The “Fish” Beats the Sharks as Derwiche Triumphs in Diamond Poker Series Tallinn

Amid the riffling of chips, shuffling of cards, and occasional shouts of “all in” and “pot,” one voice stood apart over the usual din of the Chesterfield Poker Club the last three days.

Imad Derwiche likes to have fun at the poker table. He’s not short for table talk, even holding his own against Martin Kabrhel when the two loquacious players shared a table yesterday. When he wants to make a pot-sized bet, he usually gives his opponent a “discount.” When he puts another player to a decision, he cautions them to exercise “discipline.”

That fun-loving, casual approach to the game worked wonders today, and it didn’t help that Derwiche went on the run of a lifetime to emerge victorious in a field of 148 of the best Pot-Limit Omaha players from Europe and across the world in the Diamond Poker Series PLO Grand Slam Tallinn €10,300 Championship.

Diamond Poker Series PLO Grand Slam Tallinn €10,300 Championship Final Table results

“I’m proud of me because I know that the field was exceptional. Many professionals from over Europe. I’m very proud because, you see, poker is a hobby for me. I’m a businessman. I spend my hobby to play poker,” Derwiche said after claiming the trophy and €338,370 first prize. “For me to win this tournament, Omaha, with the best players in Europe, for me is exceptional. It’s fantastic. I’m very proud.”

The French businessman may describe himself only as a recreational player, but he’s put together a resume of impressive results. He had over $4.3 million in live earnings coming into this event. He finished second in the €25,000 High Roller at EPT Monte Carlo in 2015 for €750,000, his best career score, and was runner-up in the $40,000 Mystery Bounty at the 2023 Triton Series in Monte Carlo. He also finished third in the $25,100 Omaha High Roller at the 2023 WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas.

For someone who describes himself as a “fish” at the poker table, he’s held his own against some of the toughest players on the planet. Even today, when he built a massive chip lead and stormed to victory, he admits he was far from the best player. “When you’re at a table, eight players, seven professionals, one businessman. I say I’m a fish. For them, I am the fish. I like the show, I’m a showman,” he said.

Day 3 Action

Day 3 began with 10 players making the move from the Chesterfield Poker Club over to the exclusive Bombay Club. A familiar face was atop the leaderboard as Tom-Aksel Bedell, the defending champion of this event from the last Diamond Poker Series in Tirana, held 8,110,000. Derwiche began in third place with 5,550,000.

For as hot as Bedell was yesterday, though, he was just as cold today. Bedell doubled up Vivian Saliba, Fredrik Lindstrom, and Aaron Pahlawani in short succession as he quickly tumbled down the leaderboard. It took nearly two hours before Filip Aleksic was eliminated on the final table bubble by Lautaro Guerra, the final nine moving upstairs and taking their spot around the main feature stage.

Derwiche took the chip lead early at the final table when he picked up aces and shoved the flop against Pahlawani. Saliba, the short-stack at the start of the final table, picked up kings to double off Lindstrom but soon after found herself all in with two pair and the nut flush draw against Derwiche’s flopped straight. Derwiche improved to a full house on the turn and Saliba busted in ninth place while Derwiche climbed above 10,000,000.

Derwiche began taking down nearly every pot as he ran away from the field, controlling nearly half the chips in play while still eight-handed. Bedell’s run at a repeat title took a serious hit when Pahlawani spiked an ace on the turn to crack Bedell’s queens and double up, leaving Bedell nursing an extreme short stack.

Bedell doubled up twice, while “Gypsy Baron” also earned two double ups as the bottom seven players battled to see who would be the one to emerge from the pack and challenge Derwiche. Guerra finally got his last 1,300,000 in against Derwiche, but Derwiche hit a straight on the river to bust Guerra in eighth.

The eliminations came fast from then on, and usually involved Derwiche raking in a pot. Just one hand after busting Guerra, Derwiche hit two pair on the turn to crack Gergo Nagy’s aces and send the Hungarian high roller to the rail in seventh. Bedell’s run finally ended when he caught a straight on the turn, but Derwiche spiked a flush on the river to force Bedell to settle for sixth place.

Derwiche climbed above 20,000,000, nearly 10 times more than his closest challenger. “Gypsy Baron” and Lindstrom then exchanged double ups until Lindstrom was all in for 2,400,000 with two pair on the flop, but “Gypsy Baron” hit a straight on the turn. A count of the chips showed he barely had Lindstrom covered, and Lindstrom added a fifth-place finish to his third in the €2,200 Million Opener and eighth in the €5,200 Million earlier this series.

Derwiche then claimed Pahlawani’s stack, again hitting a straight to crack kings as Pahlawani finished in fourth. Erik Bystrom was sent to the rail in third when “Gypsy Baron” made a straight on the turn.

Derwiche led 22,600,000 to 7,700,000 at the start of heads-up, and it took just a few hands until “Gypsy Baron” potted to 1,500,000 and Derwiche called. “Gypsy Baron” bet another 3,300,000 on the flop and Derwiche again called as “Gypsy Baron” got his last 925,000 in on the turn. He showed two aces and was poised for a double up as Derwiche could only show a pair of deuces, but Derwiche caught another deuce on the river to make trips.

The final hand was a microcosm of the rest of the final table: whether ahead or behind, Derwiche usually found a way. “I think it’s the first time I’ve had so good a run. It’s unimaginable. I was so lucky. To win a tournament you have to be lucky, and today I was so lucky,” he said.

He’s not a pro and may indeed be the “fish” at the table, but for one day at least, Derwiche was a fish with a big bite.