Davidi Kitai: Biography, Career and Poker Results

October 31, 2026

Davidi Kitai is a Belgian professional poker player from Brussels. In 2008 he became the first Belgian to win a World Series of Poker bracelet, and he went on to win two more, a World Poker Tour title in 2011 and the European Poker Tour Berlin Main Event in 2012, a combination often described as poker’s Triple Crown. He is a member of Team Winamax. ^[1][3][7]

Davidi Kitai, Belgian poker player, at a World Poker Tour event in 2020 — Photo: World Poker Tour, licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.

Davidi Kitai: key facts

Full name	Davidi Jacob Kitai ^[2]
Country	Belgium ^[1]
Hometown	Brussels ^[3]
Known for	First Belgian WSOP bracelet winner (2008); WSOP, WPT and EPT titles ^[7]
WSOP bracelets	3 (148 WSOP cashes, 19 final tables) ^[2]
Major titles	WSOP $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em 2008; WPT Celebrity Invitational 2011; EPT Berlin Main Event 2012; WSOP $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em 2013; WSOP $3,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em 2014 ^{[4][6][7][9][10]}
Sponsor	Winamax ^[1]
Poker Hall of Fame	Not inducted
Live tournament earnings	$12,085,390 as of October 27, 2026 ^[1]

Early life and first steps in poker

Kitai grew up in Brussels, where, according to a PokerListings interview, he played football at the club RWDM until the age of 16. He told the interviewer that he asked himself many questions about his future while at university: finance interested him, but he did not want an office job. He discovered poker in Los Angeles, where he had gone to improve his English, and started playing at 22, after finishing his studies. ^[3][17]

His first recorded results at the World Series of Poker were modest: 404th in the 2007 Main Event and 147th in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event in 2008, shortly before his first bracelet. ^[4]

Breakthrough: Belgium’s first WSOP bracelet

Event #38 of the 2008 World Series of Poker, a $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em tournament played from June 20 to 22, drew 605 entries and a prize pool of $1,101,100. ^[5] Kitai reached heads-up against Chris Bell of Raleigh, North Carolina, and the two played for more than five hours before Kitai won the bracelet and $244,546. Bell received $155,806. ^[4] It was the first WSOP bracelet won by a Belgian player. ^[7]

A few months later, in September 2008, he finished third in the EPT Barcelona Main Event for €455,000, one of the largest results of his early career. ^[1][3]

Playing style

Kitai describes himself as a player who relies on instinct and reviews his own play in detail. In the PokerListings interview he said he has “always been a bit of a ‘hero caller'”, that he is “not afraid to make mistakes” at the table and that he follows his instincts a lot. He also said he only plays No-Limit Texas Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha. ^[17]

Two of his three bracelets came in pot-limit hold’em, and PokerNews has described him as a player “well known for his crazy comeback stories”, a reputation tied to finals such as the 2018 partypoker Super High Roller he won after starting heads-up with a large chip deficit. ^[9][12]

Greatest achievements

The 2011 WPT Celebrity Invitational

In 2011 Kitai won the World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitational at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, a field of 482 players. The final table was played on March 2, and he beat Almira Skripchenko heads-up, moving all in with queen-three of hearts against her ace-two and making two pair by the river. First place was worth $100,000, including a $25,000 seat in the WPT Championship, and it was his first WPT title. ^[6]

EPT Berlin 2012 and the Triple Crown

In April 2012 Kitai won the PokerStars.com EPT Berlin €5,000 Main Event, which had 745 entries and a prize pool of €3,725,000. He beat Andrew Chen in a long heads-up match and took €712,000, while Chen received €613,000. PokerNews reported that he was the first Belgian to win an EPT title and described him as the fifth player to complete poker’s Triple Crown of a WSOP bracelet, a WPT title and an EPT title. ^[7]

Because the WPT win had come in an invitational event, PokerNews noted later that year that many pundits argued it should not count toward the Triple Crown, and wrote that “the debate is still open”. ^[8] At the 2012 WPT Mazagan he led the final table with nearly half the chips in play but finished fourth of 146, missing a second WPT title. ^[8][18]

Two more bracelets in 2013 and 2014

At the 2013 WSOP Kitai won Event #19, $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em, from a field of 195 entrants. The final table included Bertrand Grospellier, Eugene Katchalov and Dario Minieri, and it ended when Cary Katz’s pocket kings ran into Kitai’s pocket jacks and a jack on the flop. Kitai won $224,560. ^[9]

A year later he won Event #15, $3,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em, which drew 810 players. Phil Hellmuth finished eighth after a series of pots against Kitai, and PokerNews reported Hellmuth saying “Crazy Frenchman is going to cost me my 14th bracelet.” Heads-up against Gordon Vayo needed an extra day, and it ended when Kitai’s ace-king held against ace-five. He won $508,640 for his third bracelet. ^[10][11] Earlier that spring he had also finished third in the €25,500 High Roller at the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo for €526,400. ^[1]

High roller wins in 2018 and 2020

In April 2018 Kitai won the second €25,500 Super High Roller at the partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Grand Final in Barcelona. The event drew 90 entries for a prize pool of €2,182,500. He began heads-up against Juan Pardo Dominguez down 1 to 7 in chips, doubled up twice to take the lead and won with pocket sixes against queen-jack suited. The €700,000 first prize was his first high roller title at that buy-in level. ^[12]

