Davidi Kitai Bests Friends and Pros to Win Celebrity Invitational

The WPT Celebrity Invitational may be a party during the early goings of the charity tournament, but Wednesday’s final table is all business. Therefore, it is only fitting that this year’s Invitational final table was stacked with poker pros, chess prodigies, and six people who take the game very seriously.

In the end though, the event came down to a heads-up battle between two friends who grinned at each other and made jokes as they shoved all-in on each other on a quest to win the $100,000 top prize. Belgian poker pro Davidi Kitai and ranked chess player Almira Skripchenko have been part of the same group of European pros for years and last night they were foes at the table as the two maneuvered their way through an action-packed final table to end up heads-up with each other for the big prize.

Both took turns holding the chip lead both early in the final table and during heads-up play.  Kitai got out to an early lead, but Skripchenko vaulted to the top of the counts after doubling thru Dinara Khaziyeva. Both ladies flopped two pair on a [Ks10h9h] board and, while Skripchenko’s [9d10d] had the worst of it on the flop, she turned a [9s] to fill up, take the pot, and leave Khaziyeva running on fumes. Skripchenko got the rest of Khaziyeva’s chips one hand later and chipped up to nearly 1.5 million—nearly twice that of her next closest competitor, Kitai.

Skripchenko didn’t enjoy the lead for long though, as Dan Heimiller doubled thru Damon Chramm with [AdKh] to Schramm’s [Ah10d]. The very next hand, Heimiller picked up pocket aces to finish Schramm off in fifth place and take the chip lead.

Heimiller started to pull away from the field during four-handed play, but he fell back to the middle of the pack when he lost a coinflip to double up Kitai. That kick-started a run for Kitai as he chipped up to over 2.6 million while everyone else was sitting on short stacks. Skripchenko doubled back into seven figures when she made a move with [Kh6s] and ran into George Rechnitzer’s [AcQc]. Skripchenko pair her king to take all but 30,000 of Rechnitzer’s chips and Rechnitzer headed home in fourth just one hand later.

Heimiller was the short man on the totem pole three-handed, even after doubling thru Kitai. He later moved in with [Qh5h] and Kitai called out of the big blind with [Kd6d].    Kitai made two pair to bust Heimiller and head into heads-up play with a 2-1 chip advantage.

Despite the chip disadvantage, Skripchenko dug in and fought hard, doubling up and eventually take the chip lead. The bout was neck and neck for a while, but in the end, Kitai’s run of good cards and aggressive play prevailed. 

On the final hand of play, Kitai open shoved with [Qh3h] and Skripchenko picked off the steal, calling with [Ad2h]. The [AhJs3d] flop looked good for Skripchenko, but the [Qd] on the turn gave Kitai two pair and the lead in the hand. The river [Kc] meant victory was Kitai’s, while Skripchenko had to settle for second place and $50,000.

Here are the results from the Season IX WPT Celebrity Invitational final table:

1st:  Davidi Kitai  –  $100,000
2nd:  Almira Skripchenko  –  $50,000
3rd:  Dan Heimiller  – $20,000
4th:  George Rechnitzer  –  $15,000
5th:  Damon Schramm  –  $10,000
6th:  Dinara Khaziyeva  –  $5,000