Was it going to be Ema Zajmovic or Rens Feenstra (pictured)? That was the question everyone was asking during the heads-up portion of the Season XVI WPT Amsterdam Main Event at Holland Casino. The two fought their way through a 207-entry field and battled in a rollercoaster heads-up match to determine the champion of the latest WPT Main Tour event. When the dust had settled, it was Feenstra emerging victorious to claim the €156,370 first-place prize.
Included in Feenstra’s prize is a $15,000 seat to the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions. Feenstra will now join all WPT champions at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas May 24-26 to determine the true champion of champions.
WPT Amsterdam Final Table Results
1st: Rens Feenstra – €156,370*
2nd: Ema Zajmovic – €100,260
3rd: Firoz Mangroe – €60,140
4th: Gary Miller – €36,795
5th: Louis Salter – €28,415
6th: Paul Berende – €23,550
*First prize includes a $15,000 seat to the season-ending WPT Tournament Champions.
Feenstra entered the final table with the chip lead, and in a big way. The 2.949 million in chips he entered with was nearly 50% of the chips in play with six left, and he was more than 2.15 million ahead of Zajmovic’s second-place stack of 793,000. As it turned out, the top two stacks entering the final table were the final two players left. Helping that to happen was the fact that Zajmovic doubled through Feenstra on the third hand of the final table.
Paul Berende was eliminated in sixth place, taking home €23,550, and then it was Louis Salter hitting the rail in fifth place for €28,415. Salter’s run was especially impressive given all that he has accomplished in the WPT Amsterdam Main Event over the years. in Season XIV, Salter took ninth in this very event. Earlier in Season XVI, in the tour’s first trip to Amsterdam, Salter took second in the WPT Amsterdam Main Event. He can now add a fifth-place finish to his record book.
With four players left, Gary Miller, winner of the recent WPT500 London tournament, grabbed the chip lead with Zajmovic in second place. Feenstra had slipped to the bottom of the pack for some time, but he hung on strong as Miller began to slide. Then, it was Miller hitting the exits in fourth place when Zajmovic knocked him out and moved into a big lead of her own. Miller earned a payday of €36,795 to go along with the £114,000 he won just a few weeks prior when he topped a field of more than 1,800 entries in the WPT500 London event.
Firoz Mangroe did well to fight his way off the short stack when the final table began, and he battled his way to a third-place finish for €60,140. Mangroe was busted by Zajmovic to help Zajmovic enter heads-up play with the chip lead.
When heads-up play began, it was Zajmovic’s 3.91 million ahead of Feenstra’s 2.135 million. Zajmovic was looking to earn her second World Poker Tour title. In Season XV, she won WPT Playground and became the first-ever female player to win an open WPT Main Tour event. Feenstra was looking for his first WPT title in what was his first-ever WPT Main Tour cash.
Back and forth the two went over the course of 89 hands. It was a marathon match, much like the 82-hand duel between Scott Margereson and Faraz Jaka in the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown that wrapped up the day before, with Zajmovic and Feenstra going to war over the course of 89 hands. Eventually, Zajmovic got the last of her money in with a dominated hand and that was all she wrote.
On the final hand, Feenstra’s 
held strong against the 
of Zajmovic to earn him his first-ever WPT title. Zajmovic scored €100,260 for her second-place result.
A Massive Close to Season XVI of the WPT Coming in May
Season XVI of the World Poker Tour has just two events left. Coming up for the premier name in internationally televised gaming and entertainment are two trips to Las Vegas to close out the season. First up is a journey to Bellagio for the Season XVI WPT Bellagio Elite Poker Championship. The second stop is at ARIA Resort & Casino for the Season XVI WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic.
The Season XVI WPT Bellagio Elite Poker Championship runs May 1-6, 2018, and comes with a buy-in of $10,400. The event allows for a single reentry and players will begin with the WPT standard of 30,000 starting chips. Level duration will be 90 minutes leading up to the final table. Day 1 of the event on May 1 and Day 2 on May 2 will see the field play five levels on each day. Registration and reentry will be open until the start of Level 9 (approx. 5:15 p.m. PT on Day 2). More details can be found here.
The Season XVI WPT Bellagio Elite Poker Championship is also home to the WPT Bellagio $25,500 High Roller, running May 5-6 for play down to the final table. After the final table is reached on May 6, the players will break to return on May 25 to play out the final table at the brand new, state-of-the-art Esports Arena Las Vegas. This event will be filmed for TV.
In the WPT Bellagio $25,500 High Roller, players begin with 100,000 starting chips and blinds will be 60 minutes in length. Day 1 on May 5 will kick off at 2 p.m. local time in Las Vegas and play eight levels. Day 2 on May 6 will also start at 2 p.m., with play lasting until the final table is reached.Registration and reentry are open until the start of Level 11. The event will be played using a big blind ante and the Action Clock, provided by Protection Poker, will be used from the start. Click here for more information on this event.
The Season XVI WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic comes with a buy-in of $10,000 and also allows for a single reentry. This event runs May 20-23 at ARIA on the Las Vegas Strip in the heart of Sin City. Players will begin with 30,000 in tournament chips to start and the first 10 levels will be 60 minutes long. Starting with Level 11 and lasting until the fianl table of six is reached, levels will last 90 minutes each. Click here for more information.
The WPT Bellagio Elite Poker Championship and WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic represent the final two chances for players to win a ticket to the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions, running May 24-26 at ARIA Resort & Casino. The first two days of this event take place at ARIA Resort & Casino, with the final table at Esports Arena Las Vegas.
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