With Belgium's burgeoning poker scene and a stellar track record at the WSOP for Belgian players, despite its tiny population, it's no surprise to have another Belgian member of the November Nine this year.
After the exhilarating journey of 72-year-old Pierre Neuville last year, this year it's longtime poker industry pro Kenny Hallaert's turn.
On top of being a known and respected player on the live scene in Europe, Hallaert is also a tournament director and manages the Belgian Poker Challenge, a two-stop tour in the towns of Namur and Spa.
Along the way Hallaert has had final table appearances on the European Poker Tour, the Master Classics of Poker and the UKIPT. His career earnings of $1,317,530 put him fifth on Belgium's all-time money list behind just Davidi Kitai, Neuville, 3-time bracelet winner Michael Gathy and Kevin Vandersmissen.
His previous big scores include a sixth-place finish at EPT Deauville in 2011 for $210,962 and he's cashed in the WSOP Main Event twice (123rd in 2015 and 323rd in 2011) . In the inaugural WSOP Colossus event, the largest live poker tournament in history with over 22,000 players, Hallaert came fifth for $182k.
Hallaert was only all in and at risk for his tournament life once, although he did get down to just 10 big blinds late in the tournament. He'll come into the final table fourth in chips with over 43 million.
Chip Count: 43,325,000
Position: 4
Nationality: Belgium
Age: 34
Hometown: Hansbeke
Career Live Tournament Earnings: $1,317,530
WSOP Cashes: 22
Online Nickname: SpaceyFCB
Twitter Nickname: @SpaceyFCB
Watch Kenny Hallaert's November Nine Video Interview
Visit www.pokerlistings.com
