Thomas Bihl Wins First Ever World Series of Poker Europe Bracelet

2007 World Series of
Poker Europe (WSOPE)
Event #1
£2,500 Buy-in
H.O.R.S.E.
Tournament Report

UltimatePokerForum.com
The Ultimate Poker Site

Germany's Thomas Bihl Captures
First-Ever WSOP Bracelet Won Outside
U.S. At World Series of Poker Europe
Presented by Betfair.com

LONDON - September 9, 2007 - The first round in the new battle for global
poker bragging rights goes to Europe, thanks to Thomas 'Buzzer' Bihl who
made poker history today at the inaugural World Series of Poker Europe
Presented by Betfair.com.

Bihl, a native of Frankfurt, Germany, who started playing poker just four
years ago, won £70,875 and the first-ever WSOP bracelet awarded outside
the United States. Bihl outlasted a field of the world's top poker pros in one
of the most challenging of all poker games, the £2,500 HORSE championship
that kicked off the inaugural WSOP Europe.

'Thomas Bihl has earned a place in poker history with this incredible win,' said
WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. 'The fact that he is a Betfair player, when
Betfair is our presenting sponsor, makes this even sweeter.'

Two-time World Series of Poker winner and Nevada native Jennifer Harman
finished a disappointing second after relinquishing a two-to-one chip lead to
Bihl, who played a quiet waiting game for most of the 13-hour final table.
Harman had hoped to add a third WSOP bracelet to her total today at the
2007 WSOP Europe.

Bihl emerged victorious in the three-day HORSE event - a tournament
featuring five variations of poker - at 4:15 a,m. GMT at The Casino at The
Empire in London, capturing the £70,875 first-place prize and a coveted
WSOP gold bracelet made by luxury Swiss watchmaker CORUM.

Up to today's event, the 32-year-old Bihl had won $132,226 in official prize
money in his four-year career. The event was the eighth major-tournament
final table for Harman, whose official career winnings totaled $1,557,372
leading up to this competition. She has won millions more in the world's
biggest cash games in the course of a professional poker career that began
two decades ago in her hometown of Reno, Nevada.

WSOP bracelet winner Kirk Morrison finished third, winning £28,250. Five-time
World Series of Poker bracelet winner Chris Ferguson finished fourth, adding
£21,656, or more than $42,000, to his career earnings of $5,551,650.
Russian phenom Alex Kravchenko collected £17,714 for fifth place, while Yuval
Bronshtein won £14,438 for sixth, Joe Beevers £11,812 for seventh and Gary
Jones 9,118 for eighth. In all, the top 16 of the 105 entrants won £262,500 in
prize money.

An hour before the HORSE final table began, 156 of the world's top players
anted up £5,000 pounds to play in the WSOP Europe Pot-Limit Omaha
championship. The WSOP Europe HORSE and Pot-Limit Omaha tournaments
established record prize pools.

The World Series of Poker Europe presented by Betfair.com debuted in
London September 6 and runs through September 16. The tournament is
hosted at three casinos operated by London Clubs International - Fifty on St.
James Street, The Casino at the Empire on Leicester Square and The
Sportsman at Marble Arch.

The World Series of Poker Europe consists of three events. The largest of
these is the Main Event, a £10,000 buy-in, 750-player, six-day tournament
spread over three casinos with an expected prize pool of roughly £7.5 million.
The winner could take home more than £1.5 million in cash, depending on the
number of entrants, as well as a WSOP gold-bracelet, the most coveted prize
in poker.

To view the complete results for Event #1 of the 2007 World
Series of Poker Europe, click on the link below:

2007 WSOP Europe Event #1 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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