Koray Aldemir is the big winner of the 2021 WSOP Main Event. The German poker player won his first WSOP bracelet along with a hefty $8 million prize.
Koray Aldemir Is the Winner of the WSOP Main Event
Nothing says winner like collecting a million-dollar prize from a poker tournament. But how about $8 million? That’s not even counting the prestigious WSOP bracelet that 31-year-old Koray Aldemir took home after winning the 2021 World Series of Poker Main Event.
The $10,000 buy-in Main Event generated a prize pool of just over $62 million. However, only the top 1,000 players would receive a piece of the prize pool. Not unexpectedly, a big gap stood between the players that take 10th and 11th place and the player that ranks ninth. The players that take 10th and 11th place would go home with some $585,000, while the ninth player would collect a round $1 million.
To win the tournament, Aldemir had to prove as the best player out of 6,650 entries. According to the WSOP, the German player has had 33 cashes from WSOP tournaments but never before had won a bracelet. Counting the grand $8 million prize that he recently collected, his WSOP earnings have so far surpassed $11 million.
Top 9 Players Collect a Seven-Digit Prize
Focusing on 7-digit prize payouts, Chase Bianchi was the player that took ninth place during the WSOP Main Event. He collected $1 million, while Jareth East, who hit the rail after him, taking eighth place, collected $1.1 million.
Alejandro Lococo from Argentina was the player that took seventh place and collected a $1.225-million prize. On the other hand, Hye Park was the player that took sixth place and collected some $1.4 million.
WSOP Main Event: Top 5 Players
| Place | Winner | Prize |
| 1 | Koray Aldemir | $8,000,000 |
| 2 | George Holmes | $4,300,000 |
| 3 | Jack Oliver | $3,000,000 |
| 4 | Joshua Remitio | $2,300,000 |
| 5 | Ozgur Secilmis | $1,800,000 |
Ozgur Secilmis from Turkey was the player that took fifth place, followed by Joshua Remitio. While Secilmis collected a $1.8 million prize, Remitio went home with $2.3 million. On the other hand, Jack Oliver was the player that took third place, taking home a round $3 million prize.
In the end, the heads-up battle during the Main Event was between Aldemir and George Holmes. Taking the upper hand after more than 200 hands, Aldemir won the tournament, leaving second place for Holmes. While Aldemir took the hefty $8 million, Holmes collected a $4.3-million prize.