Losers Do Sometimes Win At Poker

Look for the word ‘loser’ in the English dictionary and you will come up with the definition; ‘a person with a record of failing; someone who loses consistently.’
It would hardly be considered the most flattering name for a poker player to be saddled with, but one man determined not to live up to his name is German player Manig Löser.
The player with the unfortunate name, however, managed to set the record straight after taking down the European Masters of Poker tournament in Bulgaria last week.
Manig Löser succeeded in outlasting a field of 260 players at the Crystal Crown Casino, to win the €1,100 buy in event and walk away with the €49,080 first place prize.
As the tournament eventually played down to just nine players, Loser took his seat at the final table as the third biggest stack.
Manig Löser then proceeded to play a solid game and maintain his stack, while others busted out around him.
Finally, Löser eliminated Romanian George Draghici in third (€35,000) with his Q-8 badly dominating his opponent’s J-8, to force a heads-up encounter against Israeli player Shani Vahnun.
It took slightly less than an hour before the final hand of the competition was played, after Loser was dealt K-6 to his opponent’s 9-8. With the flop falling  Q-J-6, Löser bet out 55k with bottom pair, only for Vahnun to push all-in over the top for his remaining 700k with a gut-shot straight draw. 
The turn and river of A-2 failed to improve the Israeli’s hand and he had to content himself with the runner-up prize of €35,000, instead.
Manig Löser, on the other hand, collected the €49,080 first place prize and received the distinction of becoming the 2010 EMOP Bulgaria champion.
Löser has now won $60,311 from four live tournament cashes, all coming this year. His biggest previous score was $6,479, after finishing 11th out of 288 players at the European Masters of Poker II in January.