It had been a minute since the last time Fedor Holz finished with all the chips in a live high roller poker tournament. That all came to an end Saturday when the German sensation took down Triton Poker London’s $25,000 7-Handed No-Limit Hold’em event for $609,853.

The GGPoker ambassador defeated the red hot Chris Brewer heads-up win the 120-entrant high-stakes event, but the runner-up received almost the same amount as first place ($600,647) due to an ICM chop before the match began.

In other Triton news, Canada high-stakes grinder Luc Greenwood topped a field of 107 players (plus 55 rebuys) to win the first event of the series — $25,000 GGMillion$ No-Limit Hold’em 8-Handed. He earned $897,000 for his efforts, a career-best score, and it brought his lifetime live tournament earnings over $5.6 million, according to Hendon Mob.

Greenwood’s brother, Sam Greenwood, was on-hand to snap celebratory pics with the champion. Sam Greenwood is one of the top live tournament players in the world with over $33 million in cashes. Only Daniel Negreanu, with $51 million, has a bigger Hendon result among Canadians.

“It feels amazing,” Luc Greenwood said. “I remember when I walked in here with my girlfriend and I saw all the faces on the wall, I thought, ‘I’m not up there yet.’ I didn’t think it would happen this fast. But obviously it’s amazing. Normally I feel that these things don’t happen to me. But it actually happened. It’s pretty amazing.”

A Champion Once Again

Following Holz’s historic 2016 year, which saw the young poker star rack up over $16 million in cashes, he scaled back his commitment to the grind. Instead, he focused more on ventures outside the poker world, but he never gave up his passion for the game and has continued to compete in some of the biggest games, just less frequently these days.

As such, the now 30-year-old hasn’t won many live poker tournaments in recent years. In fact, the last time he took down a live high roller event was in July 2017 when he shipped a no-limit hold’em event at Triton Poker Montenegro for $444,893.

On Saturday, he ended the drought by defeating a tough field that included Brewer, who has been on a tear this summer, which included winning his first two World Series of Poker bracelets.

“It’s really the competition and the love for the game,” Holz told Triton commentator Ali Nejad when asked what keeps him motivated. “These moments! I’m sad when I bust out, not necessarily because I’m missing out on the money but because I can’t continue playing. When it ends, there’s a little moment where you realise it’s over and you switch to real life again.”

Holz has quietly cracked $3 million in live tournament cashes this year, mostly in high rollers. Well, not quietly anymore.

Triton Poker $25k High Roller Final Table Results