The Unibet Open has a brand new champion after online qualifier Dwayne Sluis took down the Main Event in Bucharest for a career-best prize of €65,830. Sluis from the Netherlands defeated Romania’s Ivan Alin Constantin heads up to secure his massive prize and the coveted Unibet Open trophy.
The €1,100 buy-in Main Event attracted 360 entries in total, creating a €338,400 prize pool which was shared out between the top 47 finishers.
“I can’t really describe my feelings,” Dwayne Sluis said moments after his victory. “It’s special because poker wasn’t going that well for me during the last two years. So, to win the tournament, it’s absolutely amazing.” The win takes Sluis over the $350k mark in live tournament winnings and bumps him up to the top 125 in the Dutch all-time money list on the Hendon Mob.
Dwayne Sluis
Sluis, who has been a professional Pot Limit Omaha player for the past ten years and was runner-up in the 2019 Master of Classics €1k PLO event, was competing in Bucharest after winning his prize package online on Unibet Poker. He added: “For me, it was a trip with my wife and my daughter. The deal was: ‘If I make money playing poker, it’s good. But if I don’t, we’ll see Bucharest and have a good time here.’ And I ended up playing, and playing, and playing, and winning the tournament.”
Runner-up Constantin, who was competing on home soil, won €41,890 and outlasted a slew of his fellow countrymen who also made the final table: Robert Burlacu, Anton Dragos and Eduard Norel. Overall, some two dozen Romanians made the money in the prestigious event.
Unibet Open Bucharest, which was run in conjunction with PokerFest Romania, took place at the luxurious JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel from November 29 to December 3. It was the tour’s fourth visit to Romania and followed a sensational event there in 2019. Among those who competed in the Main Event were Unibet Ambassadors Dara O’Kearney, David Lappin and Monica Vaka plus two-time champion Mateusz Moolhuizen. Other notable names included six-time #QUEENRULES finalist Dehlia de Jong, Tudor Purice, Darah Davey, Herli Olop, Danut Chisu, Cristian Rajala, Patrick Bueno, Mihai Manole and Gabriel Gavrila.
More than 135 players qualified for the event online on Unibet Poker and enjoyed the ultimate Unibet experience including Welcome Drinks, Players Party, a free dinner every night of the event, Unibet merchandise and the chance to mingle with Unibet Ambassadors.
There was a live stream every day of the Main Event on YouTube, Twitch and Facebook as well as live updates throughout the Main Event on PokerNews.
Nataly Sopacuaperu, Unibet Open’s Head of Events, said: “What a great event we have had in Bucharest and congrats to Dwayne Sluis for taking it down. We hope that everyone had a fantastic time in Bucharest and had a chance to explore the city as well as enjoy a productive time at the poker tables. Many thanks to all our team, and our colleagues at PokerFest Romania, for helping us host this great poker celebration.”
Side event winners
€2,200 High Roller
Congrats to newest Unibet High Roller champion Marian Virlanuta who beat a 24-entry field on home soil to secure a €18,970 first prize. Unibet Ambassador Monica Vaka was runner-up for €12,650. A bunch of big names took part in the tournament including Unibet Ambassadors Dara O’Kearney, David Lappin and two-time champion Mateusz Moolhuizen.
€110 Ladies Event
Cristina Alina Ciuca won the €110 Ladies Event on home soil after beating Norwegian player Gry Ostlie heads-up. Ciuca won €780 with Ostlie taking €475 for her runner-up finish. Estonia’s Katri Kasper finished third for €300. There were 16 entries in all with players including six-time Ladies Event finalist Dehlia de Jong and Unibet Ambassador Monica Vaka.
€330 Unibet Open-er
Moldova’s Ivan Ciursin won the €330 Unibet Open-er for €6,450. There were 81 entries creating a €23,571 prize pool. A total of 11 players made the money including Gabriel Gavrila and Henrik Jeppsson from Sweden.
€110 Hyper Turbo
British player Charles Sutton took down the €110 Hyper Turbo for €2,230 after beating Madis Birnbaum heads-up. There were 83 entries with 11 players taking a cut of the €8,051 prize pool.
€165 Mini Main Event
Finland’s Pekka Samuli Ikonen won the €165 buy-in Mini Main Event for €3,435 after defeating an 86-entry field.
Pics by Tambet & Lenka Kask
