Pius Heinz: From Online Specialist To 2011 WSOP Champion
November 10, 2011 11:00 pmWhat a difference a few months make in the world of poker. Take aspiring pro Pius Heinz, for instance, who earlier this year was contemplating giving up the game and returning to college after a rough six-month, only now to take down the 2011 WSOP Main Event for a $8,715,636 score.
The 22 year old from Cologne cashed in at his first $3 low buy-in online tournament back in Nov, 2007 and has a profile on PocketFives which describes his hobbies as “playing unlimited Hold’em donkaments, partying, and what not,”
The online player has since amassed $708,984 online under the screen name ‘MastaP89,’ with his victories including a 1st place finish at the Full Tilt Poker Sunday Mulligan for $61,000 and victory at PokerStars $150,000 Guaranteed for $29,000.
Making the switch to live tournaments, Pius Heinz then came an impressive 7th at this year’s WSOP $1,500 NL Event for $83,286, and in between waiting for the November Nine to resume, also took down an EPT Barcelona €1,000 NL Turbo Bounty for $25,140.
Pius Heinz has been described as a game theory specialist with a near unexploitable tournament game which prevent his competitors from gaining an advantage over him in the long run. The young pro can now look forward to applying his considerable poker skills with a new confidence as the latest recruit to German Team PokerStars. He will now be competing in various top upcoming tournaments from around the globe starting December 5th at the EPT Prague.
Commenting on his remarkable victory last night at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, in Las Vegas, Pius Heinz said:
“I tried not to lose my nerve. At some point I was not making a hand. I was getting frustrated, honestly. I just tried to play my game…I just tried to focus and not make mistakes.”
The young German player also added:
“It’s got to be the happiest day of my life. But I can’t believe what happened – it’s unreal…It was just awesome to have so many of your friends and family following you, cheering you.”