Fedor Holz

Still only 23 years old, German poker wunderkind Fedor Holz has already claimed his place amongst – or some would say at the very top – of the world’s best players, with over $22million  and numerous titles to his name.

Fedor, known online as ‘CrownUpGuy’ has almost as much success on the virtual felt as he has live, racking up cash and victories with alarming regularity and having his name added to the poker lexicon with ‘Fedor-bot’, a player who plays with machine-like accuracy.

Quite incredibly, by the age of 20 Holz was not only winning millions, but also running a stable of players who he would handpick, backing and nurturing them as they transitioned from the mid-stakes up to high-stakes play.

He told Pokerlistings.com back in the summer of 2014:

“If I wanted I could earn more money if I’d grind the same hours. I like to closely follow and support my players, and it’s important to me to only work with players I have personal relationships with.”

At the same time, he set up his own charity which aims to help take care of children who have either lost their families or live in desperate poverty in Chile, raising tens of thousands of dollars to help fund programs.

“I think most poker pros actually have a big heart, but they quite simply never thought about things like charity. I decided for myself that this responsibility is a part of my life.”

A very good year in 2015 was topped off with his first 7-figure score – taking down the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic $100k High Roller in Las Vegas for $1,589,289 and barely 2 weeks later, he started 2016 with another massive victory.

The WPT National in the Philippines capital Manila saw Holz buy-in to the $200k Triton Super High Roller and walk off with a cool $3,463,500. It was to herald in a ridiculous year for the young man from Saarbrucken, going on a heater which had never been seen before.

With a further four 6-figure scores across the world, he turned up in Vegas in May 2016 for the Super High Roller Bowl – a $300,000 buy-in event featuring the very best players in the world. Holz fought his way to the heads-up battle with his good friend Rainer Kempe.

Despite losing out on the title, Holz walked off with $3.5 million for himself and reputed 50% cut off Kempe’s $5million prize, Holz having a huge stake in his countryman’s action.

Two months later he was at it again, taking down the $111,111 High Roller for One Drop, a massive $4,981,775 payday – and at the EPT Barcelona a month later he again trounced the field in the €50k Super High Roller, walking off with the title and $1,473,127.

Talk of semi-retirement meant that he has ‘only’ cashed for $2million in the 9 months since then, but his fellow pros have been breathing a sigh of relief every time he decides not to play. Holz, if he decides to play regularly, is the most-feared player on the planet. How do you stop a machine?