Annette Obrestad Wins WSOP Europe Main Event

The first World Series of Poker Main Event was one for the ages.  Not-quite-nineteen year-old (you read that correctly) Annette Obrestad from Norway won the £10,000 no-limit hold’em championship, becoming both the youngest player to ever win a WSOP bracelet and the first woman to win a WSOP Main Event. 

 While she may be an unknown to the general poker public, Obrestad had already developed a following online.  Playing under the screen name “Annette_15,” she has been one of the most successful internet poker players virtually since she became old enough to legally play.  She is currently ranked fourth in the PocketFives.com online tournament rankings and has previously held the top spot. 

Obrestad began the final table in the middle of the pack with just under 700,000 chips.  She stayed quiet through the first fifty hands, falling to under half a million until doubling up to around a million chips on hand 53 when her J-J beat Magnus Persson’s 7-7. 

After 85 hands, while she had gotten more aggressive, taking down many pots, she had only climbed to 1.25 million chips.  It was good for third out of the final four, though.  Matthew McCullough was about a million chips ahead of Obrestad, while John Tabatabai was the big stack with just over 3 million.  Oyvind Riisem brought up the rear with 526,000. 

Riisem was eliminated within ten hands and three-handed, Obrestad was still in third place with 1.1 million.  Both of her opponents had increased their leads on her.  But, just after three-handed play began, Annette_15 caught a lucky river to double through Tabatabai.  All-in pre-flop, the wonder kid was in trouble, her Q-J dominated by J-J.  Through the turn, the community cards were all low, but the magical Queen on the river pulled her into almost a three way tie. 

On hand 106, the final hand before dinner, Obrestad made her next big move (it seems like he M.O. was the massive score).  She raised to 80,000 pre-flop and was called by Tabatabai.  They both checked the K-Q-9 flop, but then Tabatabai bet 135,000 when another Queen hit on the turn.  Obrestad called and they saw an Ace on the river.  Tabatabai bet 250,000, Obrestad raised to 550,000 and Tabatabai called.  Obrestad showed A-Q for a full house to take the pot and the chip lead.  She now had over 3.5 million chips, compared to 2.8 million for Tabatabai and 1 million for McCullough.   

After dinner, Tabatabai eliminated McCullough to set up the heads-up showdown.  He had the chip lead, 4,244,000 to 2,966,000. 

Within fifteen hands, Obrestad had taken the chip lead by about 500,000.  Back and forth they went, and despite Obrestad flopping broadway and taking a huge pot, Tabatabai had retaken the lead by around the 70^th hand of heads-up play.  But as any champion would do, Obrestad kept the pressure on, winning a few decent sized pots without showdown. 

Going into the 211^th hand of the final table (the final table of the 2007 WSOP in the U.S. lasted 205 hands), Obrestad had the chip lead.  She raised to 100,000 pre-flop and Tabatabai called.  Obrestad followed that up with a 250,000 bet on a 5-6-7 flop, only to see Tabatabai triple it.  She then moved all-in and was called.  In a dream scenario, Obrestad had Tabatabai almost dead to rights, with 7-7 for top set versus Tabatabai’s 5-6 for bottom two pair.  Tabatabai couldn’t hit a runner-runner straight to chop and Annette Obrestad won the World Series of Poker Europe and £1,000,000.