Michael Gathy Wins Belgian Poker Series Grand Final 2011
December 22, 2011 12:42 pmMichael Gathy has won the Belgian Poker Series Grand Final 2011, after defeating a field of 538 players on his way to lifting the title, and collecting the €175,000 ($233,645) first place prize.
The €1,700 buy-in Grand Final took place in the city of Namur, the capital of the province of Wallonia. It also managed to attract a vast field from 32 different nations, all looking to share in the €749,972 ($1,001,298) prize pool.
The enormous tournament then ran for nine days between December 10th to 18th, which included four Day 1 flights and two Day 2 flights. By the time the final table of eight had been reached, Belgium’s Michael Gathy was way out in front as the table leader with over 5 million in chips.
The other finalists at the table included Ferdinando D’Alessio (2.365m), Pascal Junkar (2.295m), Stéphane Buzzo (2.33m), Olivier Brismee (1.57m), Rolando Camardese (950k), Mohamed Elhamdi (635k) and Carlo Vanseer (660k).
Michael Gathy was also the player most in form, having finished in September at the European Short Handed Poker Championship Main Event in 2nd place for a €54.300 ($77,894) payday.
This time around, the Belgium player’s good run continued and he proceeded to steamroll a table full of his fellow countrymen on his way to securing a first career victory. The final positions were as follows:
1. Michaël Gathy (Belgium) €175,000
2. Pascal Junkar (France) €105,000
3. Stéphane Buzzo (Belgium) €63,250
4. Ferdinando D’Alessio (Belgium) €46,502
5. Rolando Camardes (Italy) €35,500
6. Mohamed Elhamdi (Belgium) €27,500
7. Olivier Brismee (Belgium) €20,500
8. Carlo Vanseer (Belgium) €14,500
With his victory in Namur, Michael Gathy has now taken his live career earnings to $311,539, placing him in 9th spot on Belgium Top Money Winners List. Davidi Kitai currently holds the distinction of being Belgium’s top tournament money winner with $1,728,229 and a WSOP bracelet to his credit.