Seat 8: David Benyamine (2,709,000)
David Benyamine is a very well known poker player with numerous first-place finishes, including a World Poker Tour title from 2003 and a World Series of Poker bracelet from 2008, and over $6.55 million in live tournament earnings. What many may not know is that Benyamine was formerly a professional tennis player, but was forced to retire from the game due to a shoulder injury.
The first 15 cashes on Benyamine's record all came from Paris, France between the years of 1999 and 2003, but it wasn't until July of 2003 that he really put himself on the poker map when he won the €10,000 WPT Grand Prix de Paris for €357,200. Early the following year, Benyamine added a second WPT final table by finishing sixth in the L.A. Poker Classic for $132,355.
When it comes to the WSOP, Benyamine's first recorded in-the-money result was in 2007 in the $2,500 Omaha/Seven-Card Stud 8-or-Better event. He took sixth in that event for $29,708. He also cashed in the $5,000 H.O.R.S.E. that summer at the Series.
In 2008, Benyamine added four more WSOP cashes en route to snatching his first gold bracelet in the $10,000 World Championship Omaha 8-or-Better event for $535,687. He also finished seventh in the $5,000 No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw for $58,990, third in the $5,000 Pot-Limit OMaha for $316,307 and 10th in the $5,000 World Championship Seven-Card Stud 8-or-Better for $30,667 that same year.
As if Benyamine's 2008 WSOP wasn't enough success for him that year, he went on to add a second-place finish in the $15,000 WPT Bellagio Cup IV for $840,295, a couple deep runs at the European Poker Tour London, and a 25th-place finish in the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic. All told, Benyamine earned over $2.2 million that year — his best year ever.
The largest score of Benyamine's career came in 2011 down in Melbourne, Australia at the Aussie Millions. There Benyamine took third in the AU$250,000 Super High Roller for a hefty AU$1.1 million, finishing behind top pros Erik Seidel and Sam Trickett.
Benyamine has never cashed in the $50,000 Poker Players' Championship, but has proven over the years that he is very capable in all forms of poker. Couple that with the 2.709 million in chips to put him right in the middle of the pack, Benyamine will be an extremely tough opponent to defeat.