Rafael Nadal might want to consider playing more live poker tournaments in the future. After all, the world’s number one tennis player won the EPT Prague celebrity event, which is just his first ever live tourney. Rafa now gets to donate €50,000 to the charity of his choice.
Despite that fact that Nadal only had five other players to contend with in this tournament, it was a tough path to victory. First off, he had to deal with 6-time WSOP champion Daniel Negreanu, who is one of the best poker players of all-time.
Rafa needed some luck to get by KidPoker, though, as he doubled up through Negreanu twice. The first time, Nadal had Q3 vs. Negreanu’s A9, but managed to win the pot anyways. The second time he paired one of his overcards with Q9 to beat KidPoker’s pocket 3’s.
Another tough player was Dutch field hockey legend Fatima Moreira de Melo, whom Nadal met heads-up. Fatima is actually a very experienced player since she has $336,575 in live tournament winnings. But she still couldn’t stop Nadal en route to his victory.
Afterward, the 13-time Grand Slam winner said that he was really nervous playing in his first live tournament. But he also added that he wanted to do well and remain competitive. Nadal actually went beyond just being competitive by winning the EPT Prague celebrity event.
Other players who competed in this tournament include Italian skier Alberto Tomba, Ukrainian footballer Andriy Shevchenko, and retired Brazilian football legend Ronaldo. Here’s a look at how everybody fared in the tourney and how much money they won for charity:
1st. Rafael Nadal – €50,000
2nd. Fatima Moreira de Melo – €25,000
3rd. Andriy Shevchenko – €10,000
4th. Daniel Negreanu – €5,000
5th. Ronaldo – €5,000
6th. Alberto Tomba – €5,000