Congratulations to Nabil Matta, Winner of the Lebanese Poker Championship! (US$606,000)
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Despite being in an area that is relatively new to poker, we did have a few notables with us this week, including 2005 World Champion Joe Hachem. The Lebanese native that they call simply "The Champ" was the host of sorts for this event, but his time on the felt would be cut short in the middle of Day 1. Raymond Rahme, Chris Karagulleyan, Nenad Medic, and EPT Champion Joseph Mouawad would all make it to Day 2 before falling by the wayside as well, leaving 28 players to return for the final day.
The pace for this third day of play was a bit streaky with periods of furious activity intermixed with long dry spells of stagnation. We didn't hit the final table until just about 11:00pm local time, and it took just about six hours of play to whittle our nine down to just one champion.
Tonight, that champion is Nabil Matta. Matta stormed through this final table and would take a commanding lead with six players left. None of those who came against him were able to dent that towering stack down the stretch, and he would polish off Omar Geadah in a quick and decisive heads-up match to lock up the trophy and the prize money.
A quick word needs to be said about the staff here at the Casino du Liban, and those of the tournament staff who came in from other areas of the world. Serious tournament poker is relatively new to this area of the globe, but the attention to detail and the spare-no-expense spirit that permeated this event brought it into the league of any premier tournament that you could match it against. In just a few short months, a whole crew of dealers, floor staff, public relations personnel and supervisors were assembled and trained, and they have taken on this responsibility with diligence and determination. It is truly thanks to them that this event was such a gigantic success, so from us and all of the players, a big thanks to you all.
That's all we have from Lebanon this year. Thanks for tuning in to follow along with our coverage, and we hope to see you back here next year to crown a new champion. Until then though, Nabil Matta will sit alone as the Lebanese National Champion of Poker!