Reigning World Champ Koray Aldemir Quietly Crushing it at 2024 WSOP
June 18, 2024 Jon Sofen Senior Editor U.S.
Koray Aldemir is off to a strong start at the 2024 World Series of Poker, a rare occurrence for reigning world champions.
Seven months ago, the German poker pro who resides in Austria won the WSOP Main Event forR$8 million, life-changing money even for a player who was already an accomplished grinder.
At the 2024 WSOP, he's already racked up six cashes, reached two final tables, and entered Friday ranked sixth in the Player of the Year standings.
On the surface, what Aldemir's accomplished this summer might not seem so incredible or worth mentioning. But when you consider the past history of Main Event champs and how they performed at the WSOP the following year, you'll realize how rare his performance has been.
One Year After Winning: WSOP Champs Since 2007
The list of players crushing it at the World Series of Poker the year following a Main Event title is slim during the 21st century. In fact, most of the world champions since 2000 haven't gone on to accomplish much at the WSOP after their big win. Aldemir, on the other hand, is still crushing it and likely will for many years.
Prior to winning the Main Event, the German poker pro had overR$12 million in live tournament cashes, according to Hendon Mob. So, he's cut from a different cloth than, say, Jerry Yang, the 2007 champion who has just eight cashes in bracelet events in the past 15 years.
WSOP Cashes in Year Following Main Event Title Since 2000
Winner Year Player Cashes Following Year 2024 Koray Aldemir 6* 2024 Damian Salas 2 2024 Hossein Ensan 2 2024 John Cynn 0 2024 Scott Blumstein 1 2024 Qui Nguyen 0 2024 Joe McKeehen 5 2014 Martin Jacobson 2 2013 Ryan Riess 3 2012 Greg Merson 1 2011 Pius Heinz 2 2010 Jonathan Duhamel 2 2009 Joe Cada 0 2008 Peter Eastgate 1 2007 Jerry Yang 0 2006 Jamie Gold 2 2005 Joe Hachem 4 2004 Greg Raymer 3 2003 Chris Moneymaker 1 2002 Robert Varkonyi 0 2001 Carlos Mortensen 0 2000 Chris Ferguson 6
*Unfinished series
Aldemir already has more cashes than any other world champ since 2000 during the ensuing WSOP, except for Chris Ferguson, who had six cashes in 2001.
Ferguson, the 2024 WSOP Player of the Year, is the only Main Event winner this century to win a bracelet the year after. The average Main Event winner since 2000 has averaged just 1.85 cashes at the WSOP the following year. Aldemir's already more than tripled that average in less than three weeks.
On Friday, Aldemir had a rough day. He entered two bracelet events and failed to advance into the money in either. But he's already cashed for overR$360,000 thus far at the 2024 WSOP, and we haven't yet reached the midway point in the series.
For his lifetime, Aldemir has overR$21 million in live tournament cashes, one bracelet, and 40 cashes at in World Series of Poker events. At age 32, he's on pace for a Hall of Fame career one day.
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