Albert Knafo Comes Out On Top In WPT DeepStacks Venetian

There was an exciting event this past week, as the WPT DeepStacks Venetian took place. The event attracted a host of huge names to get involved, but it was eventually won by Albert Knafo. In total, there were 1,512 entries for the event, which created a very sizeable prize pot of just over $3.2 million. It was a tense end to the event, as there was a heads-up challenge between Knafo and eventual runner-up Steven Sarmiento. Both players performed excellently well to get to that stage, but it was ultimately Knafo that held on to get the win in the event.

Knafo Outlasts Sarmiento

It was a mesmeric end to the poker tournament, as both players were still very much in with a chance of winning the event. It was yet another example of the rise that Knafo has seen over the past couple of months, which included a podium finish in the illustrious MSPT Venetian Event. However, this success wasn’t nearly as shocking as that late run for the title, as he now looks to be one of the stars at the table.

Not only that, but he is now a history-maker, as his name will be forever attached as a DeepStacks Venetian champion. Knafo needed to keep his calm in the final proceedings, as he would have been under pressure. It was a tense final battle between the top two in the standings, but it was ultimately Knafo that would come out on top. The victory means that as well as being a DeepStacks champion, he also walked away from the event with total returns of $532,395. Involved in that prize fund was the additional $3,000 that Knafo won as part of the DeepStacks championship package.

Competitive Final Table

Knafo was crowned champion after a pulsating end to the competition in the heads up against Sarmiento. Sarmiento finished second, but was still able to claim returns of $383,595 for his impressive showing in the event. The two highest placed finishers were able to see off a talented final table to finish in the top two positions. Austin Sarr was back in third, and narrowly missed out on the heads-up. The American picked up returns of $249,375. Meanwhile, Doug Lada was the fourth placed finisher in the event. That saw the American walk away with $185,275 in returns from the event.

Thomas Boivin was the only non-American player on the final table, but his challenge faded fairly quickly, as he was the first to exit the event at the final table. Boivin finished the event in ninth, as the player from Belgium earned $54,280 in returns from the event. Marc Bernal and Shawn Daniels quickly followed the European out of the event, as they picked up respective totals of $72,350 and $91,865. Meanwhile, Eli Elezra and Jim Gilbert finished the event in sixth and fifth respectively. However, the event was all about the continued progression showed on the poker circuit by Knafo.