The PokerStars Festival Hamburg wrapped up over the weekend with amateur Ulrich Pauls winning the Main Event. The 10-day festival saw 2,609 entrants from 54 countries awarded €1,170,138 ($1,394,629) in prize money.
Amateur Hits Paydirt
The five-day €1,100 PokerStars Hamburg Main Event atCasino Schenefeld began with 567 entries and a €549,990 prize pool. On Sunday, Germany’s Ulrich Pauls defeated Poland’s Michal Lubas to walk away with a €105,850 ($124,221) first-place prize.
It marked the first documented tournament cash for the 36-year-old Pauls, who was up against some stiff competition. For instance, earlier this year Lubas finished runner-up to Petr Svoboda in the PokerStars Festival Rozvadov Main Event, which was good for $96,077.
In the final hand of the tournament, which took place in Level 30 (60k/120k/20k), Lubas raised to 270,000 and Pauls defended from the big blind to see a 7?5?4? flop. Pauls checked, Lubas bet 200,000, and Pauls check-raised to 475,000.
Lubas responded by moving all-in for 3.18 million and Pauls thought long and hard before calling with just the?4?3?. He was way behind the 7?7??of Lubas, who had flopped top set. But Pauls had outs, and was looking for a six. Then the 2? turn gave him additional outs. And sure enough, the wheel arrived when an?A? spiked on the river.
“I like to play following my feeling,” Ulrich Pauls told PokerStars officials after the win. “If I feel something I pay and today this strategy worked really well.”
Others who cashed the Main Event were Igor Rybak (15th for $6,642), Daniel Niemitz (27th for $3,931), Walid Ali (47th for $2,641), and Jesper Hansen (67th for $2,382).
Final Table Results
1 Ulrich Pauls (Germany) €105,850/$124,221
2 Michal Lubas (Poland) €66,220/$77,713
3 Jan Sigel (Germany) €47,410/$55,638
4 Behzad Zarnegar (Germany) €36,960/$43,375
5 Bo Rundstr?m (Sweden) €28,980/$34,010
6 Andrei Nodea (Romania) €22,770/$26,722
7 Karolis Domarkas (Lithuania) €16,990/$19,939
8 Marcin Horecki (Poland) €11,770/$13,813
9 Rudolf K?ster (Germany) €9,290/$10,902
Hamburg High Roller
Another tournament that played out over the weekend at the PokerStars Festival Hamburg was their €2,200 High Roller event, which had a total of 90 entries (80 unique players, 10 re-entries), generating a prize pool of €174,600 ($205,168).
German Andre Haneberg, who has a six-year-old daughter and works for an insurance company, came out on top to win €46,380 ($54,500) and the trophy.
“It’s incredible and it’s a fantastic feeling, I played really well,” said the 30-year-old from Oldenburg. “I’ll use the winnings for my family and to continue to play poker.”
Other notable winners at the PokerStars Festival Hamburg included Reinhard Nack (€330 Hamburg Poker Cup for €20,000/$23,549), Nebojsa Musulin (€220 PokerStars Open for €13,020/$15,359), and Jascha Ahmadi (€440 Pot-Limit Omaha for €8,234/$9,711).
The next PokerStars live tournament series, the PokerStars Championship Prague, will take place Dec. 7-18. The next festival, the PokerStars Festival London, will run Jan. 22-28, 2018.
