Table of Contents
There’s plenty of poker in Rozvadov right now as the Eureka Rozvadov 2023 festival is underway at King’s Resort!
The glitz of Las Vegas. The decadence of Macau. These are the places the mind jumps to when considering the most popular poker destinations on the planet.
What you probably donât think of is a small village in the PlzeĆ Region of the Czech Republic, with a population of approximately 800 people.
But you should, for the past 20 years, Rozvadov has cemented itself as one of Europeâs premier places to play poker, with millions in prizes awarded and big tournament series running regularly.
But how did this humble town become one of the epicentres of poker in Europe? And what has happened at PokerStars events in Rozvadov throughout the years?
Letâs take a look through the history of poker in Rozvadov.
KINGâS RESORT
Rozvadovâs claim to being a global poker hotspot is down to one place and one man.
The Kingâs Resort was built by art collector and poker enthusiast Leon Tsoukernik and first opened its doors on June 26, 2003.
Its accessibility to poker players in both the Czech Republic and Germany (Rozvadov sits right on the border between the two) made it a popular poker room with nearby players. Over the years it continued to grow in size, ultimately housing the largest card room in Europe.
![](https://pokerstarslearn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Kings_Casino_Rozvadov_24feb15_22.jpg)
The King’s Resort was founded by Leon Tsoukernik in 2003
The Kingâs Resortâs âŹ275 buy-in, âŹ50,000-guaranteed weekly tournament became a staple of the local poker scene, and soon the resort was running its own Deep Stack series and other regional festivals.
But things took a leap in 2013 when the first PokerStars Eureka Rozvadov festival took place, featuring the now standard âŹ1,100 Main Event, âŹ2,200 High Roller, and âŹ330 Eureka Cup flagship events.
![](https://pokerstarslearn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/©Manuel-Kovsca_Eureka_Rozvadov_March_2023_DSC_2477_Mar-15-2023-scaled.jpg)
Weâll go through all the results from PokerStars events in Rozvadov later in this article.
The Resort enjoyed its biggest year to date in 2014, with approximately 200,000 players playing poker inside throughout the year and more than âŹ15 million paid out in prizes.
WORLD SERIES OF POKER EUROPE
When the World Series of Poker (WSOP) decided to expand its offering with a separate festival in Europe back in 2007, it seemed destined to one day cement itself in the continentâs biggest poker room.
Having been held in London (2007-2010), Cannes (2011-2012), and Berlin (2015), the WSOPE made Kingâs Resort in Rozvadov its permanent home in 2017 and every edition of the festival has taken place there since.
One of the largest prizes awarded on European soil took place at Kingâs Resort in Rozvadov when German pro Dominik Nitsche won the âŹ111,111 buy-in High Roller for One Drop WSOPE event in 2017, earning himself a massive âŹ3,487,463.
ALLâS FAIR IN LOVE AND POKER
Kingâs Resort in Rozvadov was the venue of a very unique heads-up match, which took place in the PokerStars Eureka Rozvadov Main Event back in March 2016.
Argentinian crusher Ivan âNegriinâ Luca had entered the final table as chip leader, and as PokerStars Blog reported from the floor, âit would take something, or someone, special to stop him.â
That special someone turned out to be Lucaâs significant other, as he found himself heads-up against his girlfriend and fellow Argentinian superstar Maria Lampropulos.
![](https://pokerstarslearn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/IvanLucaWins.jpg)
Ivan Luca defeated his girlfriend Maria Lampropulos for the Eureka title
The two battled for 90 minutes following a heads-up chop, but in the end, it was the more-experienced Luca who emerged victorious. Lampropulos would go on to enjoy incredible success herself, however, winning the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event for $1,081,100 in 2018.
