Daniel Danivar Wins WPT Amsterdam Main Event for €152,600

Daniel Daniyar (pictured above) from Kazakhstan has become the latest WPT champion after taking down the WPT Amsterdam €3,300 Main Event for €152,600 ($166,344).

Moments after his win, and with countryman and fellow final table competitor Shyngis Satubayev acting as interpreter, Daniyar spoke with the WPT about his victory and said that he was feeling great.

“It was a very tough game, and a tough opponent [in Louis Salter] heads-up,” Daniyar said.

On his second time playing in Amsterdam, the Kazakh reached heads-up play with the chip lead after an aggressive performance through the first four eliminations. During heads-up play against Salter, the chip lead went back and forth several times, but that’s something Daniyar said he enjoys.

“It’s very hard to go up and down in chips like how we did in heads-up, but that’s gambling!” the new WPT Champions Club member said. “I love when you feel the adrenaline like that!”

Daniyar also earned a $15,000 seat into the season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions, and he’s very much looking forward to that event.

“I’ve never played in America before,” Daniyar said. “I’m looking forward to going there for the WPT Tournament of Champions. And maybe it’s a good tradition or a good omen that a former WPT Amsterdam winner (Farid Yachou) has gone on to win the WPT Tournament of Champions.”

Yachou won WPT Amsterdam in Season XIV and went on to capture the WPT Tournament of Champions title after he defeated Vlad Darie in heads-up play that season. It was also Yachou’s first time to America.

“I want to thank the WPT staff, the organizers, and the dealers here at Holland Casino,” Daniyar added.

Coming into the final day second in chips, Daniyar eliminated four of his five opponents, including runner-up Louis Salter after a swingy heads-up match saw both players hold big leads.

Salter (pictured below) took home €106,710 ($116,314) for second place and the third biggest score of his career.

Jan Jansma came into the day as the chip leader, and he sat pretty as he watched Jonathan Rozema and Jorn Walthaus bust to Daniyar in quick succession. Rozema made a move from the button with seven-five suited on the very first hand of the day, and Daniyar woke up with king-queen to eliminate him.

Soon thereafter, Daniyar held king-queen again, and this time it was against Walthaus. Walthaus held ace-eight, but the Kazakh rivered a straight and Walthaus was eliminated.

Then came Salter’s turn to get into the busting action, eliminating the other Kazakh, Satubayev, in fourth place.

Three-handed play started slow, with the short stacks of Jansma and Salter bumping up against the big stack of Daniyar. Eventually, both Jansma and Salter doubled through Danyar, but then came a crazy hand to knock out Jansma in third place when his kings fell to the six-three suited of Daniyar.

The money went in preflop, and Daniyar flopped two pair. The turn paired the board, giving Jansma (pictured above) a bigger two pair, but the river was another three to give Daniyar a full house. That sent Jansma packing and gave Daniyar a 6-1 chip lead heading into heads-up play.

Salter fought back from the disadvantage, and he himself enjoyed periods of relative comfort in the chip lead. Unfortunately for Salter, he was never able to deliver the final blow, though.

It all came to an end after Salter, with pocket kings and an over pair to the board, couldn’t hold up against the flush draw for Daniyar. Left with just seven big blinds, Salter was eliminated quickly after when his jack-eight went down to Daniyar’s ace-four.

WPT Amsterdam Final Table Results

1st: Daniel Daniyar – €152,600 ($166,344)
2nd: Louis Salter – €106,710 ($116,314)
3rd: Jan Jansma – €65,570 ($71,471)
4th: Shyngis Satubayev – €39,885 ($43,475)
5th: Jorn Walthaus – €30,800 ($33,572)
6th: Jonathan Rozema – €25,525 ($27,822)

Next up for the World Poker Tour is a trip to Los Angeles and The Gardens Casino for WPT500 Los Angeles May 21-31. That event features an affordable $565 buy-in, but it has a big $1 million guaranteed prize pool. After that, it’s a trip to Cannes, France, for the PMU.fr WPTDeepStacks Cannes festival May 30-June 4, featuring a €1,200 Main Event June 1-4.

For more information on those and other upcoming events, check out the event page on WPT.com.

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