The 2011 WSOPE has gotten off to a good start, with a new champion being crowned already this weekend.

The series' first event, the €2,680 Six-Handed NLHE attracted a total of 360 runners, creating a combined prize pool of €864,000.

Following three days of play at the Hotel Majestic Barriere and Le Croisette Casino Barriere the field was narrowed down to just 12 runners, who returned to find a winner yesterday.

Among the 12 survivors on Day 4 were a number of interesting names, most notably David Benyamine and Phil Hellmuth, who was at this point eyeing the 12th WSOP bracelet of his career.

Also present was EPT Copenhagen champion Anton Wigg and Japanese pro Asuza Maeda, but in the end no one could overcome the well-playing Guillaume Humbert.

This, too, was the case for Hellmuth, who finished in seventh place after blinding down to just two big blinds before eventually going bust.

Humbert, in turn, was according to the WSOP website in charge throughout the final table, and once he faced off with Maeda for the title, he had already built up a significant lead.

A decision seemed to be closing in, and when Humbert was given a flop holding for a flopped straight, he used his good momentum to seal the win.

After checking to Maeda, who moved all-in, Humbert made an easy call and was now just two cards away from winning the event.

He did however have to evade some outs, as Maeda turned over , but with turn and river running all blanks, a happy Humbert could celebrate Switzerland's first WSOP title ever, worth $215,999.

Maeda took home €133,471 and also had reason to celebrate, as his result is similarly the biggest ever to be made by Japanese player at the WSOP.

Meanwhile, Event #2, the $1,090 NLHE also got off to a successful start on Friday.

Here, a total of 711 players signed up, smashing the record from the 2009 event, which saw 608 entrants and was won by JP Kelly.