Vicky Coren takes £500,000 and sees off world class pros at her home casino
Tuesday 26th September 2006
PokerStars.com European Tour London event has been won by journalist Vicky Coren.
As well as claiming the prestigious title in the four-day tournament she also wins a cool £500,000 and a seat at the tour's grand final in Monte Carlo in March.
The excitement in the event culminated in a dramatic final table in Vicky's home casino as she beat off competition from 398 other entrants to become the first woman to win a major European title.
Vicky outlasted some phenomenal competition including world-class players such as 2005 World Champion Team player Joe Hachem, US stars Phil Ivey, Gus Hansen and Barry Greenstein, as well as the two previous winners of the event: John Shipley and Mark Teltscher.
The final heads-up battle against Australian Emad Tahtouh lasted just two hands. Emad, 25, from Melbourne, who has enjoyed a run of recent tournament successes including a $70,000 win at a WSOP circuit event this July, came to London with his best friend Joe Hachem, the 2005 World Champion.
Vicky, 34, the daughter of humorist Alan Coren, is a regular poker pundit and writes a column for the Guardian newspaper. She gained fame as a regular on Channel 4’s Late Night Poker show and recently presented the popular BBC series Balderdash & Piffle.
She said, 'I am so happy and proud to win this tournament in the Victoria casino. The whole EPT is an amazing thing – it’s a fantasy to win any EPT event - but to win in London at the Vic is beyond my wildest dreams.'
The EPT London tournament was the second event in Season 3 with a total prize pool of £1,393,000. The next EPT event is in Baden, Austria (October 7-10, 2006), followed by tournaments in Dublin, Copenhagen & Deauville. The tour will culminate with the Monte Carlo Grand Final starting on March 28, 2007.
