Guillaume Diaz first started playing poker while he was at school, and yesterday he put on a lesson for his tablemates as he walked away with €250,000 after winning the €1,100 EPT National.

To the untrained eye, it appears that Diaz has a certain knack for running deep at least once a year in big field events. In 2015 he finished runner-up in the €1,200 PMU.fr WPT National Paris for €100,000. Then, at the 2016 World Series of Poker, he final tabled the $1,111 Little One for One Drop, where he finished ninth for $45,254. In 2017 he returned to Vegas and went one better in the $888 Crazy Eights, finishing eighth for $86,888.

However, 2018 brought his biggest cash to date and only his second ever recorded live tournament win; his first since a €91,000 score for taking down a €2,200 side event at EPT 10 Deauville.

"It's settled in a bit now," said Diaz while on break in the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo©Casino EPT Main Event. "I've had to focus back on the Main Event. I really enjoyed it yesterday. The feeling this morning, when I woke up, was pretty insane!"

A lot of poker players comment after a big one that it can sometimes feel strange to revert back to the style of poker played in the early levels, especially after making a final table or going deep in a tournament. For Diaz, starting a tournament afresh is just a habit.

"Although this one had two opposite things. Firstly, it's exciting because lots of people are congratulating you, and you are thanking them, so that distracts you. But then you maybe are already in the zone; more confident and everything.

"Maybe I'm going to play better today than if I didn't win yesterday!"

Diaz tight-knit poker community and several of them were on the rail to celebrate his win.

"It's amazing to share things with my friends. It means that we all learn together, and we were all full of confidence when we came here.

"It's just a real community. When I was a child playing football, I was part of a team and that was one of the things I miss in poker. We feel like we are all part of a team, just like in football or basketball."

One key moment at the final table of yesterday's tournament was when he held ace-king against pocket kings and the board ran out quad fives. Diaz said that he couldn't remember such a hand occurring live but that it had "probably" had online.

"Normally when I win a hand like that I'd be totally respectful. But the runout was just that much insane and everyone was like "Woah!" and I jumped on them. It felt like I scored a goal. It was insane.

"So then I went to see the guy and apologize, and he was really cool and friendly and understood what happened."

After the EPT wraps up in Monte Carlo, Diaz will head on a short break with his girlfriend along the south coast of France. Then he'll head off to the World Series of Poker.

"I'm going to be playing every day. I have a big Vegas schedule planned and I'm going to be playing everything."

However, Diaz has one small crumb of comfort should his summer go belly-up.

"Even if I lose everything until January, I know that I will be playing this tournament which is a good thing.It's going to be a huge event. But it's awesome that I'm already there in the Atlantis! Means I don't have to find a cheap hotel, which is impossible. It's quite cool."

We'll be keeping an eye on Diaz to see whether or not he can buck the trend and bag himself two major scores in a year!