WSOP Gold -- Lemke Overcomes Tragedy to WinLemke Wins Event No. 15 After A Devastating Few Months |
|
Brian Lemke volunteered to go to Las Vegas to pick up his late cousin Justin Shronk’s belongings.
Shronk, a respected member of the poker media, suddenly passed away at the age of 27 last April.
Lemke remembers how difficult of a time it was for him and his family, but still remains grateful for the outpouring of support they felt.
“Reading all the blogs and hearing all the radio shows, it brought a lot of distant family a lot closer to him. They got to realize who Justin was as a person,” said Lemke. “Some people think that poker doesn’t lend itself to the greatest of lifestyles, but (all the tributes) really show you the support that’s out there.”
But even as he was trying to come to terms with the loss of his cousin, Lemke encountered another tragedy.
“Three weeks later, I had a good friend of mine get into a car accident and pass away as well,” said Lemke. “He had three little kids.”
Devastated, Lemke struggled to move on. A poker player all his life, the 32-year-old part-time online pro had always wanted to play the World Series and had been planning on making this year his first before he saw his cousin and good friend pass away unexpectedly.
After wrestling with the decision, he flew out to Las Vegas.
He entered two smaller buy-in events at the World Series, failing to make the money in either. Then, he entered event No. 15 — a $5,000 no-limit hold’em event that had attracted many of the best players in the game.
Before this tournament, Lemke’s biggest live tournament cash totaled $8,000. The winner of this event would receive an astounding $692,658. More than a little nervous, Lemke was committed to playing his best game. His best game was enough to distance himself from most of the field.
“I was just happy getting into the money. Everyone wants to cash in the World Series,” said Lemke. “But then you start imagining…”
Imagining the final table. Imagining a bracelet. Imagining a few moments of joy after a couple long months of heartache.
Inexplicably, Lemke found himself at the final table. In one monumental hand, he laid down A-Q after his opponent went all in on the turn after an ace-high flop.
“I was really battling with myself, whether or not it was a good laydown,” said Lemke. But later on, his opponent revealed that he indeed had shoved with A-K. “That built up my confidence even more that I had made the right play.”
After several hours, Lemke found himself heads up as a massive short stack against Fabian Quoss. Despite being down 4-1 in chips, he knew he had a chance.
“I knew I was an underdog, but anything can happen in heads-up matches,” said Lemke.
Sometimes, a player chips away at another player’s stack with superior moves and masterful decisions. Lemke had surely made his fair share of brilliant plays to outlast the rest of the 655-person field. But other times, as any poker player can attest, the odds simply don’t hold, and the player who enters with the worst of it gets the best of it.
“I got lucky. Someone was definitely looking down for me,” said Lemke. “People talk about poker gods, but I had a poker angel up there.”
In the final hand of the night, Lemke hit a three-outer to complete the surreal victory.
“I still can’t believe this happened,” said Lemke, who says he will buy a house with his winnings.
The Pennsylvania-native says he will likely play a couple more no-limit hold’em events at the World Series, including the main event, but plans on first flying home to spend some time with his family.
Copyright © 2001-2024
CardPlayer.com. All rights reserved.
