Are there any new and fitting superlatives left to describe Fedor Holz and what he's accomplished so far in his short poker career?
The 22-year-old German (he doesn't turn 23 until July 25) stunned the poker world yet again last night by defeating 182 of the world's best to claim the $111,111 One Drop title, his first WSOP bracelet and $4.9m.
$4,981,775, to be specific, putting an exclamation point on a spectacular summer in Vegas that's already seen Holz finish second in the Aria Super High Roller Bowl for $3.5m and win three Aria High Rollers (two $25ks and a $50k).
“Normally I’m good with words but right now I don’t really know what to say,” said Holz after winning. “I just feel so overwhelmed. I didn’t think it would be like this. I’m just in heaven right now.”
Holz to Take Break from Poker
Despite losing a bit on bracelet bets with Jason Mercier, Holz's tournament tally for the summer sits at over $10 million - and there's still the Main Event (which he finished 25th in last year, btw) left to play.
Stepping back?
In total Holz has $18.4 million in lifetime earnings since his first cash in 2011.
There's a good chance Holz becomes a little less active on the tournament circuit, however.
Despite his unfettered heater, Holz suggested he would be stepping back from the game in his winner interview.
“I think now it’s time to take a break and re-orientate,” he said. “I think in poker if you don't keep up you can be a recreational player in the span of a year. It moves really fast.”
Three Hands Change Everything
Even the best poker players in the world need a bit of run-good to post the kind of results Holz has over the past two months and last night was no exception.
McKeehen: Coolered.
Six-handed Holz busted reigning WSOP champ Joe McKeehen in a flush-over-flush cooler. The next hand he shoved from the cutoff with A9 and outran Brian Green's JJ with a full house by the turn.
Immediately after that Holz ran his K7hh into Jack Salter's TT but a flush saved him again. That got him the chip lead, which he rode into a heads-up battle with Dan "KingDan" Smith, who was also looking for his first WSOP bracelet.
Smith even regained the lead from Fedor before a trips vs two-pair encounter turned the tide back to Holz and he continued on to victory.
“I was extremely focused,” said Holz. “I told my friends that this was going to be a very important week. I had a very intense feeling about this tournament.
"I think that’s what it meant so much to me. Overall it was probably one of the best experiences of my life.”
Check WSOP.com for a full rundown of the action. Complete results and payouts for the $111,111 High Roller for One Drop:
- 1 Fedor Holz Germany $ 4,981,775
- 2 Dan Smith United States $ 3,078,974
- 3 Koray Aldemir Austria $ 2,154,265
- 4 Jack Salter United Kingdom $ 1,536,666
- 5 Brian Green United States $ 1,117,923
- 6 Joe McKeehen United States $ 829,792
- 7 Nick Petrangelo United States $ 628,679
- 8 Niall Farrell United Kingdom $ 486,383
- 9 Scott Seiver United States $ 384,425
- 10 Brandon Steven United States $ 384,425
- 11 Adrian Mateos Spain $ 310,550
- 12 David Steicke Hong Kong $ 310,550
- 13 Antonio Esfandiari United States $ 256,537
- 14 Sergio Espina Aido United Kingdom $ 256,537
- 15 Jason Les United States $ 216,814
- 16 Charles Hook United States $ 216,814
- 17 Dario Sammartino Italy $ 187,576
- 18 Jeff Gross United States $ 187,576
- 19 Alexandros Kolonias Greece $ 187,576
- 20 Igor Kurganov Russia $ 187,576
- 21 Kyle Julius United States $ 187,576
- 22 Christoph Vogelsang Germany $ 187,576
- 23 Isaac Baron United States $ 187,576
- 24 Rainer Kempe Germany $ 187,576
- 25 Christian Christner United Kingdom $ 166,212
- 26 Randy Pfeifer United States $ 166,212
- 27 Tony Bloom United Kingdom $ 166,212
- 28 Jason Mo United States $ 166,212
The Heater is Real!
Outside of Dan Colman's run in 2014/2015, the stretch of success Holz has experienced over the past 8 months has been unprecedented.
$18m and counting.
The win last night is his fourth in a High Roller tournament and 11th six-figure cash this year.
Overall in 2016 he's claimed more than $14 million in live tournament earnings - an eye-popping number for a poker career, let alone for 7 months or so.
His career tally is now $18,495,174 - the most of any German poker player. Holz was realistic, however, when it came to his remarkable good fortune:
“I’ve played a lot online and that helps you understand the variance pretty well,” he said.
“I know I’m just on a heater that will just happen once and I just try to appreciate it and enjoy my time while it lasts.”
Here are all the six-figure results from Holz since December 2015:
- 18.12.15 $100,000 WPT Alpha8 1/45 $1,589,219
- 3.01.16 $200,000 Triton Super High Roller Series 1/52 $3,463,500
- 24.01.16 AUD $100,000 Aussie Millions Challenge 6/41 $196,901
- 04.26.16 €10,000 EPT High Roller 4/214 $190,123
- 01.05.16 €50,000 EPT Monaco High Roller 5/62 $310,892
- 5.27.16 $50,000 High Roller Aria 7/51 $122,400
- 5.29.16 $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl 2/49 $3,500,000
- 3.06.16 $50,000 Aria High Roller 1/40 $637,392
- 10.06.16 $25,000 Aria High Roller 1/39 $393,120
- 17.06.16 $25,000 Aria High Roller 1/30 $276,012
- 7.07.16 $50,000 Aria High Roller 3/33 $407,310
- 8.07.16 $111,111 WSOP High Roller for One Drop 1/183 $4,981,775
