Ireland’s Tom Kitt ensured the Winamax Poker Open trophy stayed on home soil by surviving a 994-strong field in the European short-handed championships in Dublin to walk away with €75,000.
Despite the predominance of Frenchmen in the lineup, only five of the 25 players returning for the final day were not from France, it was one of the two home players who emerged the 2014 Winamax Poker Open champion.
Kitt reached the final table sixth in chips on 1.6m, with France's Alexis Coming the leader on 4.3m, followed by Pierre Tassin and Adrien Delmas with 4m, Dutchman Jonathan Rozema had 3.5m and Sebastian Leclercq on 2.5m completed the table.
The six finalists spent almost an hour weighing each other up before Coming opened from the small blind and then called with AS-10H when Leclercq three-bet all-in for 1.3m from the small blind with AH-9D. Leclercq hit the 9H on the flop to take the lead, but the river was the 10D to send him home in sixth place.
Dutchman Rozema was the next to leave. After losing most of his stack with AD-9D versus the AS-KD of Coming, Rozema pushed the rest of his short stack in with 9H-2D against the QH-JH of Tassin and found no help on the board.
Another blind versus blind battle saw Delmas eliminated in fourth after he shoved from the small blind with AH-4S and Kitt called with the AC-7C. The flop brought the KC-JC-QS to offer Delmas hope of a split pot but the 6D on the turn and 3C on the river condemned him to the rail.
Third place at the Regency Hotel went to Tassin, who three-bet all-in for about 3m after Kitt had opened pre-flop with AH-7C. Kitt called and discovered he was in front of Tassin's KS-10C. With no improvement for either player it was the Frenchman out in third.
Kitt went into the heads-up battle with Coming behind by 6.2 million to 14 million but that all changed when he found pocket kings and managed to avoid an ace or flush draw to beat the AC-7C of Coming to take the chip lead in the contest.
The final hand saw the Irishman check a 9S-8S-6H flop with Coming firing out a bet, which Kitt check-raised all-in. Coming showed 10D-8C for middle pair and a gutshot, while Kitt had the AS-6S for bottom pair, an over card and a flush draw.
The AH on the turn put Kitt in front with Coming needing an eight or non-spade seven to keep his hopes alive. But the river brought the KH and Kitt a cheque for €75,000 and the title of 2014 Winamax Poker Open champion.
2014 Winamax Poker Open
1 Tom Kitt €75,000
2 Alexis Coming €51,000
3 Pierre Tassin €37,000
4 Adrien Delmas €28,569
5 Jonathan Rozema €22,500
6 Sebastian Leclercq €17,000
