PokerStars Tournament #91223253, No Limit Hold'em Super Satellite
Target Tournament #79797979 Buy-In: $10000.00
1 ticket to the target tournament
Dear Zoutechamp,
You finished the tournament in 1st place.
This qualifies you for a seat in Tournament #79797979.
As you are already registered in this tournament, your account has been credited with 10,000.00 W$. W$ can be used to buy into any qualifying special PokerStars event.

Congratulations!

It’s clearly the form before leaving for Vegas, and I could not withstand the desire to start this way because I think that not many Belgian players have qualified three times for the same world championship. Actually, I even think I am the only one. And as the PokerStars organization is so outstanding, the 2nd and 3rd qualification finance the other tournaments on the programme.

Let’s get back to the beginning... As you will see, it has not been easy!

Sunday 27th January : tournament qualification in the casino of Namur

We are 23 participants. Only the person ending in 1st place obtains the qualification and the table is looking rather well: as chip leader (the one with the most chips), I eliminate one opponent after the other. Kenny Allaert, who launches 5 « all ins » recovers afterwards with a thinned out table, and is saved twice by magic flops: 9T (9 and 10) against a pair of tens, the flop 959 gets him the pot. And in the next round, his pair of 8s transforms into a flush against my two JJ (two jacks). That is poker…

Finally Kenny and I are head to head, with an equal amount of chips, and this excellent player literally badgers me with « all ins » ! I have no other choice than to be patient because in the first 10 hands head to head I do not really win anything interesting. But then there is the eleventh; AA (two aces), what we call the « American Airlines » ! I cannot help to start thinking, I even start to extrapolate… Las Vegas ! My first qualification for the world championship, I have it here in my hands, with these two aces! Kenny goes from his all in to flop, with a 78 and I cannot believe my eyes when I see the flop that follows. In order: 456 ! I am willing to accept every bad beat in poker, because that is part of the game. But with this hand, it is really difficult to swallow. Imagine my disappointment now that Vegas is further than ever!

February

One month later, same place, 30 participants in the finale and this time the first two are qualified. But I do not make it that far, I end 4th place!

March

I leave behind the qualifications in Namur. I’m going to try the 650$ on PokerStars. 1st attempt : 8 qualifiers, I end in 10th position. 2nd attempt : 9 qualifiers, I end in 12th position.

April

It is a period of sit & go sessions. My « coach » gives me an intensive training scheme: 10 sit & go sessions of every type, with 6, 9, 18, 36 players. With feedback on our mistakes on PokerXfactor. The next stage consists of 10 tournaments, level « step 3 » qualification WSOP on PokerStars.

My results are improving, the victories succeed each other more fast. Some victorious at step 4, also some at step 5 where I observe the two major champions, the qualification record holders, the Dutchman busto_soon and the Englishman stevie444.

And here I am at step 6 where I’m going to fight them and with success! I am sure that you understand what an immense joy I felt when finally, after multiple attempts, I saw appear on the screen of PokerStars « You win the tournament » from step 6 WSOP 2008! That sense of pleasure was even decupled when I received an email offering me a free stay at hotel « Palms » the hotel of the « Playboy bunnies’ », a free flight and sponsoring for the TV tables. There, in front of my computer, I already had the impression of being in Vegas, defending my table at the world championship. I must have been 20 years old when I dreamed of this for the first time! The emotions of a dream come true after so many years of waiting.

Dear Zoutechamp, Dear PokerStars player:

Congratulation on winning a *WSOP Main Event satellite!
You’re now on your way to follow in the footsteps of great players such Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, and Joe Hachem, and become a World Champion!
A) In a week you will receive an email from wsop@pokerstars.com with details of the website you need to use to register for the event.
B) Buy-in: Harrah’s does not allow for third-party registrations. Therefore, we will deposit $10,000 into your PokerStars account within 5 business days to allow you to buy in.
C) Travel: You have also been given $2,500 towards your travel and expenses. It is your responsibility to book your own travel.
D) Sponsored vs. Non-Sponsored Option. Once more we are planning a great Sponsored deal for all our qualifiers.

Need I say that I read this mail several times? It represents many things: the accomplishment of a dream, definitely, but also the reward for a lot of hard work and for regular training! A training which I was definitely planning to continue with before going to Vegas. And this training yielded. A few days later: BIS REPETITA ! I had a ticket left to play at step 5, and with some luck combined with technique – a technique which is getting more and more fine tuned- I manage to win a ticket for step 6 without major difficulties. I kept it for two days, just a matter of waiting until I felt I was at my best and I managed to defeat busto_soon and stevie444 in a great victory allowing me to bear away the second qualification !




The third qualification would prove to be a real gift, after having come back from a virtually desperate situation. The last mail from PokerStars arrives : « You finished in 1st  place, but as you have already qualified you receive 10 000$ ». Always good for keeping up the spirit !




Vegas, here I come and this time it is truly earned!