Arne Kern Wins WSOP $1,500 Millionaire Maker For $1,173,223

Event #21 of this year's WSOP made a millionaire out of Germany's Arne Kern, whose live tournament cashes prior to winning the $1,500 NLHE MILLIONAIRE MAKER totalled roughly $57K.

Kern knocked off some of poker's biggest names in taking home the gold bracelet. Barny Boatman, Joe McKeehen, Sam Razavi and Justin Liberto were among the final tablists that Arne had to overcome.

Beginning the final day of action as one of the shorter stacks, Kern admittedly was "playing pretty tight," remaining patient until he found the best spots to get his chips in the middle, the 28-year-old told WSOP reps.

Connecting with a spade flush not long after the final table was formed was a key hand for the German, as he doubled up at the expense of Michael Souza. Momentum continued in Kern's favor when he sent Boatman to the rail in 7th place, his A-J in the hole matching up with a jack on the board while Barny's big slick laid dormant.

Three-handed action saw Kern facing Sam Razavi and 2015 WSOP Main Event champ Joe McKeehen. In-play betting favored the more experienced pros at that point, but the turn of the cards went the German's way.

McKeehen was crippled when his pocket kings fell to Kern's A-8, an ace hitting the flop and eventually leading to a 3rd place finish for Joe - his second such showing at the 2018 WSOP after landing 3rd in the $3K Shootout (Event #3).

Heads-up with Razavi carried on just short of two hours, the victory sealed for Kern when the poker gods smiled on his 2-4 suited in spades, the turn card bringing the flush, a championship, and more than a million dollars in prize money. Razavi ($724,756) earned his biggest payday ever and is nearing $2.5 million in lifetime cashes.

Final Table Results - WSOP Event #21 - $1,500 NLHE Millionaire Maker

7,361 Entries -  $9,937,350 Prizepool - 1,105 Places Paid