Martin Klaser wins 2008 WSOP Bracelet event no. 43 $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Eight-or-Better poker tournament

Martin Klaser scored one for Germany Thursday night, bringing their 2008 WSOP bracelet total to three. Martin Klaser dominated short-handed play en route to his first World Series of Poker title in event no. 43, the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Eight-or-Better tournament.

After besting a field of 720 players and a final table that included Team Full Tilts Erik Seidel. Martin Klaser entered heads-up play with a 3:1 chip lead over Casey Kastle and played an ultra-aggressive style that saw him win all but three of the 19 hands that were dealt.

Here were the chip counts heading into the final table:

Seat 1: Joseph Haddad – 135,000
Seat 2: Tom Chambers - 263,000
Seat 3: Larry Wright - 117,000
Seat 4: Chad Burum - 117,000
Seat 5: Michael Fetter - 288,000
Seat 6: Casey Kastle - 188,000
Seat 7: Jon Maren - 377,000
Seat 8: Martin Klaser - 337,000
Seat 9: Erik Seidel - 340,000

This victory earned Martin Klaser, who began playing poker professionally less than one year ago, more than $216K and his first career bracelet.

Martin Klaser became a Full Tilt Poker pro in October 2007 after winning the Million Euro Challenge Freeroll tournament in Munich, Germany, where he defeated a 2,100 player field and earned the opportunity to play three heads-up matches against Team Full Tilt members Chris Ferguson, Gus Hansen, and Howard Lederer. After receiving coaching from Team Full Tilts Phil Ivey, Jennifer Harman and Erik Seidel, Martin Klaser went on to win two of three matches and €350,000.