Batuhan Zadeh outlasted 126 players and defeated his idol, Team PokerStars Online Pro and Twitch Streamer Lex Veldhuis, to take down the $235 Turbo NLH kickoff. He took home his first Run It Up Trophy trophy, along with $5,090, a seat to the Platinum Pass Freeroll, and a seat to the Mini Main Event.

Originally from Istanbul, but now living in Reno, Zadeh owns a restaurant called Pizzava right in midtown. It is not his first Run It Up Series though. He got third last year in the $125 Partner Event.

Although he started the final table with only 90,000, Zadeh was very confident going into the final table. Players started busting out pretty quickly and Zadeh was in great shape when he scooped a huge pot, sending two of his opponents, Michael Drews and Billy Rodriguez to the exit.

”I felt super confident. There was one hand where I knocked out two people and there was another person in the hand. We went all in on the flop, I had a set of sevens. There were three other players and they all had outs so it was pretty nerve wracking and I couldn’t believe I won this pot.”

Once the heads-up part started, Veldhuis and Zadeh were almost even in chips so they decided to evenly chop the first two places’ money, taking home $5,090 each.

To defeat Lex Veldhuis in a heads-up is a dream come true for Zadeh as he watches him stream all the time.

”Final table is fun. I’ve been on plenty of final tables, but with a guy like Lex, who I probably learned a lot of poker from, it’s different. I’ve been watching the guy for two years. I’ve learned so much from that guy. For me to beat him heads up, it’s pretty crazy. It is indescribable. If you were to give me the best odds in the world and be like you are going to be at the final 2 with Lex, I’d be like, impossible!

Zadeh plans to play more events and look to secure a few more cashes along the way.

”I will be here tomorrow. I won a ticket for tomorrow’s tournament. I will also be playing the Main, but the tournament I’m the most excited for is the $1,100 with the $500 bounties. That tournament is probably going to be crazier than the main.”

Here are a look at the final table results:

1st: Batuhan Zadeh– $5,090+ Mini Main Event Seat + Platinum Pass Freeroll Seat
2nd: Lex Veldhuis– $5,090+ Mini Main Event Seat
3rd: Kent Jorgensen– $2,790 + Mini Main Event Seat
4th: Niklas Ehrenholz– $1,950 + Mini Main Event Seat
5th: Paul Sampson– $1,459
6th: Michael Drews – $1,045
7th: Billy Rodriguez– $815
8th: John Reynolds– $665
9th: Aaron Barnes– $555