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 Taking place from 28th - 2nd February this year, South Africa’s finest players were competing against stiff international competition for the million rand first prize of the main event.
The eventual winner was relative newcomer to the scene, John Tabatabai whose friendly manner and unique playing style has made him a firm favourite amongst the poker community. Modest to the end, he advises all budding pros to make sure they are not solely reliant upon poker for income. He believes financial pressure will not ensure optimum play.
Tabatabai started out as a chess player, and a highly reputable one at that. Playing in European and World tournaments, he was already familiar with the lifestyle. As is common amongst professional poker players, he turned to poker at University where his passion for the game grew.
One of the first major events he took part in however left him more than a little upset when he came in 2nd. It took some time for the young player to recover from his disappointment, and get back into the saddle once more. He has since more than made up for this however by taking down the main event in South Africa.
While he will not be able to participate in the upcoming 13th All Africa Poker Tournament that will be taking place in February of this year, he will certainly be back in South African for the following tournament to try and regain his title as All Africa Champion- A title he is unsurprisingly keen to retain! The next major competition he will be competing in is the European Poker Tour event in San Remo.
The All Africa Poker Tournament has been growing in popularity year on year since its inaugural event a few years ago. The prize fund has grown to over 3,500,000 Rand and the event is held 3 times per year.
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