WSOP Super Circuit: GGPoker Qualifier Vito Branciforte Wins €370,000!
What a triumph for Vito Branciforte! The Germany-based Italian poker player won the €3,000 Main Event of the WSOP Super Circuit at King’s Resort Rozvadov, taking home the coveted Gold Ring and a hefty €370,000 in prize money. What was particularly impressive about Branciforte’s victory is that he had earned his seat online at GGPoker through WSOP Express.
A Historic First for King’s Resort
This year marked the first time the WSOP Super Circuit came to King’s Resort, and the festival delivered from start to finish. From October 28 to November 11, players from across Europe and beyond competed in a packed schedule of ring events, with the €3,000 Main Event and its €2,000,000 guaranteed prize pool as the centerpiece.
The Main Event drew 505 entries. After several days of play, nine players returned for the final table, each guaranteed at least €25,000, with €370,000 and a WSOP Gold Ring waiting for the winner.
Career-Best Scores Before the Seven-Handed Mark
Germany’s Berhane Yoseph was the first to leave the final table, earning €25,000 for ninth place. The result was the biggest of his career by a wide margin, nearly doubling his previous lifetime live earnings in a single payout.
Romania’s Mousa Awad followed in eighth place, taking home €33,000, also a new career-best result.
Branciforte Extends His Lead
Branciforte entered the final day as chip leader and never let up. When play was down to seven players, he was involved in a classic cooler situation. Santiago Romero shoved his last 14 big blinds from the small blind with 4♦4♥, and Branciforte called from the big blind with 8♥8♣. The eights held, sending Romero out in seventh place for €44,000 and lifting Branciforte to 6.88 million chips.
Israel’s Maor Zaharagi was the next to go, finishing sixth for €59,500. King’s Resort is familiar territory for Zaharagi, who finished runner-up in a €1,100 WSOP Circuit Main Event at the venue in 2024 for €108,550.
The next big pot came five-handed. On a 9♥Q♠K♠A♣ board, Ilia Krupin moved all-in with 10♠5♠, holding a flush draw and a gutshot. Unfortunately for Krupin, the Konstanz-based Branciforte had already made the straight with J♥10♥, and the 8♦ on the river didn’t change anything. Krupin was out in fifth place for €85,000, and Branciforte’s stack grew to 9.2 million.
With just four players remaining, Branciforte led, while Mohsen Borhani (5,735,000), Stanislaw Miadzel (5,290,000) and Aleksandrs Zenkovs (5,050,000) all chased the big stack. All three still had more than 40 big blinds.
Relentless Aggression Sends Zenkovs Home in Fourth
Borhani briefly took the chip lead, but Branciforte kept up the pressure, applying it hand after hand, forcing his opponents to fold better hands multiple times.
Zenkovs was the next to fall. He put his last 19 big blinds in preflop with A♥10♥ and ran into Branciforte’s Q♥Q♠. The queens held, and Zenkovs was out in fourth for €120,000. It capped off a memorable festival for the Latvian, who had already won a ring earlier in the series by taking down the €500 King’s GCOP event for €20,300.
Italian-German Clash Decides Third Place
Three-handed, Borhani was the main challenger to Branciforte, while Miadzel mostly stayed out of the big pots. That cautious approach didn’t seem to be working for the Polish player at first, as Borhani doubled up through Branciforte with quad nines to move past seven million chips.
A few hands later, the two clashed again. This time Branciforte held A♥A♣ against Borhani’s 10♥10♦. The aces held, and Borhani was out in third place for €171,000. Despite falling short of the title, Borhani had plenty to celebrate: the payout was more than ten times his previous combined live tournament earnings.
The biggest winner from that hand was Miadzel, who had reached heads-up and was a lock for at least €245,000. He still faced a steep climb, though, with just 19 big blinds against Branciforte’s 107.
Flush Over Flush Seals the Title
Miadzel used his tight image early in heads-up, doubling his stack without a showdown and briefly making it a contest. But Branciforte could not be stopped.
In the final hand, the flop came 8♥10♥A♦. Branciforte led small with J♥7♥ and called when Miadzel shoved for 5.4 million chips with 6♥5♥, a smaller flush draw. The Q♥ on the turn gave both players a flush, but Branciforte’s was higher, and the title was his.
Miadzel’s €245,000 runner-up prize was still the largest score of his career.
An Emotional Win for the GGPoker Qualifier
For Branciforte, the win at King’s Resort meant far more than another big score. Speaking with Corni Küpper in his winner’s interview, he said:
“I’ve been fighting for a while to win something like this. A real weight has been lifted off my shoulders.”
Along with €370,000 and the WSOP Gold Ring, the victory completed a remarkable story that began online at GGPoker, where a single qualifier turned into the biggest win of the festival and a place in WSOP Circuit history.
“I actually played the qualifier by accident, since I just had a few tables open,” he said.
His story is proof that a seat won online can lead all the way to a WSOP Gold Ring.
WSOP SC Main Event by the Numbers
Buy-in: €3,000
Entries: 505
Prize pool: €2,000,000
Final Table Payouts
- Vito Branciforte (ITA), €370,000
- Stanislaw Miadzel (POL), €245,000
- Mohsen Borhani (DEU), €171,000
- Aleksandrs Zenkovs (LVA), €120,000
- Ilia Krupin (RUS), €85,000
- Maor Zaharagi (ISR), €59,500
- Santiago Romero (ARG), €44,000
- Mousa Awad (ROU), €33,000
- Berhane Yoseph (DEU), €25,000
About the Editor: Shawn Altbaum has been writing and editing in the online gaming industry since 2007, reporting live from the WSOP Main Event and conducting interviews with professional players. An active poker player, he combines industry expertise with firsthand knowledge of the games he covers. He currently serves as Global Head of Copywriting at NSUS Group, overseeing brand voice and content strategy across GGPoker.
