exits came thick and fast. Those who made it into the money but fell short of the final table included Peter Varga, Mikael Johansson and Rasmus Vogt.

Amsterdam Master Classics winner Jan Sorensen and Unibet Open Riga finalist Loek van Wely hit the rail in a double elimination, taking 12th and 11th places respectively (DKK 57,000). Sorensen’s and van Wely’s proved no match for Jimmy Gillot’s on a board, and the Frenchman moved into the ranks of the chip leaders. A family tragedy would follow, though – his little brother Alexis Gillot, who had spent much of the day as big chip leader, succumbed next in 10th place for DKK 57,000 and Jimmy was the sole representative of the Gillot clan on the final table. The final nine bagged up their chips for the last time with Danish player Johnny Østbjerg in the lead on 1,860,000.

There was no messing about when the players reconvened on the final day – Henri Schalin went all in on the first hand. However, it would be Ambjorn Hedblom who would become the first casualty of the day, his A-T no good against Kassem Yassine’s A-K. The Swede took home DKK 80,000 (€10,727) for ninth place.

Peter Myrvig followed moments later in eighth place (DKK 105,000), but it was a while before Henri Schalin exited in seventh. The official short stack coming into the final, he had doubled up first hand but ultimately came unstuck when his pocket jacks were outdrawn by Kassem Yassine’s A-8. Schalin won DKK 130,000 (€17,434).

Marek Niedzwiedz, the last Polish player in the field, became the victim of Johnny Østbjerg and took sixth place for DKK 160,000. Jens Eisner followed in fifth place for DKK 200,000 (€26,821), and the last Finnish player standing, Petri Rossi, succumbed in fourth place for DKK 265,000 – another victim of Kassem Yassine, who was by now close to the chip lead.

Third place was soon occupied by Jimmy Gillot. The French Unibet pro made a stand with pocket nines but ran into Kassem Yassine’s pocket jacks and took home DKK 370,000 (€49,612). Yassine and Johhny Østbjerg were now heads up, Yassine with a 2:1 chip lead.

Only a few minutes into the heads-up match, Østbjerg raised with on the button and Yassine called with . Østbjerg made two pair on the flop but Yassine made trips; the turn, which made Yassine a full house, saw all the chips go in, and with the completing the board, Johnny Østbjerg was eliminated in second place for DKK 570,000 (€76,427).

Kassem Yassine, only the second Swedish player to take down a Unibet Open title, took home DKK 800,608 (€107,367) for battling through an incredibly tough field of Scandinavian and international players. He knocked out four of the final table players in a lightning-speed final to be crowned the Unibet Open Copenhagen champion.

The Unibet Open will be back this summer when we return to Portugal, this time descending on the beach paradise of Tróia, June 6-9. Qualifiers are running now on Unibet from freeroll up, so play now for a chance to soak up the sun while enjoying the legendary Unibet Open poker, parties and games!

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The Unibet Open has continued to grow in players and popularity, ensuring we offer you more and more!
If you’ve qualified to Unibet Open Copenhagen via our satellite or bought in directly, get ready to seize this value-adding offer. We are giving away €255 tickets to our next Sunday Online Unibet Open Finals! That’s right, open to our online players, this is an opportunity to win a seat to the next leg in Tróia, Portugal! The first 5 players on both days A and B, who are knocked out of the live event, will get a ticket.

‘How does this work?’ I hear you ask…
It’s simple really. We have a record of how you qualified or bought into the tournament centrally. So if you are first to be knocked out (hopefully not!), let the tournament director know and he will start the process of getting you to the next stop on the tour… without you paying a penny. How’s that for giving you more?
But before all that, lets enjoy Copenhagen!

Unibet Open Copenhagen 2013… let’s shuffle up and deal!

Terms & Conditions:

• Only applicable for Unibet registered customers.
• Only applicable for Unibet customers who have qualified for Unibet Open online.
• Only applicable for customers who have bought in directly through the poker software.
• Unibet reserves the right to change the promotion at any time.
• General Unibet terms and conditions apply.

The original English version of these Terms and Conditions have been translated into other languages. In the event of inconsistency or discrepancy between the English version and any other language version of these Terms and Conditions, the English language version shall prevail.

See you there!

