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Rainer Kempe is a German professional poker player, born in Berlin in 1989, who specialises in high roller No-Limit Hold’em tournaments. He won the $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl in 2016 for $5,000,000, beating his compatriot Fedor Holz heads-up, added two European Poker Tour high roller titles, and won his first World Series of Poker bracelet in 2025. [1][2][3]
Rainer Kempe: key facts
| Full name | Rainer Kempe |
|---|---|
| Country | Germany [1] |
| Born | 1989 (age 36–37), Berlin [1] |
| Residence | Brighton, England [1] |
| Known for | Winning the 2016 $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl for $5,000,000 [2] |
| WSOP bracelets | 1 (2025 $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty) [3] |
| Major titles | EPT Prague €25,000 Single-Day High Roller 2015; Super High Roller Bowl 2016; APPT Macau HK$100,000 High Roller Single Re-Entry 2018; PCA $50,000 Single-Day High Roller 2019; EPT Monte Carlo €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em 2019; WSOP $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty 2025 [4][2][6][7][8][11] |
| Live tournament earnings | $23,534,768 as of October 27, 2026 [1] |
Early life and first steps in poker
Kempe was born in Berlin and studied at the University of Potsdam in Germany and the University of Sussex in England. [1] He started playing poker casually while studying business administration in Potsdam, a course he later said his heart was not fully in. “Back then I was happy to finish the night with five or ten euros,” he told PokerListings in 2017. [9]
After moving to the United Kingdom he began to take live poker more seriously, had success at low stakes and moved up gradually. [9] His first recorded tournament cash came in 2011, when he finished 10th in a Berlin Triple A Series event for $2,044. He lives in Brighton, England, and is a member of the No Limit Gaming group with other German players, including Fedor Holz and Manig Loeser. [1]
Breakthrough: EPT Prague 2015
By late 2015 Kempe had two fifth-place finishes in EPT main events and had reached final tables on the World Poker Tour and at the WSOP. In December 2015 he won the EPT12 Prague €25,000 Single-Day High Roller after a 15-hour day. The event drew 80 entries and a prize pool of just under €2 million, and Kempe beat Jean-Noel Thorel heads-up for €539,000, at the time the biggest win of his career. [4] PokerNews later called 2015 his “breakout year”. [2]
Playing style
Kempe plays mainly No-Limit Hold’em high roller tournaments, where most of his biggest results have come. [1] After his 2025 bracelet he said that turbo and super turbo structures are “tough to learn”, and credited his sit-and-go background for an edge over players less used to the format. [11] He has described his rise as gradual: “I grinded up gradually so it doesn’t strike me as that surprising in a way.” [9]
Greatest achievements
The 2016 Super High Roller Bowl
Kempe’s best known result is the 2016 $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl in Las Vegas. The final day began with seven players from a 49-player field, and Kempe eliminated Matt Berkey in fifth and Phil Hellmuth in fourth before Erik Seidel went out in third for $2,400,000. Heads-up was an all-German match against Fedor Holz, which Kempe began with 9.23 million chips to 5.47 million. After several lead changes he won with pocket eights against Holz’s pocket twos just before 1 a.m. local time, taking $5,000,000 while Holz received $3,500,000. [2] The $5,000,000 is still the largest cash of his career. [3]
High roller titles in 2018 and 2019
In March 2018 Kempe finished third in the first Super High Roller Bowl held in China, a HK$2,000,000 event in Macau with 75 entries. He knocked out David Peters, Bryn Kenney and Dominik Nitsche at the final table before losing a large pot to Patrik Antonius, whose flush beat Kempe’s set of fours, and collected $2,039,357. Justin Bonomo won the event. [5] Days later he won the APPT Macau HK$100,000 High Roller Single Re-Entry from 38 entrants for HK$1,203,000 ($153,297), beating Manig Loeser heads-up. [6]
In January 2019 he won the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $50,000 Single-Day High Roller in the Bahamas, a day after finishing fourth in the $25,000 Single-Day High Roller. The event had 64 entries and a prize pool of $3,104,640; Kempe came back from four big blinds at the final table and beat Alex Foxen heads-up for $908,100, his biggest cash in a PokerStars event. [7] In May 2019 he added the EPT Monte Carlo €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em, beating João Simão heads-up in a 53-entry field for €400,850, his fifth tournament win of the year. [8] In early July 2019 he led the Global Poker Index Player of the Year race and was third in the overall GPI ranking. [10]
Tournament results
| Year | Event | Result | Prize | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl, Las Vegas (49 players) | 1st | $5,000,000 | [2] |
