Annette Obrestad Wins 1st WSOP Europe Main Event

2008 Caesars Palace
World Series of Poker
Europe (WSOPE)
Event #3
£10,000 Buy-in
No Limit Holdem Championship
Tournament Report

UltimatePokerForum.com
The Ultimate Poker Site

Norway's 18-Year-Old Annette
Obrestad Stuns Poker World With £1
Million Win In First World Series of
Poker Europe Presented by Betfair.com

LONDON - September 17, 2007 - Annette Obrestad became the youngest
bracelet winner in World Series of Poker history early today by conquering
the Main Event at the first annual WSOP Europe Presented by Betfair.com.

The 18-year-old Norwegian played masterfully over the course of the five-day
£10,000 buy-in No-Limit Texas Hold'Em Championship, outlasting a field that
included the strongest showing of professionals in European poker history.

'I never expected to win,' said the composed and articulate Oberstad, who
turns 19 in just one day. 'I'm speechless. I really don't know what to say.'

'In the end, the Europeans dominated here,' said WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey
Pollack. 'But this is the start of a new tradition for the World Series of Poker
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.'

Obrestad's win capped a series that saw European players - make that
young European poker players - shut out veteran American professionals by
winning all three WSOP bracelets up for grabs. Her victory over 22-year-old
John Tabatabai of London came when her three sevens beat his two pair.

Obrestad won the £1 million, or $2,013,102, first-place prize and the most
coveted prize in all of gaming, a World Series of Poker 18-karat gold and
jewel-encrusted bracelet created by luxury Swiss watchmaker CORUM, the
official timepiece of the WSOP. Tabatabai earned £570,150, or $1,147,770,
for second place.

With her performance, Oberstad's payday snapped two records held by
poker pro Annie Duke. The first was Duke's one-day-old record as the first
woman to exceed $1 million in official WSOP winnings, thanks to her 21st
place finish in the WSOP Europe Main Event. Duke's £30,770, or $61,943,
payday saw her edge just over the $1 million earnings mark. Duke also held
the single-event record win for a woman with her $2 million winner-take-all
victory in the 2004 Tournament of Champions staged by Harrah's
Entertainment.

The world's top-ranked professionals journeyed to London this month for a
chance to make poker history by winning the first three WSOP bracelets ever
awarded outside the United States. But the likes of Phil Hellmuth, Doyle
Brunson, Johnny Chan and scores of others were stymied in their quests, as
Europe's cadre of young poker players - most of whose playing experience
was gained online - performed exceptionally well.

Matthew McCullough, the last remaining American in the Main Event, finished
third after going all in with top pair on the flop. The hopes of the 26-year-old
New Jersey resident for a WSOP bracelet were dashed when John Tabatabai,
who called with middle pair, matched his ace kicker for two pair that
eliminated the full-time anesthetist. McCullough collected £381,910 for third
place.

Norwegian Oyvind Riisen, 22, won £257,020 for finishing fourth, and
Johannes Korsar, 20, of Uppsala, Sweden, got £191,860 for fifth place.

Dominic Kay, 30, a professional sports trader from London, finished sixth to
earn £152,040, while 24-year-old Magnus Persson of Gothenburg, Sweden,
received £114,030 for seventh place. Copenhagen's Theo Jorgensen, at age
35 the oldest player at the final table, won £85,070 for his eighth-place finish.

Final-table play got under way at 2:30 p.m. GMT at The Casino at The Empire
on Leicester Square. A few moments later, 21-year-old Londoner James Keys,
who began the day with the lowest number of tournament chips, was
eliminated. He collected £61,540 for his efforts.

The 10th through 36th place finishers received from £41,630 to £27,150,
depending on their final position. The total prize pool for the Main Event was
£3,676,990.

To view the complete results for Event #3 of the 2007 World
Series of Poker Europe, click on the link below:

2007 WSOP Europe Event #3 Tournament Results

To view the complete schedule for the 2007 World Series of
Poker Europe, click on the link below:

2007 World Series of Poker Europe Schedule & Results

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