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Want to increase your chances to qualify for the next leg of the Unibet Open in Tróia, Portugal? Wager at least €10 in “Casino in Poker” in a day and you will receive a €2 + €0.20 Unibet Open rebuy satellite ticket to use the next day at 14:00, 16:00, 18:00, 19:00 (Turbo), 20:00, 22:00 or 23:30 CET (Turbo). You can get yourself a new tournament ticket every day of the promotion.

You can find the “Casino in Poker” games in the poker client by clicking on the Casino tab in the top navigation.

Terms & conditions apply.

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Before joining Unibet, Nataly worked in digital PR in the film, music and gaming industry. In 2009 a friend of hers at the legal department of Unibet asked her if she would be interested to work at the online gaming company since there were an opening. Nataly choose to take on the challenge and throughout the years she has learned various skills within the gaming industry, thanks to her versatile role as an account manager. With four years of gaming experience under her belt, it was time for a new change and challenge so here we are.

Congrats with your new position within the Unibet Open team – can you introduce yourself briefly to the big audience?

My name is Nataly Sopacuaperu and I am the new Head of Events. A lot of people might recognize me as the Dutch Key Account Manager at previous Unibet Opens. I am super excited to take on this role and look forward to meet all the old and new players in the upcoming season.

How did you discover poker and how would you rate your own skills as a player?

I first got in touch with poker during the Unibet Open Algarve in 2009. I was immediately fascinated by all these players who kept talking to each other about poker, sharing their views and reviewing hands. What struck me was the passion for the game that each player had at the Unibet Open, no matter where they were coming from.

Although I had some training in poker, I decided to read the book “Harrington on Hold’em” to get a feel for the game and the terminology. I wanted to understand what the Unibet poker players were talking about. Soon the Dutch Unibet Poker Pro Team found out and decided to stake me in the Ladies event during Unibet Open Budapest 2010. I’m quite competitive and don’t like losing, so I was soon trying to find ways to improve my game. My passion for the game grew gradually and I’m now totally in love with it. I play a bit online and also offline, but have had no major cashes. I’ll focus on organizing the best possible events for now.

What was your motivation to apply for this position?

The Unibet Open is one of the coolest events in the industry and the greatest environment to work in and I love to be a part of it. During my previous job I met a lot of players and hosted a part of the Unibet Open. I thought it would be great to step up and take up the role of Head of Events and be responsible for the whole event. It is a versatile role in a different way, but the great thing is that I will still be working with the Unibet players. The spirit between the players, and the staff, is so friendly and passionate and now I will have the best of both worlds.

Ewa Kwiatkowska made the Unibet Open grow and ensured that the event is popular both for the professional and leisure players. Looking back at her work, what are the things you will take with you in your role?

The Unibet spirit is definitely the one that I am going to bring with me, an environment where the professional and recreational players come together with the staff and share their passion for the game during the live events. Furthermore good quality, fun and lots of excitement. Ewa was able to keep the spirit up and surprise the players and the media time after time.

The first stop of the season has already been announced and will be Copenhagen, what can you reveal about the first Unibet Open leg in Denmark?

Our mission it still the same: to organize the Unibet Open FOR the players and make sure that every single player enjoys the event. We are very excited to finally be hosting an event in Scandinavia, where we will take over Copenhagen for four days with the best poker event in Europe! We will combine that with a Live Betting Championship and a Casino Challenge, two events loved by the players. We will also be adding a more interactive experience, but you’ll be hearing more about that and the whole next season very soon!

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Make your winter that much more exciting with a chance to play in the Unibet Open Copenhagen Main Event!

This is the first of many qualifier promotions on UnibetOpen.com, and here’s what you need to do in order to win one of the great giveaway prizes:

The funniest Tweets will be rewarded with a chance to qualify for the Copenhagen event. Think of the best way to bluff the Unibet Open London winner, and sponsored Unibet Team Pro, Paul Valkenburg and win your way towards qualifying for the Copenhagen event. Finish the following sentence to compete for one of the €11+€1 satellite tickets.
I would bluff @PaulValkenburg at @UnibetOpen Copenhagen by…

Post the sentence above, with your own ending, on Twitter and follow us to keep up to date with all future promotions. There are 75 tickets to be handed out, but only the best five will receive a €55+€5 ticket into one of our many big qualifiers. Click the link to see which qualifiers you can play in order to win your way into the Danish capital as part of a package worth €2,500.

