Germany’s Carsten Heidemann has won his first bracelet at his first ever World Series of Poker after taking down the $600 Ultra Stack.
The amateur has no career record on the Hendon Mob database and only made the trip to Las Vegas after agreeing with his wife that it would be a one-off to play in the Main event.
That is unless he cashed, which we can now assume is enough to allow him to return one day.
Heidemann has enjoyed poker for the last 15 years on an amateur level in a club. It’s a once a month setup where the plates compete for points and a trophy at the end of the year.
Unfortunately, his Main Event dream ended on Day 1 but we’re sure he’s glad that he stuck around to jump into Event #84: $600 Ultra Stack No-Limit Hold’em.
After the bracelet was presented, Heidemann struggled to contain his emotions, saying:
“It is the dream of every poker player to win a bracelet, it’s the WSOP; I am so happy, it’s so amazing. Yeah, I am crying now. Today I can say: ‘Lucky me!’”
Final Action
Vietnam’s Ha Duong was the first elimination from the final table. As one of the more experienced players left in contention, he must have had some hopes of a recovery with a majority amateur table.
American Arnold Park pretty much followed Duong to the rail.
The next three bust outs were players who achieved the biggest score of their careers by far. $618, $3,494 and $1,319 in live tournament earnings was all Juan Garibaldi, Robert Szumowski and Jason Wester had to show for their hobby until today.
The trio walked away with $56,670, $73,780, and $96,790 respectively for their efforts.
Phuoc Nguyen was now the most successful player at the table, boasting a career score of $2,260,120 stretching all the way back to 1996.
But it wasn’t to be his day, although a third best career cash of $170,410 for fourth place will have softened the blow.
Albyn Bello, from the Dominican Republic, was making waves with a rowdy rail supporting him. Compatriot and friend Ray St Jacques had stuck around to gee up Bello but he couldn’t delay fate and third was the result.
Ramana Epparla was the final hurdle for Heidemann to clear. The pair of them had dished out most of the final table knockouts with Epparla building a commanding lead.
The heads-up play wasn’t anything like that, though. Heidemann simply ground his opponent down over only fifteen minutes to claim victory.
Event #84: $600 Ultra Stack No-Limit Hold’em Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Country | Prize (USD) |
| 1 | Carsten Heidemann | Germany | $343,010 |
| 2 | Ramana Epparla | United States | $228,670 |
| 3 | Albyn Bello | Dominican Republic | $170,410 |
| 4 | Phuoc Nguyen | United States | $127,950 |
| 5 | Jason Wester | United States | $96,790 |
| 6 | Robert Szumowski | United States | $73,780 |
| 7 | Juan Garibaldi | United States | $56,670 |
| 8 | Arnold Park | United States | $43,870 |
| 9 | Ha Duong | Vietnam | $34,220 |
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