German Pius Heinz is the World Champion of Poker!
German Pius Heinz has defeated a field of 6,865 players to win the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event. Heinz beat Martin Staszko in an epic heads-up match to cement his victory. Find out how he did it!
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| Pius Heinz |
The World Series of Poker has reached its conclusion, and Pius Heinz of Germany has officially been crowned the 2011 World Champion. For his achievement, Heinz has earned $8,715,638, a WSOP bracelet, and a place in the record books alongside legends of the game like Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan.
Play began on Tuesday with 3 men- Pius Heinz of Germany with 107,800,000 chips, Ben Lamb of the USA with 55,400,000 chips, and Martin Staszko of the Czech Republic with 42,700,000 chips. If you missed how these 3 emerged from the final 9, check out our coverage of the first day of the final table. By the end of the evening, Heinz had finally accumulated the entirety of the 205,950,000 chips in play and secured the victory.
How did it happen?
Here are the defining moments from the final day of the 2011 WSOP:
• FIRST HAND MADNESS! Lamb Crippled. - On the VERY first hand of play, Ben Lamb opened to 3 million from the small blind, Martin Staszko raised to 7.5 million from the big blind, and Ben Lamb went all-in. Staszko called with 
, and Lamb showed 
. The board ran 
, and Martin Staszko doubled, leaving the crowd favorite Ben Lamb with just 12.7 million chips (about 10 big blinds). The crowd was stunned.
• Lamb Busts - On the fourth hand of play, Ben Lamb moved all-in from the small blind and was snap-called by Martin Staszko in the big blind. Lamb had 
, and Staszko flipped 
. The board ran 
, and Ben Lamb was eliminated in 3rd place. Martin Staszko had also won a hand from Pius Heinz in between his two clashes with Lamb, and at this point he was the new chip leader.
• Heinz Takes Control While Heads-Up - After several very small pots, Martin Staszko limped, Pius Heinz raised to 3.7 million, and Staszko called. The flop came 
. Heinz bet 4.3 million, and Staszko called. The turn was the 
, Heinz bet 8.8 million, and Staszko called again. On the river , Heinz checked, Staszko bet 14 million, and Pius surprised everyone by moving all-in. Staszko couldn't bring himself to call. The ESPN feed revealed later that Pius Heinz had 
for two pair, and Martin Staszko had 
for one pair.
• Staszko with the Bigger Two Pair - Staszko called from the button, and Heinz checked behind him. The flop came 
. Heinz bet 2 million, and Staszko called. The 
turned, Heinz bet 4.5 million, and Staszko called again. The river was the , Heinz bet 14.25 million, and after considering the decision, Staszko called. Heinz had 
for two pair, but Staszko's 
was a better two pair, and he took the chip lead.
• Heinz Regains the Lead with Aces - Heinz opened for 3.4 million preflop, bet 3.75 million on the 
flop, and bet 8.6 million on an 
turn. Staszko called all three streets. On the river, the 
came, Heinz bet again, and Staszko folded. ESPN revealed Heinz had 
(set of Aces) and Staszko folded (2nd pair). This hand gave Heinz the lead again.
• Staszko Takes Charge with a Great Play - Martin Staszko opened from the button to 3.5 million, Pius Heinz raised to 10.1 million, and Staszko called. Heinz bet 9.8 million when he saw the 
flop, and Staszko called. Heinz bet again on the turn- this time for a massive 21.3 million chips. Staszko moved all-in for 60 million, and Heinz folded. ESPN showed that NEITHER man had a pair- Heinz had 
and Staszko had 
. Daniel Negreanu immediately called Staszko's all-in the "play of the tournament" on Twitter.
• Staszko Widens his Lead - Pius Heinz raised to 3.4 million from the button, and his opponent called. The flop came , Staszko checked, Heinz bet 3.8 million, and Staszko called. On the turn , Staszko checked, Heinz bet 8.4 million, and Staszko raised to 18.5 million. Heinz called, but he folded to Staszko's bet of 20.25 million after the river 
fell. ESPN showed that Heinz had just 
for a rivered pair, and Staszko had for a full house. Staszko had more than a 2:1 chip advantage at this point.
