It is the stuff dreams are made of. You look across the felt at your opponent, he looks back, you both glance at the $8million plus in the middle of the table and maybe take in the stands packed around you with fans cheering on both you and your opponent.
You made it. Heads-up for the richest prize in all of poker. That was the scene that faced 22-year-old German Pius Heinz and the 35-year-old Czech pro Martin Staszko as they prepared for a battle of epic proportions on the grandest stage of them all.
A Titanic Tussle Of Contrasting Styles
It was the battle of young against old, of aggression against well-timed bets and calls, and chips flew back and forth between the two all night long. Some incredible hands played out but for almost six hours we went without an all-in and a call. Three-bets and four-bets were rare for a heads-up battle and the aggression from Pius Heinz was no match for Staszko who dealt with an incredibly tough heads-up opponent for hours.
He found spots to induce the bets from Heinz, rarely floated, and made some incredible moves such as his shove with King high after a three-bet and two barrels from Heinz but in the end, it was not quite enough.
Heinz Is Almost A Has Been
The chip counts were up and down all night and the two traded the chip lead like Pokemon cards. But after a gruelling battle for well over 100 hands, we had an all-in: and a call. It went like this: Staszko limped the button as he had done a number of times and Heinz fired off a raise to 7.9 million. Staszko called and the flop fell Ks Tc 7c. Heinz c-bet around half the pot but Staszko re-raised him to 17.5 million.
Heinz thought for while and decided to ship his chips into the middle. Staszko didn’t take too long to make the call and the cards were on their backs. Heinz showed AhQh for an over and a gutshot whilst Staszko showed Qc9c for a gutshot and flush draw. Despite a wealth of outs, Staszko bricked the turn and river and the match was turned on its head at a point where Heinz looked like he had lost his swagger and Staszko was in control. Ace high took it.
How The $8m Hand Played Out
Chips were traded back and forth for a while with Staszko trying to regain control but he was in bad shape. He needed a double up. When he was dealt Tc7c on the button, he decided it was time to ship. It was bad timing. Heinz snap called and flopped over AsKc. Both men were on their feet along with the crowd at the Penn and Teller theatre.
The board fell agonisingly slowly – 9s 5c 2d. Staszko had missed. The Jh on the turn left Staszko with nine outs, any ten, seven or eight for the straight. The 4d fell and Heinz’s rail went wild. The two shook hands and went to their friends and family to celebrate or commiserate as the confetti fell. That was it. A new World Champion crowned – German youngster Pius Heinz, and he could not of looked more delighted if he tried.
Both men must be commended for their play over a long period of time. The two hardly put a foot wrong for long periods and no doubt, when they wake up in the morning, millions of dollars richer, neither will be too disheartened.
The final payouts for the final three were:
3rd Ben Lamb $4,021,138
2nd Martin Staszko $5,433,086
And the NEW WORLD CHAMPION OF POKER 2011:
1st PIUS HEINZ $8,715,62
John
- hailing from Watford, UK John became hooked on the game of poker ever since his uncle taught him the rules of 7-card stud during a home game at the young age of 15. He caught the online bug three short years later after turning 18 and began regularly playing Texas Hold'em SNGs.
