Rapper Kool Shen Wins EFOP Diamond Championship

Kool Shen has won the 2012 EFOP Diamond Championship, after overcoming a field of 109 players over four days to lift the title, and collect the €100,000 ($127,514) first place prize.
Despite being a sponsored member of Leaders Poker for two years, the French rapper, whose real name is Bruno Lopes, was keen to point out he is not technically a poker pro, as he doesn’t only live on his income from poker.
Nevertheless, With his latest victory at the Aviation Club de France, Kool Shen, has now earned over $300,000 playing live tournaments. Not bad for a modest amateur.
As the action got underway at the €5,000 buy-in tournament in Paris, many top pros were drawn to the celebrated venue. These included such players as David Benyamine, Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Jonathan Duhamel, Ludovic Lacay, and Basil “Basou” Yaiche.
Amongst those notable names cashing in at the tournament were Philippe Ktorza in 14th (€7,765), Shannon Shorr in 13th (€7,765), Manuel Bevand in 12th (€10,355), Jean Noël Thorel in 5th (€38,830), and Alain Roy in 4th (€46,600).  
Eventually, Kool Shen found himself heads-up against Aubin Cazals, who at the beginning of this month triumphed at the €750 Irish Poker Championship in Dublin for €35,000 ($45,511). However, the young Frenchman is best known as the talented online player “Kzouls31.”
Nevertheless, after two hours of tough heads-up action, Aubin Cazals had to settle for a runner-up finish worth €94,760 ($120,832) after a deal was struck, while Kool Shen took down his biggest score to date of  €100,000 ($127,514).
Heaping praise on Kool Shen’s poker development, fellow Leaders Poker team member Stéphane Albertini commented:
“Bruno is a person who thirsts for knowledge. He speaks, learns and assimilates knowledge much faster than average. We knew that Bruno could tame words, the world now knows that he can tame the cards…The new [poker] scene suits him very much. It is smaller and green, but he feels very comfortable on it.”