The World Series of Poker has been living up to its name more and more in recent years, as we’ve seen the introduction of things such as the World Series of Poker Europe, bringing the series to a stage outside of Las Vegas. The World Series of Poker Circuit events are also becoming more international, and last week the first WSOP Circuit Africa stop was being run, with Warren Zackey eventually walking away with the main event title and accompanying WSOP Circuit Ring.
The World Series of Poker Circuit was introduced in 2005, and is essentially a lead-in to the World Series of Poker. The Circuit stops in a range of cities all around the world, and depending on the size of the stop there can be a number of tournaments of differing poker variants, although the Main Event of each stop is always No Limit Texas Hold’Em. Just as the winner of WSOP events receives a bracelet in addition to prize money, winners of WSOP Circuit events are awarded with a gold WSOP Circuit ring to commemorate their success.
While the World Series of Poker Circuit held its first event way back in 2005, it was just last month in 2010 that South Africa was first home to a stop, as the inaugural World Series of Poker Circuit Africa took place just south of Johannesburg. There was a three-day Pot-Limit Omaha tournament preceding the main event, which was won by Felipe Mojave Ramos. The Main Event itself was of course No Limit Hold’Em, and sported a $5,000 buy-in which attracted 187 hopefuls to the tournament tables of Emerald Resort and Casino.
Among said hopefuls was a 43 year old Johnnesburg local. Warren Zackey, who makes his living selling plumbing supplies, has shown that he has a fair bit of poker talent, by outlasting the 186 other players and taking down the WSOP Circuit Main Event. This is the first major tournament win for Zackey, but he’s experienced some measure of success from poker in the past, most notably at the 2009 World Series. At the 2009 WSOP Main Event Zackey came into day six with the chip lead, and fought hard before eventually busting in 22nd place for a score of just over $350,000.
The $230,000 he picked up for his first place finish last week in South Africa may not be as much in monetary terms, but his mind was surely on the WSOP Circuit Ring as play became heads-up against another South African, Melanie Banfield. It was by no means a short match, and the chips slid back and forth between the players for some time. Eventually, however, Zackey came out on top, winning the tournament with two pair as his Queen Eight off-suit proved good enough for the win. With his victory he receives $231,956, the WSOP C Gold Ring, and goes down in history as the first ever WSOP Circuit Africa Champion.
While there can be no question that Warren Zackey will be feeling an immense amount of pride over his tournament win, he’s not the only one happy with his achievement by any means. Martin Rice, CEO of the Emerald Resort and Casino where the stop was hosted, commented, “It’s particularly appropriate that the inaugural WSOP Africa Main Event has been won by a South African, and that he had played for the title against a compatriot,” summing up the feeling of national pride that South African poker fans are currently enjoying. He then went on, pointing out that “it proves that South African players are a force to be reckoned with in the world of poker.” This is undoubtedly true, and Warren Zackey has shown that he alone is also a force to be reckoned with, so we shall almost certainly be hearing more from him in the future.
The official final table results are as follows:
1. Warren Zackey — $231,956
2. Melanie Banfield — $143,348
3. Kyri Patsalos — $103,845
4. Raj Aiyalavajjala — $76,650
5. Rob Fenner — $57,603
6. Maria Ho — $44,045
7. Hugh Todd — $34,250
8. Jason Strauss — $27,081
9. Muaaz Gani — $21,759