History was made in Mauritius when local poker pro Bruno Tadebois became the first champion of the Asian Poker Tour Asian Series Mauritius. The tournament itself isn’t exactly the biggest in the world nor did it have a roster of heavyweight pros from around the world, but it bears significance, especially for the APT, for its standing as the first Asian Series event held outside of Asia.
The Mauritian Tedebois outlasted a field of 114 players coming from 11 countries, including countryman Danny Cho in the heads-up encounter, to stake claim to title and the first prize money of €89,740, which is about $113,000 based on current exchange rates. Tedebois’ victory was made even sweeter after he literally outlasted a final table that featured the kind of marathon session that would’ve made even the most hardened of pros quake in their boots.
Seven hours. That’s how long it took for the final table to be whittled down to Tadebois and Cho. Leads changed far too many times to count. Stacks fluctuated like they were being traded on at the stock markets. And action was so non-stop you would’ve thought these guys were playing for the WSOP Main Event. When it was down to the final two, you would’ve thought that fried nerves and exhaustion would simply take over.
Except that it didn’t. After getting rid of the entire final table, Tadebois and Cho extended their heads-up clash by another three hours before it mercifully concluded on the first hand of Level 28 when Tadebois, with the chip lead in hand, pushed all-in on a re-raise before the flop, drawing the call from Cho who showed QhJh to Tadebois’ AdKs. When the board showed 10h7c4s – 8d – 10s, Tadebois’ superior cards sent Cho to the rail in second place.
The Asian Poker Tour certainly made history in Mauritius with the successful staging of the tournament. With the increasing popularity of poker in the country, you can be sure that the APT will return to the country in the coming future. By then, the expectations will undoubtedly be on a bigger tournament with more players and a bigger prize pool.
For now, give some props to Bruno Tadebois. Not only did he win a pretty impressive first prize earnings, but he also did so in grand, historic fashion.
