2012 WSOP Event 23

Thursday June 14,2012 : WORLD SERIES OF POKER NLHE SIX HANDED TITLE GOES TO CANADIAN PRO (Update)
 
Biggest career win yet for Simon Charette
 
Toronto, Canada online and live tournament poker pro Simon Charette scored his biggest career win yet Wednesday when he took down World Series of Poker event 23 – the $3,000 buy-in NLHE Six-Handed contest, besting an entry field of 924 that included heavyweights Freddy Deeb, Andrew Lichtenberger, Scott Montgomery, Bertrand Grospellier and Eugene Katchalov.
 
Only Grospellier made the final table from that illustrious list…and he busted out in sixth place, frustrating his ambitions for a second WSOP bracelet.
 
The final table was set late Wednesday afternoon and included Charette and Grospellier, along with Luis Rodriguez Cruz, Eddie Blumenthal, Atem Metalidi and Foster Hays, with Charette holding a chip lead of almost half a million over his nearest rival.
 
With Charette on form, it didn't take long before Cruz was eliminated in third place and the heads up stage was reached. Charette – still holding the lead – faced Brit player Atem Metalidi, and it took barely three hands to resolve.
 
Metalidi headed to the exit and a runner up prize of $350,806, whilst Charette claimed his first WSOP bracelet and the winner's check for $567,624.
 
The win represents the Canadian's biggest career pay-out to date, although he came close last year with a second placing worth $404,235 in event 48, a NLHE competition.
 
The young Canadian's career earnings over the last three years now top $3 million, split between his online and offline playing. Charette started playing tournaments whilst studying for a Fine Arts Degree in film production and screenwriting, and managed to cash six times in last year's WSOP.
 
“Second place last year hurt. I cried for like an hour. Now I’ve won, and I’m probably still going to cry for an hour. It’s interesting how it doesn’t change, yet it’s completely different,” Charette told reporters after the match. "This is the best moment of my life, I’m finally validated as a poker player."