The winning Tweets will be announced throughout the two-week run period of this promotion. Every player is only eligible to win one €11+€1 ticket, and one €55+€5 ticket. Paul Valkenburg will announce which five Tweets he thinks are the best on January 23rd. Tickets are valid for a period of 30 days.

Winners will be contacted through a Direct Message on Twitter, so make sure you follow us!

Terms & Conditions

1. The Unibet Open Copenhagen promotion will run from 00:00 CET on January 9th 2013 until 23:59 CET on January 23rd 2013.
2. Tournament tickets are issued to the winner’s Unibet account within 48 hours.
3. Tournament tickets are valid for 30 days.
4. The tickets are non-transferable, non-refundable and cannot be exchanged for cash.
5. Unibet reserves the right to amend the terms and conditions or withdraw this promotion at any time.
6. General Unibet terms and conditions apply.
7. The original English version of these Terms and Conditions have been translated into other languages. In the event of inconsistency or discrepancy between the English version and any other language version of these Terms and Conditions, the English language version shall prevail!

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Want to increase your chances to qualify for the Unibet Open Copenhagen this January? Earn 20 Loyalty Points in a day and you will receive a €2 + €0.20 Unibet Open rebuy satellite ticket to be used the next day at 14:00, 16:00, 18:00, 20:00 or 22:00 CET. Good luck!

Terms and conditions apply.

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A heady mix of sun, sand, poker and parties came together this December 3-7 as the Unibet Open descended on the tropical paradise of St Maarten to celebrate its fifth anniversary with a spectacular festival of poker at the Sonesta Maho beach resort. As a special treat to celebrate the tour’s birthday, the week culminated in the crowning of Unibet Open legend Dan Murariu as the first ever two-time Main Event champion, securing him a place in the history books as well as the €110,000 first prize.

The €1,500+150 Main Event drew a total of 238 players from all around the world, all eager to take a shot at Unibet Open glory and also take full advantage of the Caribbean beaches and bars just moments from the Casino Royale. To allow players ample time to soak up the sun, the tournament was extended to four days with two start days (five days in total), with play starting every day at a leisurely 4pm.

Day 1a saw a distinguished field of 135 take to the felt, including Arnaud Mattern, Dominik Nitsche and Erich Kollmann, as well as former Unibet Open winners Peter Harkes, Jimmy Jonsson and Jaroslaw Barglik. Young Hungarian Zoltan Barabas was in the lead when play finished, just in time to make it to the first of four parties hosted by Unibet over the week – a poolside Pirates of the Caribbean-themed affair featuring crab racing and beer pong with rum instead of beer.

Having a particularly good time was the lady who organised all the parties – Unibet Open president Ewa Kwiatkowska. After five years heading Europe’s most entertaining poker tour, Ewa is moving on to a new position at Unibet and St Maarten was her final event.  She was thanked by Unibet Open staff and players in an emotional video broadcast in the casino.

Some of the players may have been feeling a little groggy following the party, but 103 of them made it to the Casino Royale for Day 1b including Ruben Visser, Paul Valkenburg, Jean Paul Pasqualini, Mateusz Moolhuizen and Tim Verbon. Another young Hungarian, Emil Hegedüs, finished up at the top of the Day 1b chip counts, beating his fellow countryman Zoltan Barabas’ Day 1a score. It was Hegedüs who led the Main Event field as they went into Day 2.

Unibet Open St Maarten was not just about the poker – the Unibet Casino and Sportsbook were both running the live finals of their respective online competitions during the week. The Live Betting Championship saw the top six Unibet players flown out to St Maarten to compete live for the €5,000 first prize on brand new iPads. The event was won by Kjell Petersson, who triumphed over the second place finisher by a margin of just 50 cents. Petersson lapped up the €5,000 but everyone got a little something – four places paid out, and all the qualifiers got to keep their iPads as well as enjoy a week in the Caribbean courtesy of the Unibet Sportsbook.

Back to the Main Event, and Day 2 saw the field decimated from 164 to 42 – briefly interrupted to everyone’s amusement by tournament director Thomas Kremser and all the dealers Gangnam Style flash-mobbing the tournament floor. Jamaican player Dueval Fenton was the chip leader by the end of play, and Dan Murariu had by this point also accumulated a dangerous stack. Murariu’s only rival for the Leaderboard, Tomasz Kozub, also remained in the running.

Only 27 places paid out, and the bubble burst just a couple hours into the day when Stefanita Fechete smacked his pocket jacks into Michel Fardel’s pocket aces to a round of applause – everyone remaining in the field was in the money and guaranteed a minimum of €2,100. Most notable among the early exits was Unibet Open London runner up Tomasz Kozub whose elimination in 19th place secured Dan Murariu first place on the 2012 Leaderboard.

Day 3 chip leader Dueval Fenton was eliminated in 15th place; Sander Langezaal, who’d already had an incredibly good week after asking his girlfriend to marry him the day before the tournament (she said yes!) finished in 13th place for €3,500, which will pay for a pretty good honeymoon. Romanian poker powerhouse Mihai Manole took 11th place, and after a long period of ten-handed play, Antti Karkkainen was knocked out by Fardel in 10th place to bring us to the final table.

As always at Unibet Opens, the final table was an international affair. Michel Fardel, from Switzerland, was the chip leader going into the final and the only player to break the million chip mark; Day 2 chip leader Emil Hegedüs from Hungary was hot on his heels with 931,000. Dan Murariu from Romania was playing his unprecedented sixth Unibet Open final but was not the only UO final table veteran – Italian Ruggiero Scommegna was playing his second, after taking second place in Prague earlier this year. A Swede, a Pole, a Ukrainian, a Frenchman and a Dutchman made up the rest of the final as they headed into the final day.

It would only take three and half levels for Murariu to emerge victorious.

First to succumb was Scommegna in ninth place (€6,690), his chips ending up in Fardel’s stack when Fardel’s pocket nines out-flipped Scommegna’s A-K just a few minutes into play. David Gabrielsson was next in eighth place (€10,000) – he shoved with Q-7 in the small blind but Dan Murariu called with K-9 in the big blind and held. Murariu’s stack was now looking healthy, although he was still far behind massive chip leader Fardel.

Kamil Paluszkiewicz pushed with A-Q over a raise from Emil Hegedüs holding pocket fours but he failed to hit anything, exiting in seventh place for (€13,800); Paolo Rodrigues found pocket fours a few hands later and moved in but this time Hegedüs had found pocket tens. The Dutchman took €17,600 for sixth place.

Fifth place was taken by Maksym Lavrov, who went all in with K-6 from the big blind to a raise from Dan Murariu in the small blind. Murariu’s A-Q stayed ahead, and he took the chip lead for the first time. Olivier Robveille’s chips went to Emil Hegedüs when he was eliminated in fourth place (€26,000) with A-9 against Hegedüs’ 9-9, but it would be Hegedüs who went out next in third place (€31,000). Hegedüs lost a massive pot to Murariu, check-calling bets on every street of a Q-7-T-7-9 board before mucking to Murariu’s pocket aces on the river. A few hands later, Hegedüs moved in with A-J against Murariu’s pocket sevens but failed to hit, and Murariu and Michel Fardel were heads up.

Murariu had a roughly 4:1 chip lead over Fardel when the heads up began, and within minutes it was over. Murariu raised from the button and Fardel called from the big blind holding T-8. Fardel check-raised all in on the eight-high flop, and Murariu called him with pocket kings. The turn river blanked, and Murariu was soon raising his second Unibet Open trophy, in plenty of time to make it to the last of the four Unibet player parties. In taking this down, Murariu also secured his place at the top of the 2012 Leaderboard, winning packages into all of next year’s events.

The Unibet Open will be back next year, kicking off in Copenhagen March 7-10. Qualifiers are running now from freeroll up – win your seat and join Dan Murariu on Europe’s most exciting poker tour in 2013.

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Another fantastic destination to start the 6th season of Unibet Open in great style – read all about it in here!

Will you join us?

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Congratulations to Ruslan Slipchenko from Ukraine who won Unibet Open Online 3!

The top ten players were rewarded not only with a cash prize but also with points towards the 2012 Unibet Open Leaderboard
What’s more, the event drew 206 runners, making this the most popular Unibet Open Online event ever!

This was the last Online event for 2012, so watch this space for the next season dates which will be revealed later this year!

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