Koray Aldemir is now much richer than he was on Tuesday. The German poker player won the World Series of Poker Main Event on Wednesday night and in the process secured an $8 million payout. Aldemir beat out American George Holmes at the final table in the No-Limit Texas Hold'em World Championship.
Aldemir won on the 223rd hand with a two-pair of 10s and 7s. That hand bested Holmes' pair of Kings. Holmes received $4.3 million as the runner-up.
"My plan was to check-call on the river because he showed that he's capable of making bluffs," Aldemir told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "But I had to think about it. It's a big moment, obviously. It was for all the chips, basically. If I lose the hand, I don't have much left. I'm glad I made the call."
Aldemir and Holmes had similar stacks of chips heading into the final hand. Aldemir checked on the river and Holmes pushed his chips all-in with a top pair of king-queen on a king-high board. However, Aldemir got the two pair on the flop.
"It's the one tournament family and friends know of basically, also guys that aren't into poker," Aldemir said. "It does mean a lot to me to win it."
Aldemir has earned over $12 million in career earnings prior to entering the World Series of Poker Main Event. On the other hand, Holmes had just one tournament finish in his career -- he finished 213th in the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event and won $50,855.
In total, there were 6,650 entries in the 2021 World Series of Poker Main Event.
