NIKOLAUS TEICHERT
Sometimes there's a single moment which tells you everything you need to know about exactly what happened.

In the $2,500 buy-in Limit Hold'em tournament (Event 56), that moment came at the conclusion of play.  All cards had been tabled.  The final pot had been pushed.  The crowd around the final table began to dissipate.  

Nickolaus Teichert, the winner, glanced down at the felt and stared at the board which had given him the gold bracelet, worth a staggering $730,756 in prize money.  He looked his final hand, which was A-2 against his opponent's two cards – A-T.  

Teichert had been in terrible shape when the cards were exposed.  He was completely dominated.  Teichert essentially had just three outs to win the gold bracelet.  Then, the lifesaving river card was dealt – a deuce – giving the German player two pair and the win.  Minutes after it all happened and the press hovered around the latest winner, Teichert bent over, reached down, and kissed the deuce of clubs, the magical river card that bestowed upon him a coveted gold bracelet.

Teichert, a 55-year-old precious metals trader and dealer from Dusseldorf, Germany won his first career gold bracelet.  He outlasted 1,736 players.  Remarkably, this was only his third WSOP tournament.  It was his first time to cash, as well.

The winner graduated with a degree in banking.  He worked in finance for years and later became a broker and trader, specializing in precious metals like gold and silver.  About three years ago, Teichert began playing poker more seriously.  He enjoyed some small cashes in Europe, including a win about a year ago which paid 12,000 euros.  So, this victory was certainly way beyond the typical trajectory of accomplishment.

The win was the second of this series for Germany.  Previously, Martin Finger won a WSOP title about a third of the way through the schedule (Event 21 – $3,000 buy-in Six-Handed No-Limit Hold'em).  Among all European nations, Germany trails only England as the top performing nation with 26 WSOP gold bracelets in history.

MEET GOLD BRACELET WINNER – NIKOLAUS TEICHERT

Name:  Nikolaus Teichert
 
Current Residence:  Dusseldorf (Germany)
 
Birthplace:  Dusseldorf (Germany)
 
Age:  55
 
Occupation:  Precious Metals Trader / Semi-Pro Poker Player
 
WSOP Cashes (including this event):  1
 
First WSOP Cash (year):  2013
 
WSOP Final Table Appearances:  1
 
WSOP Wins (with this victory):  1
 
WSOP Career Earnings:  $730,756

INTERVIEW WITH THE CHAMPION

WSOP:  How does it feel to win your first WSOP gold bracelet?
 
Teichert:  I cannot say what I feel at this moment.  It's a dream.  Four week before, I had a dream I would play a very good tournament.  I came here, my first tournament (of this year) and I won it.  It's a dream.

WSOP:  What was your strategy at the final table?
 
Teichert:  I was playing with my heart.  I do not play the usual way.  I had to do things a little differently.

WSOP:  What is your primary job?
 
Teichert:  I buy gold and silver and antiques.

WSOP:  Can you give us your poker background?
 
Teichert:  I started playing about three years earlier.  I finished seventh place in one tournament which was the first I played, and then I won the same tournament the next year.  With that money, I came here to the 2011 WSOP.  I played a little but did not have a great moment.  I later played an event over at the Bellagio and won $53,000.  That's when I started online poker after that and playing in more tournaments, but I am not going to go around and play full time.

WSOP:  What does the gold bracelet mean to you?
 
Teichert:  This is for me a dream, but for every poker player it's a dream.  It's the greatest thing you can do.  


ODDS AND ENDS
The tournament ran into an unscheduled fourth day of action due to a large turnout and an agreement by the final two players to suspend play during heads up on Day Three and complete the tournament the following afternoon.

Speaking of a German winner, 2011 World Champion Pius Heinz cashed in this tournament, his first in-the-money finish at this year's series.