![](https://pokerstarslearn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/neil0908-pca2018-maria-lampropulos-neil-stoddart.jpg)
Maria Lampropulos won the PCA in 2018
EUREKA ROZVADOV 2016
Dates: March 4-8, 2016
Buy-in: âŹ1,100
Prize pool: âŹ661,540
Entries: 682
1 Ivan Luca (Argentina) – âŹ106,186*
2 Maria Lampropulos (Argentina) – âŹ95,404*
3 David Urban (Slovakia) – âŹ54,800
4 Peter Siemund (Germany) – âŹ41,500
5 Stoyan Stefanov (Bulgaria) – âŹ33,100
6 Mick Heder (Denmark) – âŹ25,340
7 Robert Kokoska (Czech Republic) – âŹ18,330
8 Hannes Speiser (Austria) – âŹ12,500
ALL POKERSTARS EVENTS IN ROZVADOV
EUREKA ROZVADOV 2013
Dates: March 20-24, 2013
Buy-in: âŹ1,100
Prize pool: âŹ653,689
Entries: 500
1 Bart Lybaert (Belgium) – âŹ115,000
2 Fabian Leib (Germany) – âŹ77,250
3 Giovanni Mazza (Italy) âŹ47,500
4 (Unknown) – âŹ36,875
5 Kasparas Klezys (Lithuania) – âŹ28,125
6 Thomas Erler (Germany) – âŹ20,000
7 Ronald Szczerba (Germany) – âŹ15,000
8 Dirk Recknagel (Germany) – âŹ11,250
![](https://pokerstarslearn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/bart_lybaert_ba-1.png)
Bart Lybaert won the Eureka Rozvadov Main Event in 2013
EUREKA ROZVADOV 2014
Dates: May 26-30, 2014
Buy-in: âŹ1,100
Prize pool: âŹ659,774
Entries: 493
1 Martin Meciar (Czech Republic) – âŹ87,600
2 Michael-David Passy (Belgium) – âŹ65,000
3 Beatrix Wolfsberger (Austria) – âŹ42,300
4 (Unknown) – âŹ33,300
5 Christian Jambor (Germany) – âŹ26,110
6 Bert Geens (Belgium) – âŹ20,450
7 Michael Eiler (Germany) – âŹ15,400
8 Dawid Mysiewicz (Poland) – âŹ10,700
POKERSTARS KINGS CUP MAIN EVENT 2014
Dates: November 6-9, 2014
Buy-in: âŹ550
Prize pool: âŹ334,449
Entries: 551
1 Philipp Hartmann (Germany) – âŹ45,000
2 Daniel Effendy (Germany) – âŹ29,856
3 Pavel Novotny (Czech Republic) – âŹ29,856
4 Lena Riemenschneider (Germany) – âŹ17,958
5 Petr Targa (Czech Republic) – âŹ14,083
6 Jens Steuber (Germany) – âŹ11,064
7 Damir Vasiljevic (Croatia) – âŹ8,258
8 Radek Stockner (Czech Republic) – âŹ5,719
EUREKA ROZVADOV 2015
Dates: Feb 21 – March 1, 2015
Buy-in: âŹ1,100
Prize pool: âŹ731,211
Entries: 664
1 Raphael Wimmer (Austria) – âŹ99,685*
2 Josef Pavelka (Czech Republic) – âŹ50,646*
3 Ratislav Paleta (Czech Republic) – âŹ59,962*
4 Marek Blasko (Slovakia) – âŹ59,962*
5 Ruben Pleijster (Netherlands) – âŹ53,215*
6 (Unknown) – âŹ25,630
7 Branislav Ondrus (Austria) – âŹ18,680
8 Hossein Ensan (Germany) – âŹ12,770
![](https://pokerstarslearn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/World-Champion-Hossein-Ensan_2019-WSOP_EV73_Final-Table_Giron_8JG4593.jpg)
Before he won EPT Prague and the WSOP Main Event, Hossein Ensan finished 8th in the Eureka Rozvadov 2015
EUREKA ROZVADOV 2016
(See – ALLâS FAIR IN LOVE AND POKER)
Read the full tournament recap here.
POKERSTARS FESTIVAL ROZVADOV 2017
Dates: March 9-13, 2017
Buy-in: âŹ1,100
Prize pool: âŹ1,150,080
Entries: 1,126
1 Petr Svoboda (Czech Republic) – âŹ124,346
2 Michal Lubas (Poland) – âŹ91,000
3 Stanislav Koleno (Croatia) – âŹ87,444
4 Michael Rohde (Germany) – âŹ78,966
5 (Unknown) – âŹ39,078
6 Marian Flesar (Croatia) – âŹ28,086
7 Peter Kamaras (Bulgaria) – âŹ20,186
8 Jan Stariat (Czech Republic) – 14,508
![Petr Svoboda won the Eureka Rozvadov Main Event in 2017](https://pokerstarslearn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/svoboda_590x395.png)
Petr Svoboda won the Eureka Rozvadov Main Event in 2017
POKERSTARS SUNDAY MILLION LIVE 2017
Dates: August 25 – September 4, 2017
Buy-in: âŹ220
Prize pool: âŹ958,550
Entries: 5,045
1 (Unknown) – âŹ111,674
2 Dominik Kabas (Italy) – âŹ92,011
3 Jozef Kornorny (Croatia) – âŹ81,093
4 Karel Kovarik (Czech Republic) – âŹ76,522
5 Andrei Kurdyukov (Russia) – âŹ39,680
6 Werner Nather (Germany) – âŹ29,000
7 Filip Zak (Czech Republic) – âŹ21,400
8 Markus Kowalski (Germany) – âŹ15,500
EUREKA ROZVADOV 2022
Dates: May 25-29, 2022
Buy-in: âŹ1,100
Prize pool: âŹ1,041,200
Entries: 1,096 (including 553 re-entries)
1 Giorgio Montebelli (Italy) – âŹ146,126*
2 Cristian David (Italy) – âŹ110,730*
3 Maik Dehmlow (Germany) – âŹ76,814*
4 Randy Hofmaenner (Switzerland) – âŹ102,163*
5 Klas Krueger (Germany) – âŹ44,876
6 Benjamin Huegel (Germany) – âŹ33,006
7 Zaki Hamani (Switzerland) – âŹ25,041
8 Jose Neriz (Spain) – âŹ17,877
![](https://pokerstarslearn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Giorgio-MontebelliEureka-Poker-Tour-Rozvadov-2022-5911.jpg)
Giorgio Montebelli – winner in 2022