Congratulations to Farid Yachou, Winner of WPT Amsterdam (€215,000)!
After six epic days of poker in the capital of the Netherlands, it was poker-tournament debutant Farid Yachou, from the city of Leeuwarden, who came out on top. Yachou defeated a field of 341 entries to capture the first-ever WPT main tour title up for grabs in Holland. He took home €215,000, a WPT World Championship entry, and a pair of Monster DNA headphones.
Steve Warburton started the day as chip leader with 2.8 million in chips, and American pro Jason Wheeler came into the day as the short stack with one million. On the 10th hand of play, it was Wheeler who hit the rail, as he made two pair against Yachou's flopped set. The money went in on the turn, and Wheeler collected €41,260 for his efforts. This will be a nice addition to the €125,000 he scored for winning the €6,000 High Roller here in Amsterdam just a couple days prior.
The next big clash took place during Hand #32, when Joep van den Bijgaart got three-bet by Warburton to 200,000. Van den Bijgaart shoved for 1.45 million, and Warburton tank-called holding ace-queen. Van den Bijgaart's pair of tens remained in the lead through the turn, but the river crushed his dreams when a queen peeled off. Filled with emotion, Van den Bijgaart threw his hands in front of his eyes, and exited the tournament room in disbelief. The Dutch top pro collected €51,000 for his fifth-place finish.
In fourth place, the tournament lost Fredrik Andersson from Sweden, who couldn't get anything going all day. On his final hand, Andersson got his money in very well with ace-king against Kees van Brugge's king-ten of hearts, but the river gave the Dutchman a straight. Andersson cashed for €68,000 and a tough three-handed battle commenced.
After 75 hands of back-and-forth play, it was van Brugge who busted out in third place for €90,000. He was the most active player three-handed, but he couldn't overcome Warburton and Yachou. On van Brugge's final hand, he got his chips in with ace-eight and lost to Warburton's ace-queen.
Warburton started the heads-up battle with 5.4 million versus Yachou's 4.8 million, and for 87 hands they went toe to toe. Both players held the chip lead for extended periods, but just as Warburton was chipping up the most important hand of the tournament went down. Yachou made a set against Warburton's two pair, and the underdog became the favorite. Yachou grabbed a 4-1 chip lead at this point, and two hands later the tournament was done.
On Hand #162 Warburton shoved all in for two million, and Yachou snapped it off holding a pair of sixes. The Brit tabled ace-eight, but the board was not kind to him as it brought nothing but blanks. Warburton, who seemed in shock as he left the set, won €150,000 for his second-place finish. Yachou celebrated with the rail, and he is the latest inductee into the WPT Champions Club.
| Place | Name | Country | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farid Yachou | Netherlands | €215,000 |
| 2 | Steve Warburton | United Kingdom | €150,000 |
| 3 | Kees van Brugge | Netherlands | €90,000 |
| 4 | Fredrik Andersson | Sweden | €68,000 |
| 5 | Joep van den Bijgaart | Netherlands | €51,000 |
| 6 | Jason Wheeler | United States | €41,260 |
With that, PokerNews' coverage from WPT Amsterdam is done, but we've got plenty of live reporting running for you to stay busy with. Check it out, and we'll see you at the next stop!