Walsall poker pro wins $300k in Barcelona
A Walsall poker ace is celebrating today after winning $300,000 at an overseas tournament.
Usman Siddique scooped his biggest cash haul ever from the game after finishing sixth in the PokerStars Championship Barcelona Main Event.
The 25-year-old battled through seven gruelling days to reach the final table where he was defeated by 27-year-old Brian Kaufman from Uruguay.
Sweden’s Sebastian Sorensson eventually won the contest, which was held at Casino Barcelona, scooping nearly one million dollars.
Usman walked away with £230,199, taking his overall winnings from poker to £625,468.
Although he was born and bred in Walsall, he now lives in London.
He started attracting attention from some of the world’s top poker players in April 2016 when he scooped £84,100 at an event in London.
WATCH: Usman Siddique in action
His next big win came in April this year when he finished third in the Partypoker Millions Nottingham Main Event earning £105,000.
In Barcelona at the weekend his aim was to reach the final table.
A spokeswoman from PokerStars said: “Siddique, who was born in Walsall but lives in London, is now a familiar face on the European poker circuit.
“Accomplished live, Siddique is prolific online as well.
“His accolades include a PokerStars Sunday Million final table and a Spring Championship of Online Poker title.
“He has won $296,230 in the PokerStars Championship Barcelona Main Event, this is a fantastic achievement and a huge cash sum to have won.” Usman follows in the footsteps of fellow Walsall pro-poker player Kully Sidhu, who has won nearly $2.5 million from the card game.
The New Invention star is 34th on England’s all time money list after some huge wins in the game, including $600,000 from a trip to Las Vegas last summer.
Kully, who studied at Sneyd Comprehensive School in Bloxwich, worked with his father at Bentley clothing shop Sidhu Fashions after leaving De Montfort University, where he had developed a love for the game. He tried to forge his professional career while balancing it with work but decided to call it quits at the age of 20.
He didn’t play cards for six months but soon got back on the scene, continuing his work at the clothes shop.