| 2018 | Super High Roller Bowl China, Macau (75 entries) | 3rd | $2,039,357 | [5] |
| 2019 | PCA $50,000 Single-Day High Roller (64 entries) | 1st | $908,100 | [7] |
| 2025 | WSOP $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty (809 entries) | 1st | $892,701 plus bounties | [11] |
| 2015 | EPT12 Prague €25,000 Single-Day High Roller (80 entries) | 1st | €539,000 | [4] |
| 2019 | EPT Monte Carlo €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em (53 entries) | 1st | €400,850 | [8] |
| 2018 | APPT Macau HK$100,000 High Roller Single Re-Entry (38 entrants) | 1st | HK$1,203,000 ($153,297) | [6] |
World Series of Poker
Kempe’s first WSOP cash came in 2015. Over the following decade he built up more than 70 WSOP cashes and six final tables without a win; Card Player wrote that the 2025 victory finally removed his name from the “best without a bracelet” list. [3] His closest earlier finishes were fourth in a $600 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack event in 2019 and sixth in the $7,777 Lucky 7’s High Roller online event in 2021. [11]
On June 28, 2025 he won Event #72, the $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em (8-Handed), at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. The one-day event drew 809 entrants and finished after about 15 hours; Kempe beat Yuya Arito heads-up for $892,701, plus $27,000 in bounties collected from other players and $3,000 from his own bounty. [11] Card Player noted that he was 35 at the time. [3]
In his own words
- “Fedor really pushes the limits of what I thought was possible.” On Fedor Holz, June 2017. [9]
- “But at the same time, I don’t feel like it came overnight.” On his rise to the highest stakes, June 2017. [9]
- “There are so many talented German players but one thing is that it’s much easier to sell action for high buy-in tournaments in Germany compared to Spain or Russia for example.” June 2017. [9]
- “It feels like cheating a little bit.” On winning his first bracelet in a one-day event, June 2025. [11]
Iconic hands and moments
Run it Back with Rainer Kempe, Super High Roller Bowl 2016 (PokerGO)
A final table fold at the 2016 Super High Roller Bowl (PokerGO)
Top 5 moments of the 2016 Super High Roller Bowl (PokerGO)
FAQ about Rainer Kempe
How old is Rainer Kempe?
Rainer Kempe was born in 1989. He was 35 when he won his first WSOP bracelet in June 2025. [1][3]
Where is Rainer Kempe from?
He is German and was born in Berlin. He lives in Brighton, England. [1]
What is Rainer Kempe’s net worth?
There is no reliable public figure for his net worth. What can be verified is his live tournament record: $23,534,768 in earnings as of October 27, 2026, according to PokerNews. Prize totals do not show buy-ins, staking deals or the share of his action sold to others. [1]
How many WSOP bracelets does Rainer Kempe have?
One. He won the $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty at the 2025 World Series of Poker for $892,701, after more than 70 WSOP cashes without a win. [3][11]
What is Rainer Kempe’s biggest tournament win?
The 2016 $300,000 Super High Roller Bowl in Las Vegas, which paid him $5,000,000. [2]
Who did Rainer Kempe beat to win the Super High Roller Bowl?
He beat fellow German Fedor Holz heads-up. Erik Seidel finished third and Phil Hellmuth fourth. [2]
How many EPT titles has Rainer Kempe won?
He has won two EPT high roller events: the EPT12 Prague €25,000 Single-Day High Roller in 2015 and the EPT Monte Carlo €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em in 2019. [4][8]
Related Poker Legends
Read more about Fedor Holz, runner-up to Kempe in the 2016 Super High Roller Bowl, Justin Bonomo, who won the 2018 Super High Roller Bowl China in which Kempe finished third, and Patrik Antonius, who eliminated Kempe from that event.
Sources
- PokerNews, Rainer Kempe player profile (earnings data from The Hendon Mob), accessed October 27, 2026.
- PokerNews, Rainer Kempe Wins the 2016 Super High Roller Bowl for $5,000,000; Fedor Holz Runner-Up, June 2, 2016.
- Card Player, Rainer Kempe Turbo Boosts To First World Series of Poker Bracelet, June 28, 2025.
- PokerNews, Rainer Kempe Wins EPT12 Prague €25,500 Single Day High Roller for €539,000, December 12, 2015.
- Card Player, Justin Bonomo Wins 2018 Super High Roller Bowl China, March 22, 2018.
- PokerNews, Kempe And Chen Win Big in APPT Macau High Rollers, March 26, 2018.
- PokerNews, Rainer Kempe Wins the $50,000 Single-Day High Roller for $908,100, January 10, 2019.
- PokerNews, Rainer Kempe Wins the EPT Monte Carlo €25,000 NLHE for €400,850 ($446,322), May 4, 2019.
- PokerListings, Rainer Kempe: “Fedor Pushes the Limits of What is Possible”, June 29, 2017.
- PokerNews, Global Poker Index: Kempe Leading POY, Chidwick Back on Top Overall, July 5, 2019.
- PokerNews, Rainer Kempe Speedruns First Bracelet In $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty, June 28, 2025.
Last verified: October 27, 2026. Figures that change over time, such as career earnings, are given with the date they were checked.
