German beats Martin Staszko heads-up
Germany is celebrating its first ever WSOP Main Event champion this week, after 22-year-old Pius Heinz took down the $8.7m first prize in one of the most memorable heads-up contests in WSOP history.
Heinz came into the final day’s play with Martin Staszko and Ben Lamb clutching a sizeable chip lead, and watched on as Lamb decided there was no need to play it tight, shoving in the very first hand with K-J only to lose to Staszko’s poket sevens.
Lamb hit the rail three hands later, and viewers who thought it couldn’t get any more dramatic were in for a treat, as Heinz and Staszko geared up for arguably the greatest heads-up duel in recent memory.
The chip lead changed hands no less than nine times before Heinz finally got his hands on the title. Roughly 111 hands in, Staszko’s slender lead was crippled when he failed to hit a list of outs with Qc-9c after calling Heinz’ shove with Ah-Qh on a 10c-7c-Ks flop. Staszko shoved with 10c-7c a few hands later, but it was no match for Heinz’s As-Kc and that was that.
The extraordinary final day brought to a close an unforgettable Main Event, with players from seven countries represented in this year’s November Nine. Unfortunately for UK and Ireland hopes, though, Messrs Sam Holden and Eoghan O’Dea couldn’t muster up the win we were all so desperately hoping for, finishing in ninth and sixth respectively.
When the final hand was over, Heinz was rushed by his entourage and told reporters ‘it was just awesome having so many of your friends and family following you, cheering you on’. Not bad for a player who had less than $100k in earnings just a few days ago.
To watch the final hand, see the video below.
Here’s how to Main Event finished up:
<h3>WSOP Main Event</h3>
Buy-in: $10,000
Entries: 6,865
Prizepool: $64,531,000
1. Pius Heinz $8,715,638
2. Martin Staszko $5,433,086
3. Ben Lamb $4,021,138
4. Matt Giannetti $3,012,700
5. Phil Collins $2,269,599
6. Eoghan O’Dea $1,720,831
7. Badih Bounahra $1,314,097
8. Anton Makiievskyi $1,010,015
9. Sam Holden $782,115
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