• Heinz Slowly Moves Ahead - Heinz took down several medium-sized pots in a short span, including value-betting top pair on a 9-high board, to get the chip stacks nearly even again. Shortly afterwards he took a small lead, including a hand which was 3-bet preflop and checked to showdown where Heinz took the pot with ace-high.
• Lead Change #7 - With blinds now at 1 million/2 million with a 300K ante, Heinz opened to 4.2 million, Staszko 3-bet to 11.5 million, and Heinz 4-bet to 20.6 million. Staszko 5-bet all-in, and Heinz quickly folded. ESPN revealed that Staszko had and Heinz had .
• Players Trade Jabs, Staszko Hangs Onto Lead - After taking the lead back, Martin Staszko took control of the match and won several medium-sized hands to take a better-than 2:1 lead over the young German. The most noteworthy of these hands included a river value-bet with a straight, and Heinz paid it off with top pair. Chip counts fluctuated, but slowly Staszko got the best of Heinz. Then, Heinz fought his way back from a short stack and got Staszko's lead down to about a 3:2 advantage.
• Pius Heinz Doubles Up, Takes Significant Lead - Martin Staszko limped from the button, and Pius Heinz raised to 7.9 million chips (1.2M/2.4M blinds). Staszko called, and the flop came . Heinz bet 8.2 million, Staszko raised to 17.5 million, and Heinz moved all-in for a total of about 73 million chips. Staszko called and showed 
for a flush draw and inside straight draw, and Heinz had for an inside straight draw with higher cards. The turn was the 
and the river was the , and Pius Heinz suddenly gained about a 4:1 chip lead.
• Heinz Wins! - The two gladiators found themselves all-in preflop: Heinz held 
and Staszko had . The board ran 
, and Pius Heinz became the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion!
Heads-up play lasted about 130 hands over 5.5 hours and included 8 lead changes. Although Martin Staszko made the final table very interesting, he fell short of his goal and finished in 2nd place.
Pius Heinz played well for 10 days, and a combination of world-class skill and luck brought him over the finish line to secure a victory in the most important poker tournament in the world.
Congratulations to Pius Heinz, the 2011 World Champion of Poker!
2011 WSOP Main Event
Final Results |
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| Place | Name | Chips/Prize | ||
| 1st | Pius Heinz | $8,715,638 | ||
| 2nd | Martin Staszko | $5,433,086 | ||
| 3rd | Ben Lamb | $4,021,138 | ||
| 4th | Matt Giannetti | $3,012,700 | ||
| 5th | Phil Collins | $2,269,599 | ||
| 6th | Eoghan O'Dea | $1,720,831 | ||
| 7th | Bob Bounahra | $1,314,097 | ||
| 8th | Anton Makiievskyi | $1,010,015 | ||
| 9th | Sam Holden | $782,115 | ||
| Players: 1 (6,865) | Prize pool: $64,531,000 |
||||
Check out some pictures from the final day of the 2011 WSOP Main Event:
The Penn and Teller Theater was ready for action.
We spoke to former WSOP Main Event Champion Scotty Nguyen about shorthanded play.
Pius Heinz tweeted this picture of his supporters shortly before play began.
A glimpse around the room from the Pius Heinz section.
The money and the bracelet.
Martin Staszko entering the stage.
Ben lamb shortly after his bustout.
Ben Lamb tweeted that he accidentally received the winner's letter, and it was the "biggest needle ever."
Pius Heinz and Martin Staszko posing with the Jack Link's Sasquatch.
Pius Heinz making a bet while heads-up, with $8.7 million in cash on the table.
The final two players staring each other down.
The crowd of fans watching the heads-up action.
An ESPN chip tracker chart which displayed the craziness of the heads-up match, and it wasn't even near over yet.
The champion's bracelet awaits German Pius Heinz.
Some Photographs Courtesy of PokerNews
by Matt Kaufman
