Benny Spindler: EPT London Champion and German High-Stakes Poker Pro
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 2014
Benny Spindler is a German professional poker player best known for winning the 2011 European Poker Tour London Main Event and for competing in high-stakes live and online games during one of the strongest periods in German poker history.
Also listed as Benjamin Spindler in tournament records, he emerged from the online poker world before becoming a familiar presence at major European tournaments. His career included an EPT Main Event championship, multiple EPT high roller victories and more than $4.5 million in reported live tournament scores.
Spindler has not maintained the same public tournament schedule in recent years. PokerNews reported in 2024 that its last coverage of him in a live event came at the 2018 EPT Barcelona Main Event. There is no reliable basis to describe him as retired, however, so his current status is better characterized as largely absent from the major live tournament circuit.
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Who Is Benny Spindler?
Benjamin "Benny" Spindler is a German poker player from Darmstadt who became prominent during the late 2000s and early 2010s.
Before his major live tournament success, Spindler developed his game online. PokerNews reported that he started playing poker in 2006 at micro stakes before progressing into high-stakes cash games. He became particularly associated with Pot-Limit Omaha and played online under names including "toweliestar."
His online background was an important part of his poker identity. At a time when a new generation of mathematically sophisticated internet players was moving into major live tournaments, Spindler became one of Germany's most recognizable representatives of that transition.
PokerNews' Benny Spindler player profile documents many of his major live results from that period.
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Benny Spindler's Breakthrough at the 2009 PCA
Spindler's first major international live result came at the 2009 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event.
He finished third for $1.1 million, immediately establishing himself as a significant tournament player. The result was particularly important because it showed that his online success could translate to large-field live events against established international competition.
That breakthrough was followed by additional deep runs on the European Poker Tour. Spindler finished 12th in the 2009 EPT London Main Event and later became a regular participant in EPT high rollers and other major European tournaments.
By the beginning of the following decade, he was competing comfortably in some of poker's largest live and online games.
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Winning the 2011 EPT London Main Event
The defining victory of Spindler's live tournament career came at the 2011 PokerStars European Poker Tour London Main Event.
The £5,000 event attracted 691 entries and generated a £3,351,350 prize pool. Spindler reached the eight-player final table with 3.435 million chips and ultimately defeated Steve O'Dwyer heads-up for the championship.
The victory earned Spindler £750,000.
He entered heads-up play with 13.49 million chips against O'Dwyer's 7.145 million. On the final hand, O'Dwyer moved all in holding king-jack against Spindler's ace-king. An ace on the flop helped Spindler secure the pot and the EPT title.
PokerNews' official EPT London coverage lists Spindler as the winner and records the £750,000 first-place prize.
The championship came after several near misses at the highest level, including the third-place PCA finish and a runner-up performance in the EPT Grand Final €25,000 High Roller earlier in 2011.
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EPT High Roller Success
Spindler's EPT accomplishments extended beyond his London Main Event championship.
He also won high roller events in Tallinn and Sanremo. PokerNews described his 2012 EPT Sanremo €10,000 High Roller victory as his second EPT high roller title and third EPT title overall.
The Sanremo tournament attracted 84 entries and created an €823,200 prize pool. Spindler defeated American professional Keven Stammen heads-up to win the title and €253,000.
The final hand gave Spindler pocket aces against Stammen's pocket sevens, and the board did not change the result.
PokerNews' EPT Sanremo coverage documents the victory and tournament details.
Those wins helped establish Spindler as more than a player defined by one major tournament score. His results showed sustained success across EPT Main Events and high rollers during a highly competitive era of European tournament poker.
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Other Major Tournament Results
Several other finishes contributed to Spindler's international reputation.
In addition to his 2009 PCA third-place finish, he finished second in the 2011 EPT Grand Final €25,000 High Roller. He also reached the final table of the 2009 WPT Marrakech Main Event, finishing sixth.
The World Poker Tour's official player record currently lists two WPT cashes, one final table and $106,756 in WPT earnings.
Spindler continued recording EPT results through the middle and latter part of the 2010s. Among them were seventh place in the 2014 EPT Vienna €10,300 High Roller and ninth place in the 2014 EPT London Main Event.
He also cashed at the 2016 Aussie Millions and continued appearing in major European events through 2018.
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Benny Spindler's Live Tournament Earnings
PokerNews reported in a 2024 retrospective that Spindler accumulated more than $4.5 million in live tournament scores before largely disappearing from the live circuit.
Career-earnings figures can differ between poker databases because of differences in the events and results they track. For example, CardPlayer currently lists $4,281,933 in recorded earnings for Benjamin Spindler, but its database notes that its figure can include online events with confirmed real-name results.
For that reason, describing Spindler as having more than $4.5 million in reported live scores, based on PokerNews' later retrospective, is more useful than treating a conflicting database total as a universally agreed figure.
