Markus Lehmann

Birthplace
Austria

Birthday
June 26

Total Winnings
$802,295

Markus Lehmann technically hails from Germany and has homes across Europe, but at his heart, he calls Austria home. Perhaps it is because Lehmann’s first tournament cashes, and a number of scores since then, came at the Austrian Bregnez Open Event. Lehmann began cashing in those tournaments back in 2005, but he has actually been around the poker world for decades.

After playing competitive chess and backgammon in his use, Lehmann took up poker in the late ‘70s and played Draw and Stud games professionally until the mid-1980’s. Lehmann rekindled his love for poker after the Moneymaker boom. He saw poker on TV, took up No Limit Hold’em, and hit the tournament circuit.

Since then, Lehmann has put up over $1.3 million in tournament cashes, most notably winning the inaugural WPT Spanish Championship in Barcelona. In a setting straight out of a fairy tale, Lehmann came from behind to defeat a final table line-up that included Steve Sung, Ludovic Lacay, and Gus Hansen to win the top prize of €562,000. The Cinderella story even had a perfect setting, as the final table was held within the walls of a Spanish castle.

Lehmann has earned more than enough money to live off of playing poker these past few years, but Lehmann actually pays the bills by selling Herbalife products. Lehmann is so successful at the venture that he is a member of the elite Herbalife Chairman’s Club.