If you’re like many of the people looking at this article, you just read that headline and thought, “Really?” Well, it’s true. No one from the country of Belgium had captured a World Series of Poker bracelet, until late Sunday night, that is. Brussels native Davidi Kitai became the first Belgian player ever to win a World Series of Poker bracelet in Event #38, a $2,000 pot limit hold’em tournament. He bested a field of 605 of poker’s elite, cashing for $244,583. More importantly, he put his own country on the WSOP map. For one night, it seemed, Belgium was on top of the world.
It was Kitai’s third WSOP cash ever. In 2007, he took 404th in the $10,000 buy-in Main Event, cashing for $34,664. Earlier this year, in Event #27, he pocketed $3,509 for a 147th place cash. Then on Sunday night, history was made. Kitai defeated Chris Bell heads up. Bell, a Raleigh, North Carolina native, logged his eighth World Series of Poker cash lifetime. He first cashed in the 2003 WSOP; in 2008, he has been on a tear, making two final tables and cashing for well over $300,000. Bell also finished sixth in the $10,000 Pot Limit Hold’em Championship (Event #1), bringing home $157,168 for his efforts.
If you scan up and down the list of players who cashed in Event #38, one name that you’ll know is Lee Watkinson, who finished fifth, cashing for $63,313. The Canadian and Full Tilt Poker pro stormed onto the WSOP scene in 2004, cashing three times and making two final tables. His lifetime WSOP take is over $2 million. He notched his first (and so far only) bracelet in the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha tournament during Event #16 of the 2006 World Series of Poker. He also made the final table of the 2007 Main Event. The bottom line is that Watkinson is one of the most successful poker players on the circuit today. His fourth cash of the 2008 WSOP only solidifies his fame.
Another familiar face among the top finishers in Event #38 is Michael Binger, who finished 10th. The first thing that I think of when I think of Binger is his third place finish in the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event, the tournament which was ultimately won by Jamie Gold. He pocketed a ridiculous $4.1 million from the Main Event and hasn’t looked back since. He came just shy of a bracelet again last year in Event #22, a $5,000 no limit tournament, winning nearly $300,000 for third place. Binger made the final table of Event #5 this year for $101,293. It’s only a matter of time until this decorate poker superstar captures his first WSOP bracelet.
Europeans took down Events 36 and 38, giving the continent solid momentum headed into the Main Event. The $10,000 buy-in no limit tournament starts next Thursday, July 3rd, and will feature four starting days (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). The Main Event will play down to the nine players, affectionately known as the “November Nine” because the final table won’t actually be played out until mid-November in order to coincide with ESPN’s airing of the program. The 100-day layoff has sparked a ton of controversy around the poker world, as the final nine will have the opportunity to seek coaching and, at the same time, study each other’s play as the WSOP unfolds on ESPN.
Only time will tell. Check back to Poker News Daily for complete updates from the 2008 WSOP.
