Said El-Yousfi became the latest champion in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) after winning the 2016 Global Casino Championship, formerly known as the National Championship, and taking home a prize of $343,256. This achievement made El-Yousfi the second non-American who has ever won this tournament after in 2014 the German player Dominik Nitsche emerged victorious from the tournament.
The Global Casino Championship took place at Harrah’s Cherokee from August 9th to August 11th. A total of 126 entrants participated in the event and accumulated an overall prize pool estimated to $1,260,000, after the announced base prize pool was $1,000,000. Only six players remained by the end of Day 3, and the Africa-born player managed to outlast them all.
The latest season of the WSOP Circuit was historical in many ways. It will be remembered as the first year of the International Circuit and the first time the championship expanded its reach beyond the territory of North America. It was marked by six international stops in 2016, including Campione, Rozvadov, Tbilisi, Montreal and two stops at Marrakech, and from now on, more stops are expected to be included. At each stop of the Circuit, two automatic qualifiers were sent to the Global Casino Championship.
Said El-Yousfi managed to qualify for the Circuit after winning the Casino Champion honors in Marrakech. So, considering the recent expansion of the Championship on a global scale, he is one of the players who are likely to be seen in the years to come again.
The player, who currently lives in Switzerland, shared he feels wonderful from the fact he has both a WSOP bracelet and a ring. He also explained that winning the tournament was not the only reason why he was so happy. El-Yousfi revealed that he had a great time over the entire tournament and he was really enjoying the play.
Said El-Yousfi faced strong competition by Josh Turner, who not only ended at the leadership position on Day 1, but also had a good lead with a total of 302,700 in chips. Turner managed to keep the lead throughout most of Day 2, when El-Yousfi managed to eliminate Brian Senie and sent him to the 10th position.
El-Yousfi also managed to keep his lead in Day 3, with 1,351,000 in chips, while Turner held on to the runner-up position with 906,000 in chips. Cody Pack was third with 509,000.
After a tense play at the final table, El-Yousfi managed to beat his opponents and emerged victorious with winnings of $343,256. The runner-up position was taken by Yasin Ahmady who earned a consolation prize of $121,150, while Josh Turner was left third with $150,851.
Joe Kuether, Sean Small and Cody Pack occupied the fourth, fifth and sixth place, respectively.
- Author
Harry Evans
