| EPT Dublin: Final Table player profiles
Seat 1: Thierry Van Den Berg, 35, from Holland – PokerStars qualifier – 274,000
Thierry, a former chef from Almere, is a regular PokerStars qualifier and won four EPT seats last year on PokerStars, as well as four WSOP seats. He turned his WSOP satellite success this year into a place on the final table. He also qualified for EPT Baden in October – and came 5th for 132,900, and now he’s on his 2nd EPT final table in less than a month. Thierry, who has a six-year-old daughter, turned pro a year ago.
Seat 2: Daan Ruiter, 24, Groningen, Holland – 646,000
Daan turned pro at the start of EPT Season 4 and immediately got a good result - by coming 25th in Barcelona for 16,700. He is also studying for his Masters degree in real estate at Groningen University. Online he only ever plays cash games but he loves live tournaments – and the chance it gives him to get a read on his opponents. Today’s final table appearance in Dublin is his best tournament success so far.
Seat 3: Reuben Peters, 45, from Colorado, USA – PokerStars qualifier – 176,000
Reuben “seaanchor” Peters comes from the US ski resort Telluride where he trades stocks for a living - , and plays $100 online rebuy tournaments for fun. He’s a serial PokerStars qualifier. As well as winning numerous WSOP and PCA seats, he also qualified for the EPT3 Grand Final in Monte Carlo in April. In WSOP 2006, he cashed in 65th place for $90,000. Reuben’s wife Amy hasn’t come to support him in Dublin as she was here just a few weeks ago with some friends – they came to The Police reunion concert in Croke Park.
Seat 4: Annette Obrestad, 19, from Norway – 788,000
The “Annette_15” rumours began surfacing last year, about how a Norwegian teenager was spreading fear and panic on the internet with a super aggressive and highly lucrative style of play. Reputations were destroyed and egos crushed. For many, the first public sighting of this internet phenomenon was at the EPT Grand Final last March, but her early forays into live play were unspectacular. Clearly, she was waiting for the top prize in Europe, which she landed when picking up the WSOP Europe title and a cheque for Ł1m.
Seat 5: Anders Pettersson, 20, from Sweden, PokerStars qualifier – 166,000
Just after he turned 18, Anders qualified for the Swedish Pokermiljonen televised tournament in Tallin, where he found himself on the same table as Mats Rahmn and Peter Eicchardt. He plays a lot online and has been to a few EPTs - but reaching the EPT Dublin final table is his best result so far.
Seat 6: Casper Hansen, 24, from Denmark. PokerStars qualifier – 360,000
This poker pro from Copenhagen bought in direct to the EPTs in London and Barcelona - without getting any return on his investment. Now he’s in Dublin after winning a satellite on PokerStars – and has finally secured the cash position his talent deserves. Of his table image, Casper says: “I like to play relaxed, a bit sloppy, like I can barely count to ten.” Are his final table opponents going to fall for that old line?
Seat 7: Trond Eidsvig, 22, Aalesund, Norway – 184,000
Trond, who comes from the tiny village of Ǻlesund on the west coast of Norway, is making his 2nd EPT final table in less than three months after winning 250,800 for 5th place in Barcelona at the start of EPT Season 4. Trond turned professional 18 months ago and played at EPT Dortmund last season but got knocked out early in the second day. Since his Barcelona success, Trond has hit a hot streak in the cash games in the last couple of months.
Seat 8: Michael Durrer, 42, from Germany, PokerStars qualifier – 247,000
After studying business and IT at college, Michael has since devoted himself to a lifetime of gambling. Billiards, sports betting, cards – Michael has done the lot. But a few years ago he broke his leg and, while convalescing, decided to take up poker. He said: “It was only after losing around 20,000 that I decided I’d better start playing properly. I bought books, started studying and now I’m getting results.” Michael came 12th at EPT Baden last month for 30,000 but his biggest win to date was 60,000in Enschede in Holland last May.
Seat 9: Reijo Manninen, 47, from Helsinki, Finland – PokerStars qualifier - 480,000
Reijo first took up poker in the early 1970s. He says he then had to give it up again in the 1980s “because no one else was playing” but is now enjoying a comeback with success in a wide variation of games including final tabling in the Sökö (a kind of Scandinavian 5-card stud) championships. He’s now enjoying a two-month break from work and is focusing on playing online SNGs on PokerStars. He said: “I don’t normally have time to play live tournaments but I’m enjoying EPT Dublin!” |
