Norwegian poker pro Annette Obrestad became the youngest bracelet winner in World Series of Poker history yesterday by conquering the Main Event at the first annual WSOP Europe.

The 18-year-old online poker prodigy outlasted the strongest field in European poker history at the five-day ¬10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event in London’s Leicester Square.

“In the end, the Europeans dominated here,” said WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. “This is the start of a new tradition for the World Series of Poker and the European and global poker communities.”

Annette - who is better known by her online alias Annette_15 - has also agreed a sponsorship deal with Betfair.com which means she will be a constant presence on the live tournament circuit.

“This might be a cause of some dismay to many of the top pros that she knocked out in this tournament,” said Betfair’s Head of Poker Ben Fried. “She is a fearsome poker player and commands great respect at the table. It is fantastic to have her as a member of Team Betfair.”

Obrestad won the ¬1 million, or $2,013,102, first-place prize and the most coveted prize in gaming, a World Series of Poker bracelet.

With her performance, Oberstad’s payday broke 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.

“I never expected to win,” said the composed and articulate Oberstad, who turns 19 on September 18th. “It’s amazing. I’m speechless.”

Final Results

1st. Annette Obrestad ¬ 1,000,000
2nd. John Tabatabai ¬ 570,150
3rd. Matthew McCullough ¬ 381,910
4th. Oyvind Riisem ¬ 257,020
5th. Johannes Korsar ¬ 191,860
6th. Dominic Kay ¬ 152,040
7th. Magnus Persson ¬ 114,030
8th. Theo Jorgensen ¬ 85,070
9th. James Keys ¬ 61,540

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