The glitz of Las Vegas certainly came to London this week at the first World Series of Poker Europe tournament.

A star studded list of top professional players including Brunson, Chan, Cunningham, Forrest, Greenstein, Gordon, Harman, Hellmuth, Lindgren and Nguyen were all there to compete in the three gold bracelet events.

The first event to be played was the £2500 HORSE event.  The competition was fierce with many of the world’s top players falling early on.  This time Thomas “Buzzer” Bihl of Germany was successful and took the top prize of £70, 875.  He made history by becoming the first player to win a WSOP gold bracelet outside of Las Vegas.

The second event was the £5000 Pot Limit Omaha Championship title.  A field of 156 top players took part and Europe again showed superiority as only two USA players made it to the final two tables.  And it was A European who again grabbed the glory as Dario Alioto of Italy became the second WSOP gold bracelet winner outside of Las Vegas.  He scooped the jackpot of £234, 390.

This leads us on to the main event, the No Limit Hold Em Championship.  350 players competed for this main event which had an entry fee of £10000.

The No Limit Hold Em event was held over five days, which included the strongest field in European poker history.  

In the end 18 year old Norwegian Annette Obrestad upset the odds to become the youngest winner of a gold bracelet in World Series of Poker history by taking the No Limit Hold Em Championship crown.

Annette’s win means that Europe have proved dominant in the World Series of Poker Europe event, with Europeans winning all three of the gold bracelet events.

WSOP Commissioner Jeffery Pollack said, “In the end, the Europeans dominated here but this is the start of a new tradition for the World Series of Poker Europe and the European and global poker communities.  WSOP Europe will provide more exciting action in the years to come and we’re confident poker greats from all over the world – and across the generations – will shine here, just as they have in Las Vegas.”

Annette Obrestad who is just shy of her 19th birthday won an amazing £1 million or $2, 013, 102.  She also received an 18 karat gold and jewel encrusted bracelet made by Swiss watchmaker CORUM.

Speaking of her win she said, “I never expected to win.  I’m speechless I really don’t know what to say.”

The average age at the final table of the main event was 25 as Europe’s youngsters whose experience of poker is mainly online destroyed the more experienced American stars.

England had something to smile about as 22 year-old Londoner John Tabatabai also defied the odds to finish in second place in the No Limit Hold Em Championship.  He won £570, 150 or $1, 147, 770 for his efforts.

Matthew McCullough the only American to make the final table, finished third.  The 26 year-old earned £381, 910.

22 year-old Norwegian Oyvind Riisen won £257, 020 for finishing fourth.  Whereas 20 year-old Swede Johannes Korsar won £191, 860 for a fifth place finish.

Another Londoner finished in the top six as 30 year-old Dominic Kay a professional sports trader won £152, 040.  Magnus Persson 24, of Sweden came seventh earning him a prize fund of £114, 030.  In eighth place was Denmark’s Theo Jorgensen who at 35 was the oldest player in the final table and he collected £85, 070.  The capital did really well in this event as another Londoner James Keys finished in ninth place earning himself £61, 540.

The total prize fund for the No Limit Hold Em Championship was £3, 676, 990.

Overall the World Series of Poker Europe tournament was a great success and should lead to more events being staged in Europe.

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