Timo Kamphues Follows in Brother Lars' WPT Footsteps at Five Diamond

By Sean Chaffin

The Kamphues bros can play some poker. Lars chalked up his first WPT final table in July at the Gardens Poker Festival. His brother Timo (pictured) was the chip leader after the final break in the action on Day 4 of the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic.

Lars (pictured) took home $128,320 for his fourth-place finish at the Gardens and now Timo is looking for an even bigger score.

The 25-year-old is originally from Germany and now lives in Austria. He and his brother play professionally, mostly online. However, the pair travel occasionally for some bigger tournaments.

“We actually started playing about four years ago,” Timo says. “We play on a regular basis and take it seriously. We don’t travel that much, but play online and that’s how we improve. It’s 90 percent online and then some good stops like this one.”

What made him set his sights now on the Five Diamond?

“It’s one of the biggest $10Ks in the world,” he says. “It’s gone awesome. I love it here.” 

Timo is hoping to keep that a nice run going by German players on the tour. He and his brother are friends of Fabian Gumz, who finished runner-up at the WPT Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open for $353,380.

“We were in Miami with Fabian when he got second,” he says. “He left back for Germany and we kind of continued riding his heat.”

After winning a $1,100 event at the Wynn on Sunday for $202,787, that heat may be getting even hotter now. His huge run at the Five Diamond comes in an event that attracts some of the best players in the world. 

“I’m just running so good,” he says. “That’s poker. I can’t believe it, but it feels good.”

Timo now has more than $215,000 in live tournament winnings, and Lars has $409,000. Timo admits he doesn’t have a big percentage of himself in this one because the buy-in is a little bigger than what he normally plays. However, he still has nice chunk of his action and hoping the big run continues.

His hobbies and interests away from the table? Not much apparently and he simply says: “Playing poker.”

That single-minded focus has him coming back for Day 5 and looking for a final table appearance to match his brother’s – and maybe more.

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas, and his work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions.