A new episode of tension shook the WSOP Europe in Prague. The protagonist was Birger Larsen
The incident occurred during Day 2 of Event #9 (€5.300 PLO European Championship), in which there had already been some complaints at the time of the bubble, where Larsen was still in the race and with chances to fight for the top prizes.
According to what could be reconstructed, it all started with repeated attitudes from the player: constant complaints, raised tone and arguments with rivals and staff. The situation escalated until the organization intervened. First, the Scandinavian received an official warning. Shortly after, he even won an all-in that allowed him to stay alive in the tournament. However, far from calming down, he continued with his behavior.
This led to a harsher sanction: a penalty of one orbit without playing. But the measure finally made him explode.
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The breaking point and Larsen’s expulsion from the WSOPE
Visibly out of control, Larsen reacted even more aggressively. According to reports, he even went as far as hitting the hand of a person trying to calm him down, in addition to refusing to follow the staff’s instructions. At that moment there was no room for maneuver: the organization decided to disqualify him immediately.
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His chips were removed from the tournament and he was eliminated in 30° place, collecting €13.000, far from the €395.000 that were at stake for the champion along with the bracelet.
With more than 800.000 dollars in live earnings throughout his career, Larsen had plenty of experience to navigate these types of tournaments. However, his conduct ended up being decisive.
The WSOP confirmed what happened, although it avoided making additional comments. It also did not transpire whether the player will receive any extra sanction or ban for future events.
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