GPI Update: Dan Smith Retrieves No 1 position on Merit of EPT Wins, Davidi Kitai Enters GPI Top 10 at 9th Place

There appears to be a stirring up at the GPI rankings and one of the major causes seems to be the current EPT series in Barcelona. Dan Smith vaults back to first position, while Mukul Pahuja is out of the Top 10.

In our player profile, we showcase Belgian Davidi Kitai, who was the one to rattle “Poker Brat” Phil Hellmuth and take away the WSOP Bracelet from under his nose this year.

Read on for the whole story…

The rankings show movement, as Dan Smith climbs back to No 1 spot, pushing down Negreanu and Schemion. Belgian David Kitai is a new entrant at No 9.

The Climbers

Dan Smith makes a triumphant comeback riding the EPT Estrellas Barcelona Tour, where he scored in two events. In Event #31 No Limit Hold’em – High Roller 8-Max, he came in 40^th taking home €18,900.

The real trophy though was for Event #23, where he collected €159,500 for 1^st place this month.

Smith catapults straight back to the top of the rankings once again and is our highest climber.

Our second notable climber is Davidi Kitai from Belgium, who is a new entry this week at No 9. Kitai is another who gains from the EPT Estrellas Tour, as he came in 49^th in the Main Event earning €20,300.

Erik Seidel who had fallen off the Top 10 ranking is back at No 10 and is another climber this week.

The Dippers

Mukul Pahuja is the greatest dipper, as after just a week, he slips right off the Top Ten.

Jacob Schindler follows Pahuja off the charts and is a significant dipper.

Ole Schemion is another dipper, who loses his top spot to Smith. Schemion was at EPT too, but more than for himself, he brought luck for Germany’s Andre Latteu, who he staked for the event. As a result, Latteu went on to win the 100^th Main Event pocketing €794,058.

Daniel Negreanu falls a spot by default as Schemion slides down.

GPI Player Profile of the Week

Davidi Kitai
Country: Belgium

Profile: Born in 1980 at Antwerp, Davidi “kitbul” Kitai currently resides at Brussels. Kitai is the first Belgian to win a WSOP Bracelet, and has a total of 3 of these trophies in his portfolio.

Kitai made the achievement at the 2008 $2,000 buy-in pot-limit Hold’em event for almost $245,000. Just 6 days later, he made another final table, cashing in the $5,000 no-limit Hold’em six-handed event in the same WSOP tournament…

In 2013, he caught his 2^nd WSOP bracelet, in the $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em event, after defeating Cary Katz heads-up and earning $224,560.

He took his 3^rd WSOP gold in 2014, in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six Handed, winning $508,640. This was one of his remarkable wins, where Kitai faced the usual rantings of an irate Hellmuth, who even pronounced, “Crazy Frenchman is going to cost me my 14th bracelet,” after losing another pot to him and added “You have no chance to win sir.”

At this, another player asked Kitai if he had ever won before, Hellmuth quickly interjected saying, “Of course he’s never won a tournament before.”

An impassive Kitai, ignoring the barbs, let his poker do the talking and went on to win the Bracelet.

Like many notable poker pros, Kitai comes with a background in numbers. As a youngster, he was a dutiful student and graduated from university with an economics degree.

He utilized this degree to enter the business world, as an economic analyst, while working for a banking institution and handling macroeconomic investment issues.

Kitai discovered poker, while in his early 20s and began playing with friends. His interest grew with trips to casinos and more games.

It was in 2006; however, that he first cashed, when he travelled across Europe for the Barcelona Open 500 NLHE event, where he took home €1,420.

The same year he got his first win, earning €30,610 in the €1,000 European Finals of Poker Gold Championship event.

He first ventured to the WSOP in 2007 and managed cashing an event, but in 2008, he actually brought home his first bracelet. Besides this, he also cashed in three events, including a 6^th place finish in the $5,000 NLHE event for $120,693.

The same year Kitai participated in the European Poker Tour, making it to the final table at the Barcelona Open €8,000 NLHE Main Event and making it to the 3^rd place for €455,000.

He continued to make cashes at a number of international tournaments, including the France Poker Tour, Master Classics of Poker, and the Belgian Poker Championship.

In 2009 Kitai finished 4^th in $10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Hold’em and won $183,638.

2011 had many moments for Kitai; with the significant ones being his 4^th place finish in the Euro Finals of Poker in Paris, and a 2^nd place at the 2011 World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitational for $100,000.

In 2012 he again won the 1^st place twice, first in the EPT Berlin and then in the WSOP –Europe series in the €5,300 No Limit Hold’em event at Cannes, France.

He notched up several finishes in 2013, including 2nd place in the Winamax Poker Tour, for €24,500.

This year Kitai has been crisscrossing the globe, charting up wins that are among the top 6 rankings and besides taking 1^st place in the SISMIX Winamax Poker Open at Marrakech, Morocco, as well as 2^nd place in the Paris Open of Poker in France.

Kitai is among the 5 players to win poker’s “triple crown”, who consist of Gavin Griffin, Bertrand Grospellier, Jake Cody and Roland De Wolfe.

The “triple crown” consists of winning a WSOP bracelet, as well as titles in the WPT and EPT.

Kitai represents Winimax and travels the globe for promotions.

A proud Belgian, he revels in playing for his country and is supported by family and friends in his poker endeavors.

Live Best Cash: $930,816

All Time Money: $5,015,204