Davidi Kitai

Davidi Kitai was born on 28 September 1979 in Brussels, Belgium. As a child, his dream was to become a professional football (soccer) player, and he played at an amateur level for low-tier Belgian clubs until the age of 20. After graduating in economics, he moved to Los Angeles at 22 and later attempted to run a running and retail store in Brussels, which was unsuccessful. These early experiences shaped his resilience and strategic mindset, which he later applied to poker.

Kitai began his poker career online, building a bankroll on PokerStars under the screen name "legrouzin" before transitioning to live tournaments. His first major live breakthrough came in 2008 when he won the $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em event at the World Series of Poker for $244,583, becoming the first Belgian ever to win a WSOP bracelet.

In 2011, Kitai won the WPT Celebrity Invitational event for $100,000, a victory that initially sparked debate about its legitimacy as an official WPT title due to the invitational format and weakened field. However, the WPT later officially recognized it as a main event. The following year, at the 2012 European Poker Tour Berlin, Kitai won the €5,000 Main Event for €712,000 ($930,816). In the heads-up phase against Andrew Chen, he made a famous hero call with K♣5♣ on a board of 2♣Q♣8♥-4♠-5♦, giving him a crucial lead. This victory completed poker's Triple Crown (WSOP bracelet, WPT title, EPT title), making him one of only ten players at the time to achieve the feat, alongside Gavin Griffin, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, Jake Cody, and Roland De Wolfe.

Kitai's WSOP accomplishments are highlighted by three bracelets, all in hold'em variants. After his 2008 win, he captured his second bracelet in 2013 by winning the $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em event for $224,560, defeating Cary Katz heads-up. His third bracelet came in 2014 in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed event, where he outlasted Gordon Vayo to earn $508,640. In total, he has made nine WSOP final tables and 36 money finishes, with a highest Main Event finish of 170th place in 2023.

Beyond the Triple Crown events, Kitai has numerous other high-profile cashes. In April 2014, he finished third in the EPT Monte Carlo High Roller for $728,692. He won the partypoker MILLIONS Barcelona Grand Final in April 2018 for €700,000 ($857,980). Online, Kitai has been a consistent winner. In November 2020, he took down the Super MILLION$ $10,300 Main Event on GGPoker/Natural8 for $726,839, defeating a final table featuring Niklas Åstedt, David Yan, Mike Watson, Aleks Ponakovs, and Eelis Parssinen. He also plays under the alias "legrouzin" on PokerStars, where he has accumulated hundreds of thousands of dollars in MTT cashes.

Kitai is known for an aggressive post-flop style, leveraging position and range advantage to pressure opponents. He frequently employs continuation bets and large turn/river bets to force mistakes, blending mathematical rigor with intuitive reads. His preflop range is wide, but he adjusts postflop based on opponent tendencies, making him particularly dangerous in deep-stacked situations. On 7 January 2015, Kitai was ranked #2 on the Global Poker Index, reflecting his dominance in live tournaments. He has been a multiple-time Player of the Year in Belgium and is often called the "Belgian Poker Ambassador." He also contributes to poker education through training content.

Kitai continues to be active on the tournament circuit. In 2024, he cashed in the EPT Prague Main Event (79th for €15,000) and the €10,300 EPT High Roller (33rd for €19,000). At the 2025 WSOP, he posted several cashes, including 15th in Event #72: $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty for $42,843 and 19th in the EPT Barcelona €3,000 Mystery Bounty for €12,650. In 2026, he recorded a 4th-place finish in the EPT Monte-Carlo €2,700 PokerStars Open High Roller for €121,200 and a 30th place in the €25,000 EPT High Roller for €41,300. His total live tournament earnings exceed $11.9 million, with a best live cash of $930,816 from the EPT Berlin win.