In its 43-year history, there has never been a French winner of the most prestigious tournament in poker: the 'Main Event' of the World Series of Poker™* in Las Vegas. However, this November could see poker history being made. At the final table of the biggest poker tournament in the world, Sylvain Loosli will compete for a first place prize of more than $8,300,000. This 26-year-old professional poker player from Toulon is also the latest addition to the most successful poker team in Europe — Team Winamax.
Since 2006, Winamax has supported the development of French poker with many different initiatives, including a group of pros that has put the team before individual achievement. Over the years, Winamax has shown faith in talented young players such as Davidi Kitai (Triple Crown winner), Ludovic Lacay (European champion) and also Gaëlle Baumann (10th place in the WSOP™* Main Event in 2012). This trust has allowed them to improve together and earn an impressive collection of internationally respected championship titles. The arrival of Sylvain Loosli marks the start of a new chapter in the history of Team Winamax, whose members have combined tournament winnings of more than $15,600,000.
'We are extremely proud to have Sylvain as part of the Team,' said Canel Frichet, CEO of Winamax. 'He is truly passionate and a real competitor. When we see his results online at the Winamax tables, we realise that reaching the final table of the world championships is not down to chance. We will all be completely behind him this November in Las Vegas.'
'It was on Winamax that I began to play poker in 2006 and it’s also on Winamax that I learned to play poker,' explains Sylvain. 'Joining the Team gives me the best possible chance of becoming world champion. With help from the rest of the team, I will be fully prepared and have the best possible chance at the final table.'
Who is Sylvain Loosli?
It may seem hard to believe, but before qualifying for the final table of the World Series of Poker™* and outlasting more than 6,300 players over seven days of competition, Sylvain Loosli had very little experience of live poker. However, this easy-going business school graduate is far from a Texas Hold’em novice. Regularly found at the high stakes cash game tables of Winamax, Sylvain has won more than €1,000,000 online since first discovering the game during his studies. Poker gradually became a passion and then a string of victories persuaded him to take it up full time. Already well respected among his fellow professionals, Sylvain now finds himself on the brink of worldwide fame at only his first attempt at the world championships. The stakes are huge but he remains unfazed: 'I am confident. I have two months to fully prepare and to put things into perspective, I just need to remind myself that I only need to beat 8 out of the original 6,352!'
Is Sylvain destined to be World Champion? Well, we know that 'Loosli' is a nickname meaning 'lucky' in the Alsace, so the signs are good...
Sylvain’s future with Winamax and the Pro Team
The final of the world championships of poker will take place in Las Vegas on the 4th and 5th November, 2013. In the meantime, Sylvain will make his official debut as part of the Team Pro Winamax on Monday September 2nd in Barcelona. This will be swiftly followed by the Winamax Poker Open in Dublin at the end of the month where he will be joined by hundreds of poker enthusiasts. After this he will play in London in October before testing his skills at the European version of the world championships in Enghien, France. There will be plenty of time in between competitions for him to prepare for the most important game of poker of his life with the help of his new comrades Test yourself against a potential world champion at the Winamax tables. Sylvain can be found under the table name 'Loosli'.
You can find more information about Team Winamax and Sylvain Loosli's profile on Winamax.fr/en!
@SylvainLoosli | Twitter
If you were to look at his live tournament results, you might assume Sylvain Loosli is in over his head at this World Series of Poker Main Event final table. After all, he has just a single cash from an event in Deauville, France worth just shy of $3,200. Don't let the lack of live results fool you though. Sylvain Loosli - Super High Roller winner. With 17 players left in this tournament Dzmitry Urbanovich was the recipient of a full double up with kings against the queens of Jason Les. That cooler gave him the chip lead and although his stack at that point only amounted. Sylvain Loosli has won 0 bracelets and 0 rings for total earnings of $4,036,801. See all events where they placed in-the-money. Sylvain Loosli is on Facebook. Join Facebook to connect with Sylvain Loosli and others you may know. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes.