Dan 'KingDan' Smith Wins WPT Five Diamond Classic For $1,161,135

Dan Smith has won the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, after overcoming a field of 449 players over six days on his way to lifting the title, and collecting the $1,161,135 first-place prize. With his latest victory in Las Vegas, the 24-year-old poker pro now boasts live tournament earnings of $5,689,703, as well as a further $2,380,913 playing online under the screen name KingDan.
The $10,300 buy-in main event attracted an impressive field to the Bellagio to create a prize pool worth $4,355,570. Amongst the notable names then cashing in at the event, but falling short of a final table appearance, was such pros as Mike Sexton in 42nd ($21,700), Sorel Mizzi in 34th ($26,039), Scotty Nguyen in 29th ($26,039), Dan O’Brien in 13th ($41,229), Jean-Robert Bellande in 10th ($52,079), and Christian Harder in 9th ($69,438).
By the time the final table of six had been reached, Dan Smith was the chip leader on a 3.72m stack, followed by Gary Benson (3.11m), and Shaun Suller (2.425m). Also vying for the WPT title was Joe Serock (1.615m), Eddy Sabat (1.54m) and Barry Hutter (1.265m).
Dan Smith (A-J) then proceeded to eliminate Joe Serock in 6th ($175,766), while Eddy Sabat (K-K) did likewise to Barry Hutter (A-K) in 5th for $219,165. Next, Shaun Suller exited in 4th ($303,793) after running his A-9 into the pocket queens of Eddy Sabat, however, Dan Smith (A-9) then dispatched Sabat (K-Q) to the rail in 3rd ($436,160) to usher in the heads-up phase of the competition against Gary Benson.
As the final battle commenced, Dan Smith held a massive 11.94m to 1.735m chips advantage over his last remaining opponent and before long the defining hand was played with Benson’s pocket fours up against Dan Smith’s K-10. The board then ran out 10-9-5-9-7 to consign Gary Benson to a runner-up finish worth $672,685, while Dan Smith was crowned the 2013 World Poker Tour Five Diamond champion.
Final Table Payouts:
1 Dan Smith     $1,161,135
2 Gary Benson     $672,685
3 Eddy Sabat     $436,160
4 Shaun Suller     $303,793
5 Barry Hutter     $219,165
6 Joe Serock     $175,766