Seat 3: David Kaufmann, 33, Germany (24,800,000)
Originally from near Cologne, in Germany, David Kaufmann also lived in his wife’s hometown of Mainz for some years before the couple moved to Vienna about a year ago. Although this run at EPT Paris represents his best-ever live tournament score, Kaufmann has already reached the pinnacle of the PokerStars online tournament hierarchy. Back in 2013, he conquered the WCOOP Main Event and won $1,493,499.
After that, Kaufmann says he played live here and there, but hadn't cashed in eight years by the time he showed up last October at EPT Cyprus. The drought has a simple explanation: Kaufmann says he hadn't played much poker – live or online – since around 2015 or 2016. "I lived off of that [WCOOP] score," he says.
During the time he put poker on the sidelines, Kaufmann studied economics and psychology and graduated in the former. He also helped a few non-profit organisations and was an active Parteider Humanisten political party member. "I'm still a member but not active anymore," he says.
Kaufmann eventually discovered that he didn’t enjoy anything as much as poker. So he is back – and has returned in style. The 33-year-old landed four ITM finishes in Cyprus (including the Eureka Main Event, the Eureka High Roller, and EPT Main Event). Then he added three at EPT Prague. And now he is gunning for the EPT trophy in Paris.
He's been to a big final table with seven figures up top, but that was online. Playing on the livestreamed feature table is a different experience. "Honestly, I'm not as nervous as I'd have thought," he says, adding that spending two levels on the TV table on Day 5 helped him settle in.