Germany win poker World Cup

PokerStars World Cup of Poker, No-limit Hold’em

1. Germany, $ 100,000
Jan Heitmann (Captain), Georg Geissler, Malte Strothmann, Bastian Wulff, Peter Schmidt

2. New Zealand, $ 70,000
Lee Nelson (Captain), Nicholas Webb, Richard Grace, Wayne Lo, Jordan Bryant

3. Italy, $ 50,000
Luca Pagano (Captain), Michele Migliore, Pennisi Omar, Valeriano Bilancetti, Fabrizio Villa

4. USA, $ 30,000
Greg Raymer (Captain), Shaun Deeb, Benjamin Zamani, Jarred Gabin, Bruce Armstrong

5. Great Britain, $ 10,000
Vicky Coren (Captain), Steven Devlin, Laurence Houghton, Derek Morris, Karl Mahrenholz

6. Poland, $ 10,000
Marcin Horecki (Captain), Jerzy Slaby, Pawel Chmiel, Patryk Slusarek, Leszek Krawcynski

7. Latvia, $ 5,000
Krisjanis Jurdzs (Captain), Vjaceslavs Ivanovs, Juris Saicans, Ance Laganovska, Dmitrijs Kurchins

8. Mexico, $ 5,000
JC Alvarado (Captain), David Huber, José Francisco Muñoz Osuna, Antoine Barriere, Jorge Lozano

9. Canada, $ 5,000
Daniel Negreanu (Captain), Blair Maltby, Dennis Hamlyn, Wanda Whitlock, Tammy Bailey

PokerStars.com today announced that Team Germany has taken down the PokerStars World Cup of Poker to bag the World Champions title and $100,000 grand prize. After weeks of international online play, nine countries sent their best players to the Bahamas for a live final of the fifth PokerStars World Cup of Poker.

Team Germany, lead by team captain and PokerStars Shooting Star Jan Heitmann, was the last team left standing after the one day marathon – the first event to take place during the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure “Festival of Poker” at the Atlantis Hotel and Casino.

“I am very proud of my teammates and fellow countrymen,” said Jan Heitmann. “This further proves that Germany is a true force to be reckoned with in the poker world. We have some of the best players on PokerStars. This was a great event and I’m proud to be part of the tradition.”

For the past four years, Barcelona has been the home of the PokerStars World Cup of Poker, but the Bahamas made its debut as host in a very fitting upgrade for 2009. The PokerStars World Cup of Poker sees players from all around the globe compete for national pride, bragging rights, and $290,000 in cash prizes.

The table draws for the Finals brought an interesting mix with Team PokerStars Pros Daniel Negreanu and Greg Raymer playing on the same table alongside Mexico’s captain JC Alvarado while two more Team PokerStars Pros – Vicky Coren and Lee Nelson – were also pitted against each other.

“That’s how we do it,” said Daniel Negreanu on the rail as he cheered on a teammate who doubled up with K-J, hitting a king on the flop and turn.

“The great thing about the World Cup of Poker is that when players are eliminated they stick around to watch their teammates,” said Negreanu. “Even after you get knocked out, you still have a chance to win. And even if your team doesn’t win, you still get a great vacation in the Bahamas thanks to PokerStars.”