They say good things come to those who wait, though we think Sergio Aido might disagree. In one of the most impressive performances ever in a World Poker Tour event, it took Aido just five hours to navigate his way through the final table at the WPT National Barcelona and claim the champion’s trophy along with €88,500 in first-place prize money.
Aido entered the day as the chip leader and was never seriously threatened throughout the lighting-fast, eight-player final table. Jurijs Binklfrs, who started as one of the short stacks, was the first player eliminated, getting knocked off the final table within 30 minutes of the day’s first deal. At just two hours into the day’s play, three other competitors, including Redmond Toth who parlayed $3 PartyPoker satellite entry into more than €22,000, had all been sent to the rail.
The pace of play barely slowed when the tournament got four handed, with French rugby pro David Susigan going out in fourth spot. Susigan was quickly followed out the door by fellow countryman Patrick Azzouzzi, taking the tournament to heads-up play in near record pace. The heads-up battle moved just as quickly as the rest of the final table, with Aido making the most of his 4-1 chip lead over eventual second-place finisher, Robert Zawadzki.
Payouts
- Sergio Aido – €88,500
- Robert Zawadzki – €62,000
- Patrick Azzouzi – €40,000
- David Susigan – €29,550
- Redmond Toth – €22,180
- Igor Izmaylov – €17,740
- Marc Gonzalez – €14,740
- Jurijs Binklfrs – €11,910