Kalidou Sow Wins Again; Claims Winamax Poker Tour Paris High Roller
Some poker players may go their entire careers without experiencing the exhilarating feeling of winning a major live poker tournament. Kalidou Sow is not just one of them. Sow’s previous two cashes were outright victories, and he kept up this incredible record by winning the Winamax Poker Tour Paris High Roller.
Sow won the PokerStars Championship Prague Main Event for €675,000 in December 2017. The Frenchman then took down the PokerStars Festival London Main Event in late-January 2018 for a £121,803 addition to his bankroll.
Now Sow has another six-figure score after he topped a field of 376 in the Winamax Poker Tour Paris High Roller for a €100,000 score.
Winamax Poker Tour Paris High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize in € | Prize in $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kalidou Sow | France | €100,000 | $123,104 |
| 2 | Kees van Brugge | Netherlands | €72,000 | $88,635 |
| 3 | Ivan Deyra | France | €50,000 | $61,552 |
| 4 | Achille Samaran | France | €36,000 | $44,335 |
| 5 | Gaelle Baumann | France | €27,000 | $33,251 |
| 6 | Sami Torbey | France | €21,000 | $25,862 |
| 7 | Firas Nassar | France | €17,300 | $21,306 |
| 8 | Renato Minicuci | France | €14,500 | $17,857 |
| 9 | Yves Piacentino | France | €12,000 | $14,779 |
The Winamax Poker Tour Paris High Roller saw an attendance record set when a total of 376 entries were processed, a figure boosted by the fact players could re-enter for an additional €1,500 if they busted during the late registration period.
Belgian star Davidi Kitai was one player who took full advantage of the re-entry format; he fired five bullets but failed to cash.
Baumann now has more than $1 million in live tournament cashes.
Forty-seven players did make it into the money places and locked up a min-cash of €2,800. Team Winamax Pro Adrien Delmas was one of those in-the-money players, busting in 26th place for €3,700. By the time the nine-handed final table was set, the least amount of cash anyone could win was €12,000 while the last player standing would scoop €100,000.
First exits at the final table
Yves Piacentino was the first casualty of the final table. He was followed to the rail by Renato Minicuci who had qualified for the High Roller for only €200, a €200 investment he managed to turn into €14,500.
Seventh-place went to Firas Nassar who busted at the hands of Achille Samaran. Nassar was all-in with king-queen and lost to Samaran’s dominating ace-queen. Nassar was joined at the cashier’s cage by Sami Torbey who lost a coin flip against the seemingly unstoppable Sow.
Gaelle Baumann busts from the High Roller
The first of two Team Winamax Pros was the next player to fall. Gaelle Baumann, who famously finished 10th in the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event, now has more than $1 million in live tournament cashes after finishing fifth in this High Roller event for €27,000. Baumann’s exit meant the tournament was now an all-male affair.
Sow seems to have an almost unnatural ability to avoid being eliminated.
Samaran exited in fourth-place when his pair of deuces couldn’t come from behind to beat the jacks in the hands of Dutchman Kees van Brugge and heads-up was set when the last member of Team Winamax, Ivan Deyra, busted after a clash with Van Brugge.
Van Brugge led Sow by 14 million to 4.5 million chips going into heads-up, but that did not deter Sow who seems to have an almost unnatural ability to avoid being eliminated. Sow eventually drew level, pushed in front, and then the inevitable happened; Sow won yet another tournament.
“Incredible!” is all Sow could say when the Winamax live reporting team asked him about his amazing run since December 2017. Incredible indeed.
Lead image courtesy of the Winamax Live Reporting team
