Oleksandr Shcherbak wins the first bracelet of the 2017 World Series of Poker Europe, and Ryan Hughes takes the lead in the Player of the Year race. 

For the longest time, the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) was a poser. First, it set up camp in one of the finest capital cities in the world, London. Then it went upmarket by moving to Cannes. Pop up events in Paris, and Berlin added to the bourgeoisie feel of things, and then came a dramatic shift.

After a decade, the WSOPE is coming to you live from one of the smallest villages in the world. If you thought hosting the largest-ever European live tournament festival in the King’s Casino would impact numbers, then Event #1 is n ot a great indicator of that particular reality.

The team slapped a €500,000 guarantee on Event #1: €1,100 No-Limit Hold’em Monster Stack, and a respectable 561 entrants proved the forecasters right.