Once again, a Winamax Team Pro ships Winamax SISMIX in Marrakech. Bruno "Kool Shen" Lopes was last night crowned the 2016 champion for a prize of €78,341.

The victory of Bruno Lopes in the third ever Winamax SISMIX was not just deserved, it has been earned through many hours of hard work which showed fruit here in Marrakech. One of the original hip-hop artists in France in the 90's, which he played a large role in bringing to the mainstream, the man the entire country know simply as Kool Shen was also then at the forefront of the poker movement in France, picking up prizes and building a reputation as respected as his music. His 17th place in this very same tournament last year and his return to the stage under the lights of the TheatrO set the tone. This year, he was even better prepared and surpassed his previous performance, taking full advantage of 6-Max tables which tend to reward aggressive play.

The biggest difference for Bruno this year, which is often a huge factor in top performances, was his mental game. Just over a month ago, Team Winamax coach, Stéphane Matheu brought in a mental coach for a number of our Pros at the annual Team seminar. This coach centred his workshop around resilience. The capacity to take failure on the chin, and not let it get to you, but instead use it to learn and continue with even more energy. Kool Shen demonstrated this perfectly all week long. Mentally solid, Bruno knew how to keep his cool even after a soul-crushing 2-outer came off in the first hand of heads-up play, never dropping his head and never giving up. An example of his new mentality? When giving his thoughts immediately after taking victory, he commented on all the luck that had been on his side, instead of that which had gone in favour of his opponent.

"I've been lucky to learn and grow as part of one of the best Teams in the world, with people who help me improve every day," Bruno confessed. A team spirit which can be found in even the smallest details with Kool Shen wearing his teammate Guillaume Diaz's jacket for the last two days. "I stole it from him yesterday," he admitted,"he's been running so well recently that I thought maybe it would give me some help too." Add to this the advice from resident genius Davidi Kitai, also winner of this tournament two years ago, and you can see that this victory is a real Team effort. Big football fan, Bruno knows this better than anyone: when you're part of a group like Team Winamax, and even in a discipline played solo like poker, every victory is a win for the team.

Results
Winamax SISMIX 2016 - 901 entries

Winner: Bruno "Kool Shen" Lopes (€78,341)
2nd: Alexis Fleur (€53,917)
3rd: Sébastien Comte (€34,562)
4th: Aurélien Guiglini (€25,346)
5th: Grégory Cometto (€19,355)
6th: Karim Benmarouche (€14,747)
7th: Thomas Cazayous (€11,244)