Thursday, November 18, 2021
“Crazy Experience”
German poker player takes eight million dollars
Koray Aldemir was already a prize money millionaire when he traveled to Las Vegas for the World Poker Championship. There the German professional then clears away the prize money, which overshadows everything that has been seen in his career: At the end of a long tournament, the Berliner celebrates far more than the world championship title.
Koray Aldemir is the new poker world champion and has been richer by many million dollars for a few hours: the 31-year-old crowned himself the new title holder at the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) main event, collecting eight million US dollars (around seven million Euro). The diamond-studded bracelet, which is available as a trophy for the world champion, is literally an almost decorative accessory with a value of around $ 500,000. Since November 4th, more than 6,500 poker players have been fighting for the title at the mega-event. In the end, the Berlin Aldemir prevailed.
“I was pretty stressed, to be honest,” said Aldemir, who started the final round as the favorite but was behind there in the meantime. “After ten days of poker, the last five or six days in particular were very stressful. I didn’t sleep much, about five hours a day. So many people watched me play. It’s not easy. Respect to all the other players, too, who all played great. A crazy experience. “
“If I lose my hand …”
Aldemir went into the ninth day as the clear favorite, not only because he had the most chips by far in the first few days of the tournament, but also because he has more tournament experience than his opponents. But he quickly found that his opponents were ready for battle. George Holmes in particular played brilliantly throughout the evening, pulling off a number of impressive bluffs. The 49-year-old had finished 213rd at the 2019 WSOP Main Event and received $ 50,855 for it – his only previously recorded live tournament win. The difference in experience between Aldemir and his opponents was not very clear that day.
With the 223rd hand of the final table, after more than six hours of play, Aldemir finally defeated his last remaining opponent. After much deliberation, Holmes pushed all his remaining chips into the middle, and Aldemir called after several minutes. And wins, Holmes was defeated. He still cashed $ 4.3 million (3.8 million euros). “If I lose my hand, I won’t have much left. I’m glad I made the call,” said Aldemir, relieved after a long evening of poker about the crucial moments. “It is the only tournament that family and friends know about. It means a lot to me to win it,” said Aldemir shortly after handing over the bracelet.
Aldemir’s victory catapulted him to fourth place among the most successful German live tournament players with almost $ 20 million in prize money, $ 12 million less than Fedor Holz. Before Aldemir, who is studying business administration in Vienna, Pius Heinz won the world title in 2011 as the first German and as the second Hossein Ensan, who had triumphed two years ago.