As first reported at POKERNEWS.COM:
Koray Aldemir, 31, took the reins from defending champ Damian Salas Wednesday night as he became the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion, topping a 6,550-player field to win $8 million and the coveted gold bracelet.
On the 223rd hand of the final table, Aldemir finished off his unrelenting heads-up opponent — George Holmes — and now sits atop the poker mountain until July 2022.
Aldemir’s victory propelled him to fourth all-time among Germany’s winningest live tournament players with just north of $20 million in cashes, $12 million shy of Fedor Holz. More importantly, he’s the champion of the world and joins an exclusive club that includes legends of the game such as Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar, and Johnny Chan.
“It’s the one tournament family and friends know of basically. It does mean a lot to me to win it,” Aldemir told media moments after shipping the bracelet.