2015 WSOP Europe: Dietrich Fast Wins Oktoberfest No-Limit Hold’em

A total of 2,144 players entered WSOP Europe Event 2, €550 “Oktoberfest” No-Limit Hold’em, to create a prize pool worth €1,039,000. Three days later, and it would be Germany’s Dietrich Fast who triumphed over the field to capture a prodigious gold bracelet, and collect €157,749 ($177,721) in prize money. Following an impressive performance which takes his live earnings to $441,393, Dietrich Fast said:
“It’s overwhelming. It feels really nice. I can’t describe it in words. It’s unbelievable. Since I started playing poker in late 2005, I have always watched the TV coverage of the WSOP. Every summer I look forward to seeing all these people playing in Vegas for the titles and I am happy to achieve it.”
The €550 “Oktoberfest” was held at the Spielbank Berlin Casino, with the prize pool ensuring 241 players would see a return on their buy-ins. Notable pros booking a cash included Jonathan Duhamel in 186th (€975), David Baker in 142nd (€1,428), Manig Loeser in 82nd (€1,852), Phil Hellmuth Jr in 61st (€2,542), and Shaun Deeb in 20th (€7,676).
At the final table, Steve O’Dwyer (A-K) sent Harry Lodge (A-Q) to the rail in 9th ($19,225), but was subsequently eliminated himself in 5th for $49,278. Four-handed play then saw Dietrich Fast score his first knock-out by sending Vojtech Cervinka to the rail in 4th ($63,887), followed by Rodrigo Caprioli in 3rd ($83,663) to usher in heads-up play against John Gale form the title.
It would be no quick contest, though, and four hours and thirty minutes would ensue before the deciding hand was played with Gale (K-6) and Fast (A-J) all-in preflop. The dealer’s J-7-3-J-Q board sealed the deal, and so John Gale finished the runner-up for $111,027, while Dietrich Fast was crowned the champion. Reflecting on his final battle, Fast said:
“I thought that I had a huge edge versus him, so I wanted to play Daniel Negreanu-small-ball poker. I tried it, but I failed. I got really unlucky and I was card dead. Then I was down to 20 bigs, but I fought back and now I am here as the winner.”
Final Table Results:
1 Dietrich Fast $179,077
2 John Gale $111,027
3 Rodrigo Caprioli $83,663
4 Vojtech Cervinka $63,887
5 Steve O’Dwyer $49,278
6 Adrian Apmann $38,379
7 Sandro Wüest $30,182
8 Jörn Winter $23,970
9 Harry Lodge $19,225