Ben Wilinofsky wins Pokerstars European Poker Tour Berlin NLHE championship

Written On  4/11/11 By Recentpoker.com staff writer  Lenny Wasman :

CANADIAN SUCCESS IN EPT BERLIN

Big banking day for Ben “NeverScaredB” Wilinofsky

Canadian poker pro Ben “NeverScaredB” Wilinofsky (22) took home the top prize of Euro 825,000 this weekend in the main event of the Pokerstars European Poker Tour Berlin NLHE championship – his first major live tourney victory.

773 players entered for the event, playing down over several days to an international final table of Wilinofsky; Maximilian Heinzelmann, Armin Mette and Jonas Gutteck from Germany; Belarus pro

Vadzim Kursevich; Martin Jacobson from Sweden; Darren Kramer all the way from South Africa; and Joep van den Bijgaart of Holland.

The young Canadian started the final table with a solid chip lead and managed to build on it significantly through to the heads up against German pro Maximilian Heinzelmann, who had been his main rival through the final table action.

At the start of the heads up Wilinofsky had an almost 10 million lead on his opponent, and the final outcome was hardly ever in doubt as the two battled it out to the finish, an all-in final hand worth over 4 million chips.

Heinzelmann's second placing gave him a pay check for Euro 500,000, and the six-figure pay-outs extended all the way down to the seventh survivor.

The victory boosted Wilinofsky's career earnings from both live and internet competitions to over $2 million.