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Following a surge in players the previous year, the 2011 WSOP Main Event saw a decline as only 6,865 players would create a prize pool of $64.5 million. The fourth installment of the November Nine would also see the most internationally-diverse final table as a total of seven countries were represented – three Americans, and one each from Germany, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Belize, and Ireland.

The first night of play would last nearly 11 hours as the November Nine was reduced to the final three players that included German Pius Heinz, American Ben Lamb, and the Czech Republic’s Martin Staszko. Heinz held over half the chips in play, but Staszko gained the advantage early as he eliminated Lamb in third. Following 119 hands of heads-up play, Heinz would emerge victorious over Staszko to be crowned the first WSOP Main Event champion from Germany, while also received the $8,715,638 first-place prize, and his first WSOP bracelet.

Heinz was unknown on the live circuit heading into the 2011 WSOP and managed to collect his first cash in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event when he finished in seventh place for $83,286. On the virtual felt, Heinz was a prolific player who amassed nearly a million in lifetime winnings under the “MastaP89” screen name. Heinz wasn’t a staple on the broadcast unlike some of his other final tablists such as Anton Makiievskyi who was also part of PokerGO’s 2011 WSOP Main Event – Top 5 Hands | World Series of Poker video where he hit a one-outer on the river to stay alive on Day 5.

There are 26 episodes from the 2011 WSOP Main Event available now on PokerGO and coverage begins on Day 3 with each day of the Main Event allocated four episodes. Feature table action across the first four episodes are highlighted by Daniel Negreanu, Shaun Deeb, Sami Kelopuro, and Max Heinzelmann – with Deeb and Heinzelmann playing another one of the craziest hands that appear in PokerGO’s 2011 WSOP Main Event – Top 5 Hands | World Series of Poker video. Day 4 sees the familiar face of Phil Hellmuth on the feature table, while the likes of Guillaume Darcourt, David Bach, and Sam Barnhart begin to make waves.

Day 5 is dominated by Jean-Robert Bellande, while Day 6 begins to dive into the story of David “Doc” Sands and Erika Moutinho who are making a deep run in the 2011 WSOP Main Event, while also being a couple. Their runs would end in 30th and 29th-place respectively late on Day 7 as the eventual November Nine players begin to make an appearance.

The final day of play from inside the Amazon Room sees 22 players return to play for the final nine spots. The likes of Lars Bonding, Kenny Shih, Ryan Lenaghan, Andrey Pateychuk, Bryan Devonshire, and Barnhart all tumbled to the rail before the November Nine was reached. Following nearly a four-month hiatus, the final nine returned to play down to the winner where it would be Heinz collecting over $8.7 million in prize money while being crowned the winner of the 2011 WSOP Main Event.

The 2011 WSOP Main Event was broadcast on ESPN and is now available on PokerGO. Select your favorite episode from the overview below and start watching right now.

2011 WSOP Main Event Viewing Guide
Episode Day Featured Player/Episode Note PokerGO Link
1 Day 3 (Part 1) Daniel Negreanu Link
2 Day 3 (Part 2) Shaun Deeb and Daniel Negreanu Link
3 Day 3 (Part 3) Max Heinzelmann and Sami Kelopuro Link
4 Day 3 (Part 4) Ben Lamb and Daniel Negreanu Link
5 Day 4 (Part 1) Phil Hellmuth Link
6 Day 4 (Part 2) Guillaume Darcourt and Phil Hellmuth Link
7 Day 4 (Part 3) Sam Barnhart, David Bach, and Vanessa Rousso Link
8 Day 4 (Part 4) David Bach and Guillaume Darcourt Link
9 Day 5 (Part 1) Daniel Negreanu and Jean-Robert Bellande Link
10 Day 5 (Part 2) Jean-Robert Bellande and Manoj Viswanathan Link
11 Day 5 (Part 3) Rupert Elder and Jean-Robert Bellande Link
12 Day 5 (Part 4) Ben Lamb and David Bach Link
13 Day 6 (Part 1) Phil Collins and Joseph Cheong Link
14 Day 6 (Part 2) Jean-Robert Bellande and Christian Harder Link
15 Day 6 (Part 3) Erick Lindgren and Ben Lamb Link
16 Day 6 (Part 4) Amanda Musumeci and Erika Moutinho Link
17 Day 7 (Part 1) Guillaume Darcourt and Ben Lamb Link
18 Day 7 (Part 2) Hilton Laborda and Matt Giannetti Link
19 Day 7 (Part 3) David Sands and Erika Moutinho Link
20 Day 7 (Part 4) Matt Giannetti and Anton Makiievskyi Link
21 Day 8 (Part 1) Anton Makiievskyi, Bryan Devonshire, and Ben Lamb Link
22 Day 8 (Part 2) Eoghan O’Dea and Anton Makiievskyi Link
23 Day 8 (Part 3) Bryan Devonshire, Pius Heinz, and Ben Lamb Link
24 Day 8 (Part 4) Just 12 players remain Link
25 Final Table (Part 1) Phil Collins, Anton Makiievskyi, and Bob Bounahra Link
26 Final Table (Part 2) Pius Heinz, Martin Staszko, Matt Giannetti, and Ben Lamb Link

World Series of Poker Main Event coverage is available right now on PokerGO. Check out the WSOP Classic collection and watch the best moments from past Main Events including Johnny Chan’s quest for a third title, the meteoric rise of Chris Moneymaker, and Joe Cada setting the record as youngest champion.

WSOP, 2011 WSOP Main Event, Pius Heinz