Fedor Holz Wins 2016 World Series of Poker $111,111 High Roller For One Drop

Fedor Holz cannot be stopped.

The 22-year-old German poker pro has won his fifth title of the year, defeating a field of 183 players to win the 2016 World Series of Poker $111,111 high roller for One Drop to win his first gold bracelet and the first-place prize of $4,981,775.

“Normally I am good with words, but this time I really don’t know what to say. I just feel so overwhelmed and I didn’t think that it would be like this. I just feel like I’m in heaven right now,” said Holz after he had emerged victorious.

This was Holz’s third seven-figure score of 2016. He has made 13 final tables this year and cashed for $14,517,350 along the way. With lifetime live tournament earnings of $18,395,882 he now sits in ninth place on the all-time money list. That’s an incredible accomplishment made even more impressive when one considers that last year was the first summer he was old enough to play at the WSOP.

“I played a lot of online poker, so I think I understand the variance pretty well,” said Holz when asked about his incredible run in 2016. “I think I’m on a heater that will only happen once, to me at least, and I just am trying to appreciate it and enjoy my time while it lasts.”

Holz came into the final day of this huge event in sixth chip position with 13 players remaining. He slowly and steadily chipped up until he was challenging Dan Smith, who began the day as the massive chip leader. Then during six-handed play Holz’s stack skyrocketed, as he knocked out three players in three successive hands to take a commanding lead.

Holz started his run by flopping the ace-high flush against defending WSOP main event champion Joe McKeehen’s king-high flush and getting all of the chips in. After McKeehen hit the rail in sixth place ($829,792) Holz then won two all-in hands against short stacks Brian green (5th – $1,117,923) and Jack Salter (4th – $1,536,666). After a short dinner break Dan Smith eliminated Koray Aldemir (3rd – $2,154,265) to set up a heads-up showdown with Holz.

Smith, who finished third in the $25,000 pot-limit Omaha high roller earlier in the week, began heads-up at a roughly a 3-to-2 disadvantage to Holz. Smith was able to overtake the lead at one point, but Holz won a huge hand with trip sixes to to take a decisive lead.

In the final hand Holz limped in for 800,000 total from the button and Smith raised to 2.5 million from the big blind. Holz moved all-in having Smith’s 20 million or so covered and Smith called with the A9. Holz had the 87. The flop brought the 1092 to pair Smith’s nines while giving Holz an open-ended straight draw. The 6 on the turn gave Holz the straight and left Smith drawing dead. Smith earned $3,078,974 for his runner-up showing after the A hit the river, improving Holz to a flush.

In addition to the bracelet and the money Holz also earned 1,680 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. With the incredible year he is having, with the most titles won, final tables made and the most money earned, it’s clear to see why this latest win moved him into the lead in the Card Player Player of the Year standings. With 5,738 total points he now sits over 1,200 points ahead of his nearest opponent Justin Bonomo.

While this tournament was incredible as a showcase of top-level poker action what truly makes it a great event is the fact that it also raised over $700,000 for the One Drop initiative which seeks to help provide access to safe water for the less fortunate around the world. Over the last five years over $10 million has been raised by the annual One Drop tournaments at the WSOP.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded in this event:

For more coverage from the summer series, visit the 2016 WSOP landing page complete with a full schedule, news, player interviews and event recaps.

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