2026 European Poker Championship: Istvan Törö Is the First Senior European Champion

It was a long battle before the first €500 + 50 Seniors European Poker Championship at the 2026 Poker EM at Casino Velden was decided. Istvan Törö prevailed and secured the victory, winning €18,650.

Of the 165 entries (133/32), 57 players remained when the final began yesterday, July 16. Some were already very short-stacked, but the field still thinned only slowly. Many players, including Antonio Turrisi, Tom Sipos, Reinhard Dersch, Andi Knöbel, and Rudi Teusl, went home empty-handed.

Once the tournament reached the bubble, it took several hands before Georgy Teliysky bluffed with a missed flush draw and Walter Blättler took the pot with his queens.

The min-cash was €1,250; at the final table, everyone already had €2,480 guaranteed. Looserboy was ultimately eliminated on the final table bubble; Istvan Törö picked up a lot of chips with his kings and went into the final table as the chip leader. With queens, Istvan Törö then immediately sent Günter Planeta, who was holding jacks, out of the tournament, while Walter Hosiner took the chips from HattaEimer.

With seven players remaining, the action dragged on for quite some time until Dieter Preinsdorfer missed his draws and Walter Blättler was able to double up with kings. Dieter’s last remaining chips then went to Brigitte Hauenstein.

The last woman in the tournament was eliminated in 6th place; holding and missing her draw, she was forced to bow out in 6th place against Istvan Törö’s top pair. Karl-Heinz Metz proved to be a true survivor, lasting what felt like an eternity as the short stack.

It was then Andi Strasser who came up short with against Istvan Törö’s . In 4th place, however, Karl-Heinz Metz’s run finally came to an end with against Walter Blättler’s aces. Walter Hosiner followed with against Istvan Törö’s jacks, leaving Walter Blättler and Istvan Törö in heads-up play.

The two could have played for a very long time, but the evenly matched duel soon came to an end when Istvan Törö was able to double up with against because the board brought . Walter Blättler was unable to recover from this setback; holding , he was ultimately defeated by Istvan’s 8s, with the final board showing , and Istvan Törö became the first European Senior Champion. He took home €18,650, while Walter consoled himself with €12,850.

Today, in addition to the final of the Ladies Event, Day 1B of the €500 + 50 Showdown at Wörthersee (100k/40′) is taking place. There’s already been plenty of action at the cash games; play is available starting at €1/3 NLH and €2/2 PLO.

If you have any questions about the Poker EM, feel free to contact Thomas Lamatsch (thomas.lamatsch@casinos.at / +43 664 78284910) or the poker manager at Casino Velden, Jasmin Michael (jasmin.michael@casinos.at / +43 664 8104305). The best place to find all information about the Poker EM is at pokerem.at.

€500 + 50 Senior European Poker Championship
Entries: 165 (133/32)
Prize Pool: €82,500

Payouts:

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