Fedor Holz doesn’t play nearly as much poker as he did a decade ago, but the German high roller showed up to compete in the €100,000 EPT Super High Roller at PokerStars European Poker Tour Barcelona this past weekend, speaking to reporters about the historic year that made his name.
The Run That Still Hasn’t Been Forgotten
In 2016, at just 23 years old, Holz cashed for more than $16 million in live tournaments, a single-season record at the time. The heater started with six-figure cashes at EPT Monte Carlo, continued with a runner-up finish to fellow German Rainer Kempe in the Super High Roller Bowl for $3.5 million, and peaked with his first WSOP bracelet in the One Drop for nearly $5 million. The record has since been broken more than once, most notably by Justin Bonomo in 2018, but Holz’s 2016 season remains one of the sport’s defining stretches.
Barely a Weekend Trip
Holz said he only entered one event in Barcelona, in town for “just the weekend, as there’s a nice festival on Sunday just up the hill.” He bagged the shortest stack after Day 1 and busted short of the money on Day 2, a low-key result for a player who once treated high rollers like his personal playground.
