by Mario Alfonsi | Published on May 28, 2012 | Updated on May 28, 2012
After a wild final table and a heads-up battle that lasted nearly 70 hands, Marvin Rettenmaier finally took down the World Poker Tour World Championship. The win marked Rettenmaier’s first ever major poker tournament victory, and the $1,196,858 he earned is by far the largest prize of his young career.Heading into the final table, Rettenmaier was certainly the odds-on favorite. The German pro came in as an overwhelming chip leader, and most observers felt that only a heroic effort by one of the experienced pros behind him – Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, Steve O’Dwyer, and Nick Schulman – would be able to derail his run.Early on, it looked like the tournament might go according to script. After early eliminations of Trevor Pope and O’Dwyer, the lead shifted several times during four-handed play. Mizrachi had the lead for a while, before Rettenmaier managed to take it back. Eliminations of Schulman and Mizrachi gave Rettenmaier the chip lead going into heads up play.Curiously enough, Rettenmaier’s heads up opponent turned out to Philippe Ktorza, the little-known French player who had come into the final table as the short stack. However, Ktorza proved to be a formidable opponent, giving Rettenmaier everything he could handle, and then some.During heads-up play, the chip lead went back and forth several times, with both players justifiably thinking that they were on the edge of victory at different points. In fact, Ktorza was once down to just three big blinds before roaring back to win several hands in a row. Finally, Rettenmaier caught the right hand at the right time, as his KK was able to stand up to Ktorza’s JJ and hand him his first major title.The win caps a huge month for Rettenmaier. Along with the win, the German pro also ed Team Party Poker, meaning he’ll be representing the site for at least the next year. Rettenmaier will surely be wearing some Party Poker gear at the World Series of Poker, which kicked of Sunday with the Casino Employees Event. 6o3142
