South Africa's Flag(credit: Wikipedia)
Darren Kramer, aka King Kramer, is a resident of Cape Town. The 24 year old poker player has cashed previously in the 2007 Aussie Millions. When he entered the South African Open, Kramer was considered a long shot to win by many. Pros such as Tony G, winner of the Moscow Millions and the Betfair Asian Poker Tour, and Raymond Rahme, the first South African to make the final table at the WSOP Main Event, a feat he accomplished in 2007, were perhaps better poised to take the title.
All tolled 175 people paid to play in the tournament, which was held at the MonteCasino in Johannesburg. Kramer, who began the final table in the middle of the pack, made it all the way to heads-up play against Chris Convery. Convery, who had taken out several of his opponents prior to the heads-up match-up, had a clear advantage as the action began. He held more than double the chips Kramer had.
However, Kramer doubled through Convery several times, overtaking the chip lead. On the final hand, Kramer made a straight on the river to send his opponent to the rail. The $140,575 Kramer earned for his first-place finish is his biggest cash to date.
Here are the results:
1) Darren Kramer - $140,575
2) Chris Convery - $95,826
3) Michael Holm - $63,845
4) Melanie Banfield - $38,331
5) Danny K - $28,074
6) Grant Nelson - $24,257
7) Berrny Legenfelder - $20,440
8) Anton Bertilsson - $16,573