The first World Poker Tour (WPT) Prime event in the South of France came to a conclusion on Sunday night when local pro Samy Boujmala picked up the $102,938 first-place prize.
Boujmala battled his way through a field of 457 players to win his first ever World Poker Tour (WPT) title and second biggest payday to-date.
The win not only took the Frenchman’s 2023 prize money over the $500,000 mark, but his career live earnings to $832,000.
Slow start but strong finish for inaugural WPT Prime Aix-en-Provence
The inaugural WPT Prime Aix-en-Provence in conjunction with TexaPoker got underway at Pasino Grand on August 2. Day 1A started slowly with 57 players paying the €1,100 ($1,200) entry fee. However, it didn’t take long for things to heat up. With the WPT offering its first Prime title in the region, another 400 players took to the felt over the course of three more starting flights.
That turned out pushed the prizepool to €438,720 ($482,592) and meant 59 players would earn a return on their investment. The good news for those who made it into Day 2 was that they’d already locked up a payout. With enough eliminations over the course of four starting flights, everyone with a stack returned to the tables safe in the knowledge they’d locked up at least €1,920 ($2,112).
Of course, with a WPT Prime title and more than $100,000 up for grabs, everyone wanted to make it through Day 2. Only eight players could though. Boujmala was one of them. He made it Sunday’s final table with 52 big blinds, which was enough of a stack to put him fourth in chips behind the overall leader, Loic Menneteau.
Samy Boujmala bags first WPT title
Leo Soma was the first to fall at the hands of Patrick Viret who came out of the gate firing. Viret needed to make moves as one of the short stacks and, for a time, it looked like he was going to get back into contention. However, as the finale progressed, Boujmala found his groove. He eliminated Emmanuel Gomez in seventh place and kicked on from there.
With the chip lead in hand, Boujmala scored another elimination before Hugo Heiter took over. Heiter forced two eliminations before falling at the hands of Boujmala. That hand gave Boujmala almost three times as many chips as Loic Menneteau with two left.
WPT Prime Aix-en-Provence result
- Samy Boujmala – €93,580 ($102,938)
- Loic Menneteau – €55,400 ($60,940)
- Hugo Heiter – €40,700 ($44,770)
- Adrien Amorella – €30,220 ($33,242)
- Patrick Viret – €22,720 ($24,992)
- Jerome Lopez – €17,260 ($18,986)
- Emmanuel Gomez – €13,260 ($14,586)
- Leo Soma – €10,320 ($11,352)
A straight vs. straight cooler helped Menneteau reduce the deficit before taking the lead for a brief moment. However, that was to be the closest he’d get to the title. Boujmala remained calm, even as his stack dwindled, and got back into when his pocket fours held up against A♦ 8♣.
He never looked back from that point and, within a few hands, it was all over. The final hand saw Boujmala move all-in with K♦ 9♥. A short-stacked Menneteau called with A♠ 7♥ but couldn’t stay in front. The K♥ 8♦ 5♣ 2♠ 5♦ board earned Boujmala the pot, the first ever WPT Prime Aix-en-Provence title, and a seat in the $10,400 WPT World Championship.