In November 2020 he won the $10,300 Super MILLION$ Main Event of GGPoker’s High Rollers Week online, with 581 entries and a prize pool of $5,810,000. He took $726,839, ahead of Eelis Parssinen in second and Mike Watson in third. ^[16]

Selected tournament results

Year	Event	Result	Prize	Source
2012	EPT Berlin €5,000 Main Event (745 entries)	1st	€712,000	[7]
2018	partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Barcelona €25,500 Super High Roller (90 entries)	1st	€700,000	[12]
2020	GGPoker HRW $10,300 Super MILLION$ Main Event, online (581 entries)	1st	$726,839	[16]
2014	EPT Grand Final Monte Carlo €25,500 High Roller	3rd	€526,400	[1]
2014	WSOP Event #15, $3,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em (810 entries)	1st	$508,640	[10]
2008	EPT Barcelona Main Event	3rd	€455,000	[1]
2008	WSOP Event #38, $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em (605 entries)	1st	$244,546	[4]
2013	WSOP Event #19, $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em (195 entries)	1st	$224,560	[9]
2026	EPT Monte-Carlo €2,700 PokerStars Open High Roller	4th	€121,200	[1]
2025	EPT Monte-Carlo €3,000 Mystery Bounty	3rd	€103,380	[1]
2011	WPT Celebrity Invitational, Commerce Casino (482 players)	1st	$100,000	[6]
2023	WSOP $10,000 Main Event	170th	$58,500	[1]

World Series of Poker record

His WSOP.com profile lists three bracelets, 148 cashes, 19 final tables and $5,846,066 in earnings. ^[2] In the $10,000 Main Event his recorded cashes include 223rd in 2017, 622nd in 2019 and 170th in 2023. ^[1] In September 2026 he finished fifth of 1,282 in the WSOP Circuit €1,500 Main Event in Paris for €63,000. ^[2]

Hall of Fame and records

Kitai is not a member of the Poker Hall of Fame. In July 2018 PokerNews ranked him first among Belgian players, noting that he topped Belgium’s all-time money list with $9,520,199 in live earnings and 12 tournament wins at the time. ^[13] Card Player, which also counts real-name online results, now credits him with $12,195,758 from 231 cashes and 14 tournament wins. ^[3]

Team Winamax

Kitai plays for Winamax, and his PokerNews profile lists Winamax as his sponsor. In 2018 PokerNews named him among Winamax’s established Team Pros as a “Triple Crown winner”, and in 2024 he was still listed on the team alongside Adrian Mateos and Mustapha Kanit when Gus Hansen joined. ^[1][14][15]

In his own words

“I feel really great, it’s amazing. I never expected to beat this field.” After winning EPT Berlin, PokerNews, 2012. ^[7]
“I’m a perfectionist in poker but not at all in life.” PokerListings interview. ^[17]
“I mull over the tiniest mistake as long as I don’t find the solution.” PokerListings interview. ^[17]
“I’ve always been a bit of a ‘hero caller’ but no one really noticed for a long time.” PokerListings interview. ^[17]
“I started playing poker when I was 22, after I finished my studies.” PokerListings interview. ^[17]

Iconic hands and moments

Who Can Stop Davidi Kitai: Road to the Triple Crown (PokerStars)

FAQ about Davidi Kitai

Where is Davidi Kitai from?

He is Belgian and comes from Brussels. ^[1][3]

How old is Davidi Kitai?

His player profiles on PokerNews, WSOP.com and Card Player do not give a birth date. PokerNews described him as 38 years old in July 2018. ^[13]

What is Davidi Kitai’s net worth?

There is no reliable public figure for his net worth. What can be verified is his live tournament record: $12,085,390 in earnings as of October 27, 2026, according to PokerNews. Sponsorship income and cash game results are not published. ^[1]

How many WSOP bracelets does Davidi Kitai have?

Three: the $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em in 2008, the $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em in 2013 and the $3,000 Six-Handed No-Limit Hold’em in 2014. ^[2][11]

Has Davidi Kitai won the Triple Crown?

He has won a WSOP bracelet, a WPT title (the 2011 Celebrity Invitational) and an EPT Main Event (Berlin 2012), and PokerNews described him as the fifth player to complete the Triple Crown. Because the WPT event was an invitational, some commentators have questioned whether it should count. ^[7][8]

Has Davidi Kitai won the WSOP Main Event?

No. His recorded Main Event cashes include 223rd in 2017, 622nd in 2019 and 170th in 2023. ^[1]

What was Davidi Kitai’s biggest win?

His largest live cash is the 2012 EPT Berlin Main Event, which paid €712,000, listed by PokerNews as $930,816. ^[1][7]

Who sponsors Davidi Kitai?

He is a member of Team Winamax. ^[1][15]

Related Poker Legends

Read more about Bertrand Grospellier, who finished seventh at the final table of Kitai’s 2013 bracelet win, and his Team Winamax teammates Adrian Mateos and Gus Hansen.