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Did Benny Spindler Win a WSOP Bracelet?
Spindler has not won a World Series of Poker bracelet.
The official WSOP player database lists Spindler with zero bracelets and zero WSOP Circuit rings.
His WSOP record includes cashes in events such as the $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship in 2009, the $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed event in 2010 and the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event that same year.
His most important tournament achievements instead came primarily on the European Poker Tour.
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Online Poker and Pot-Limit Omaha
Spindler's career cannot be understood solely through live tournament results.
He developed as an online player and became associated with high-stakes Pot-Limit Omaha. Contemporary PokerNews reporting described him as a regular in some of the largest online PLO games.
In March 2012, PokerNews reported that Spindler, playing as "toweliestar," had been the biggest online winner during one tracked week after winning $389,583 across 13,839 hands.
That background helps explain why Spindler was regarded as a high-stakes professional rather than simply an EPT tournament specialist. His poker career crossed between major live tournaments and elite online cash-game competition.
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Playing Style and Poker Reputation
Spindler became known during an era when aggressive online professionals were having an increasing influence on live tournament strategy.
His tournament history supports a reputation as a player comfortable applying pressure, playing large pots and competing against elite opposition. His extensive high-stakes online PLO experience also required skills that differ significantly from traditional live no-limit hold'em tournament play.
Specific descriptions of a player's style can easily become subjective, however. Spindler is best characterized through his documented record: an online high-stakes player who successfully transitioned into major live tournaments and high rollers.
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Spindler and the Rise of German High-Stakes Poker
Spindler's peak years coincided with the emergence of Germany as one of the strongest countries in high-stakes tournament poker.
Players including Philipp Gruissem, Tobias Reinkemeier, Fabian Quoss and later Ole Schemion, Fedor Holz and others became fixtures in expensive international tournaments.
PokerNews has specifically identified Spindler among the earlier German players who were regarded as leading high-stakes competitors before the next generation of German high roller specialists became dominant.
His EPT London championship also came during a particularly successful period for German-speaking players on the tour. Germany's Martin Schleich had won EPT Barcelona immediately before Spindler's London victory, while other German and German-speaking players continued winning major European events.
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Where Is Benny Spindler Now?
Spindler has largely disappeared from the major live tournament circuit.
His PokerNews results page lists a 204th-place finish in the 2018 EPT Barcelona Main Event for €9,740 as its most recent covered result. In a 2024 article looking back at previous London champions, PokerNews wrote that Spindler had accumulated more than $4.5 million in live scores before vanishing from the tournament scene and noted that the publication last encountered him in a live event at that 2018 EPT Barcelona tournament.
That does not establish that Spindler has formally retired from poker.
Without a verified retirement announcement or reliable current statement from Spindler, the safest description is that he has not been a regular presence on the major live tournament circuit in recent years.
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Benny Spindler's Poker Legacy
Benny Spindler's career represents an important period in modern European poker.
He emerged from online poker, competed in high-stakes cash games, produced multiple seven-figure and six-figure tournament results and captured one of the European Poker Tour's major Main Event championships.
His 2011 EPT London victory remains the defining result of his live career, while his high roller titles demonstrated success beyond a single tournament.
Although his public live tournament activity diminished after 2018, Spindler remains recognizable to followers of the EPT era in which a generation of German online professionals became major forces in international poker.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Benny Spindler German?
Yes. Benny Spindler is a German poker player from Darmstadt, Germany.
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What is Benny Spindler's real name?
Tournament databases including CardPlayer list him as Benjamin Spindler. He is widely known professionally as Benny Spindler.
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What is Benny Spindler's biggest poker win?
Spindler's signature victory was the 2011 EPT London Main Event, where he defeated a 691-entry field and earned £750,000.
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How much has Benny Spindler won in live poker tournaments?
PokerNews reported in 2024 that Spindler had accumulated more than $4.5 million in live tournament scores. Database totals can differ depending on which results are included.
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How many WSOP bracelets does Benny Spindler have?
Benny Spindler has no WSOP bracelets. The official WSOP database also lists him with zero WSOP Circuit rings.
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Did Benny Spindler win an EPT title?
Yes. Spindler won the 2011 EPT London Main Event and also captured EPT high roller titles, including the 2012 EPT Sanremo €10,000 High Roller.
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What was Benny Spindler's online poker name?
Spindler was widely known online as "toweliestar." PokerNews also documented his involvement in high-stakes online Pot-Limit Omaha games.
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Is Benny Spindler still playing poker?
Spindler has not been a regular presence in publicly covered major live tournaments in recent years. PokerNews' most recent covered live result for him is from the 2018 EPT Barcelona Main Event. No reliable source reviewed for this profile confirms that he has formally retired.