Fedor Holz doesn’t play poker near as much as he did 10 years ago. But the legendary German high roller showed up to compete in a six-figure buy-in tournament at the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona series on Friday.
During that tournament, the €100,000 EPT Super High Roller, he spoke to PokerNews about what he’s up to and if he thinks pros of today can match his historic run in 2016.
Holz cashed for over $16 million in live tournaments in 2016 when he was just 23 years old. No one in tournament poker had cashed for as much in a year, although that record has since been surpassed a few times.
A Year to Remember
It wasn’t just one or two massive scores inflating the final tally. He dominated the biggest events throughout the year, and it began with some six-figure cashes at EPT Monte Carlo.
The heater continued with a runner-up finish to fellow German Rainer Kempe in the Super High Roller Bowl for $3,500,000, before winning the WSOP One Drop for $4,981,775. Holz left Las Vegas that summer and headed to Barcelona for some EPT action, where he took down the Super High Roller for another $1,473,127. Is a run like he had in 2016 possible in today’s high roller scene?
“Everything is possible,” Holz said. “I mean, there’s way more tournaments now. So, I’d say it’s even more likely. The edges are smaller, so that plays against it. But I think it’s very likely we’ll see something similar.”
Holz, now in his 30s, said he was a “different person” during that legendary year. He’s married now, focuses more on family life and business ventures than poker.
“I’m trying to have kids. I barely play poker. Life was very different back then,” Holz said.
But don’t think for one second he doesn’t enjoy the game anymore. Holz will likely always be a poker player in some capacity, even if it’s only to show up for an EPT or Triton Poker stop here and there. And even if he does decide one day he’ll never play another hand, he’ll forever be known as one of this generation’s greats.
Holz said he’s only playing one event at EPT Barcelona, as he’s in town for “just the weekend, as there’s a nice festival on Sunday just up the hill.” The poker legend bagged the smallest stack on Day 1 and was eliminated short of the money on Day 2 in the Super High Roller.
Why 32-Year-Old Fedor Holz, with $50M in Cashes, is Stepping Down from GGPoker
Eliot Thomas
Editor, Poker & Casino