Last night, WPT Grand Prix de Paris: Part 3 aired on FSN at 8pm and 11pm local time and saw another poker player join the WPT Champions Club and have their name etched onto the WPT Champions Cup. American poker pro Matt Waxman defeated Frenchmen Hugo Lemaire heads-up to capture the title, the €518,750 first-place prize and entry into the $25,000 WPT World Championship at Bellagio this May.
The episode began four-handed with two Americans – Waxman and Byron Kaverman – and two Frenchmen – Lemaire and Frederic Magen – at the table. Waxman was sitting way out in front with a comfortable chip lead, and he and Kaverman were looking to become the first American ever to win this event while the Frenchmen were trying to emulate David Benyamine from 2003 and keep the title on French soil.
Unfortunately for the Americans, their chance to hoist the Champions Cup was cut in half when Kaverman busted in fourth place when he decided to move all in for around 1,500,000 with his Q-9. Magen called with A-7 and when the board ran out Q-10-K-J-7, Kaverman was eliminated and the tournament was down to three players. Kaverman walked away with €155,550 for the finish.
Just four rounds after Magen eliminated Kaverman, he found himself all in when his tight image failed to get Waxman off his A-K and was called down with a dominated K-Q. Neither player improved and Waxman won the hand with ace high, leaving Waxman and Lemaire heads-up for the title. Going in, Waxman held a 5 to 1 chip advantage over the Frenchman and it only took him three hands to take advantage of that disparity. The players saw the flop, Lemaire bet, Waxman shoved over the top and Lemaire called. Once all of the cards came out, Waxman would get to a flush on the river, giving him the win and the distinction of being the first American to win the WPT Grand de Paris.
Here are the full final table placings and payouts:
1. Matt Waxman – €518,750
2. Hugo Lemaire – €311,100
3. Fred Magen – €211,100
4. Byron Kaverman – €155,550
5. Mikko Sundell – €133,330
6. Martin Jacobson – €88,900
Next week’s episode takes viewers to Atlantic City for WPT Borgata Poker Open: Part 1, so make sure to tune in to, or set your DVRs for, FSN at 8pm and 11pm local time to see who will take the first steps toward becoming the next WPT Champion.