He can play Hold‘em, too

In a country famous for its impressive castles, the biggest castle belonged to Dwayne Sluis who sat behind all the tournament chips late on Sunday evening, having bludgeoned his way through an international field in the Romanian capital. The Pot-Limit Omaha specialist is no stranger to the Hold‘em streets, having made deep runs in the WSOP Main Event in 2016 and 2021, but this was his first marquee victory.

the pair traded jabs and haymakers

Bucharest is a hotbed of poker and so it proved as the final nine boasted a quintet of locals with Sorin Flutur, Dragos Anton, Robert Burlacu, Ivan Alin Constantin, and Eduard Norel joining the Dutch trio of Sluis, Max Broens, and Bart Van Dyke, and Swede Bjorn Samuelsson. The final table was a war of attrition as only three players busted out in the first four hours of play.

When the dust eventually settled, Sluis and Constatin were mano y mano for the lion’s share of the €338,400 ($366,707) prizepool. For the best part of an hour, the pair traded jabs and haymakers. Sluis took a big lead, but Constatin kept slugging it out and was in a great position to turn the tables when he got it all-in with Ace-King versus King-Queen. A Queen on the flop put Sluis on the precipice of a famous victory and a clean run-out sealed it for him.

All the trimmings

Unibet Poker prides itself on creating a healthy eco-system, offering games which are very recreational player friendly. That same principle extended to Unibet Open Bucharest where Unibet’s head of live events Nataly Sopacuaperu made sure that the 135 qualifiers were treated to a poker vacation. If only all of Unibet’s team were as professional.

This was Unibet Poker’s fourth visit to the JW Marriott in Bucharest, a five-star hotel with all the trimmings. A top-notch player experience has been the hallmark of Unibet Opens for 15 years and 52 festivals and this was no exception. Two player parties bookended the five-day poker extravaganza while sixteen tournaments gave the players plenty of on-the-felt options.

The €330 ($358) Opener kicked off the festival and the last man standing in that was Ivan Ciursin. The €2,200 ($2,384) High Roller was won by Marian Virlanuta, who took away over €18,000 ($19,506) after defeating talented pro and friend of Unibet Monika Vaka. The Ladies event was won by Cristina Alina Ciuca, while Stefan Toderita took down the prestigious €550 ($596) Chip Race Mystery Bounty.

A special moment for Sluis

The big one was the 360-player Main Event, 115 of whom progressed to Day 2. A long second day whittled the field down to the final nine with the final table being set on the very last hand of the night as Jozsef Hegyi crashed out as the unlucky bubble boy.

On Sunday afternoon, the players took their seats and Frank Op De Woerd took up his position in the commentary booth. The livestream made for compelling viewing as the remaining players, all of whom were guaranteed €6,770 ($7,336), vied for a big pay day.

to win the tournament, it’s absolutely amazing”

The €65,830 ($71,337) first prize was the biggest of Sluis’ career and he was in an understandably buoyant mood after the result. The Dutchman immediately ran to celebrate with his wife and young daughter who were outside the poker room. “This is a special moment for me because poker wasn’t going that well for the last two years. So, to win the tournament, it’s absolutely amazing.”

Unibet Open Bucharest 2023 Final Table Results

1. Dwayne Sluis – €65,830
2. Ivan Alin Constantin – €41,890
3. Robert Burlacu – €31,400
4. Dragos Anton – €25,420
5. Eduard Norel – €20,030
6. Bart van Dyjk – €15,300
7. Max Broens – €11,230
8. Bjorn Samuelsson – €8,260
9. Sorin Flutur – €6,770