Ladies and gentlemen, we have our first bracelet winner of the 2012 World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE). Ben Mahmoud of Tunisia topped a field of 227 runners in the €2,500 buy-in Six-Handed No Limit Hold'em event to pocket a payday of €147,099 (nearly $192,000) and claim the first gold bracelet of this Cannes series.
In order to get to the gold, Mahmoud had to battle a tough field and a final table that included Roberto Romanello, a man with seven figures of poker earnings who was aiming to claim the Triple Crown, and a man familiar with WSOPE final tables, last year's fourth place finisher in Event 1, Matin Krakow. Krakow was able to improve on last year's finish and take third place, but the heads-up action came down to Mahmoud and Yannick Bonnet of France. At the beginning of the third and final day of play in this event, it appeared likely a Frenchman could claim the bracelet and break the dry spell for French players in their home country, but Mahmoud had a different idea in mind.
The victory is the largest cash of Mahmoud's poker career as well as his first victory. His biggest cash prior to this was at a side event at EPT Berlin in 2010 where he earned just over €27,000. The victory is also a landmark one for his home country of Tunisia, as it marks the African country's first WSOP gold bracelet.
Here are the final table results for Event 1 of the WSOPE:
1st: Ben Mahmoud - €147,099
2nd: Yannick Bonnet - €90,884
3rd: Matin Krakow - €63,671
4th: Senh Ung - €44,913
5th: Roberto Romanello - €31,925
6th: Sylvain Ribes - €22,876