Adrián “marval231” Kott has lived on the Atlantic coast in Miramar, Argentina, his entire life. In those 49 years he’s celebrated many milestones. First came his marriage (“my wife is my biggest supporter in poker”), then the birth of three daughters and, after years of hard work, the opening of his business, Brujas Café. Earlier this month Kott passed another major marker, adding his name to the roll of WCOOP champions.
“I usually play poker when my job allows me to play, about three days per week,” he told the Blog by email this week. “My routine on PokerStars begins after midday when my daughters go to school. I only play low buy-in tournaments, no more than $22 entry, so when there is a special series like WCOOP I usually play the low-tier MTT’s.”
Adrián “marval231” Kott in action
One of Kott’s days off during WCOOP’s first week of action coincided with Event #10-L, a $2.20 turbo rebuy tourney. Along with 6,637 other players, he jumped in — and then it promptly faded into the background with the other tournaments he was multi-tabling, until he realized he’d made the money.
“Because it was a turbo game, I only had a few big blinds and I was living an ‘all-in or fold’ situation,” he said. “I doubled up many times but when we were 50 left there was a key hand. I opened from under the gun with king-jack and the big blind called. I flopped top pair and called my rival’s check-raise. He bet both the turn and the river and I paid him off — it turned out he was bluffing and I won the pot.”
It was smooth sailing from there to the final table, where Kott arrived with a big stack. From there, if he called another player’s all-in, it was the end of the road for them. Soon enough he was heads-up for the title, and after five and a half hours of play, a pocket pair of queens sealed the deal. His prize was $5,360 and change — not his largest cash ever, but the most he’s ever earned for an outright victory.
“It was a big joy to be honest,” Kott said of the win. “I have played some bigger tournaments during WCOOP, but my biggest result came in this low buy-in tournament! I sat looking at the screen for at least two hours afterward because I couldn’t believe it. I would like to dedicate this victory to all of those people who are supporting me in this beautiful sport.”