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Flashback: Saurabh Gulati Wins Record-Breaking 2024 SPT GrandWest Main Event
Late last year, the biggest live poker event of 2024 in South Africa and in the history of the SunBet Poker Tour came to an end. Saurabh Gulati took down the 504-entry strong 2024 SPT GrandWest Main Event after a three-way deal. Gulati claimed the biggest slice of the ZAR 6,350,400 ($351,395) prize pool and denied a home victory for several fierce local competitors at the GrandWest Casino outside of Cape Town on the southern cusp of the African continent.
“Loved it. It was pressure in the start, but after that it got easier with the chip lead and everything. It got so much easier and I had a ball time,” Gulati said in the winner interview after his victory. He joked that there was no big competitor at the table because he “knew I would take it down,” albeit with a big smirk on his face.
For the first time in history, two women reached the final table. While narrowly missing out on the victory, Ronit Chamani as well as Diane Walker went the furthest any female player on the tour had gone before. They ended up in three-handed play with Gulati, where a deal was cut to continue play for the trophy.
Chamani took home ZAR 900,000 for third place while Walker earned ZAR 800,000. However, it was Gulati who claimed the winner's trophy after an intense and swingy heads-up duel along with the top prize of ZAR 975,280.
2024 SPT GrandWest Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (ZAR) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saurabh Gulati | Australia | 975,280* | $53,966* |
| 2 | Diane Walker | South Africa | 800,000* | $44,267* |
| 3 | Ronit Chamani | South Africa | 900,000* | $49,801* |
| 4 | Colin Horgan | Ireland | 388,265 | $21,484 |
| 5 | Nic Ioannoy | South Africa | 298,025 | $16,491 |
| 6 | Gareth Fourie | South Africa | 248,430 | $13,747 |
| 7 | Hennie Appel | South Africa | 206,835 | $11,445 |
| 8 | Giovanni Zanette | South Africa | 165,555 | $9,161 |
| 9 | Divan Le Roux | South Africa | 124,230 | $6,874 |
* Denotes three-way deal