Jeff Williams from the University of Georgia was the only American poker fan left in the last day of the Poker Stars European Poker Tour’s Grand Final. But after beating world champion poker stars such as Greg Raymer, Carlos Mortensen and Joe Hachem, the American political science student won the championship title and a cool 900,000 euro for his efforts.

The dramatic final concluded on March 11 where Williams faced British arch-rival Arshad Hussain, whose second place spot earned him 492,000 euro. A stunned Williams later commented: “Arshad and I have played each other a lot in heads-up tournaments and Arshad normally wins. So I was pretty nervous but by then I had a big chip lead which makes a difference. This whole event has been just amazing. I am still taking the whole thing in. I can't really believe it.” The poker champ was cheered on to victory by his parents, who had crossed the Atlantic to join the Poker Tour without their son’s knowledge.
The European Poker Tour is Europe's most prestigious poker tour. The tournaments, which are held in a variety of European locations, are televised and broadcast throughout the world. This year’s Euro 10,000 No Limit Texas Hold'em tournament was held over five days and generated a total prize pool of three million euro.
Jeff Williams enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame in the competition. After winning a poker event at PokerStars, the student paid just $41 to buy his way into the No Limit Texas Hold’em Grand Final. Similarly, Arshad Hussain’s entry to the competition was free after the poker star won a series of online competitions to qualify.
 
The third and fourth finalists in the tournament also took home impressive prize money. Norway’s Aleksander Strandli won earned 251,000 for his third place, while Canadian Marc Karam won 195,000 euro for coming in fourth.

Record numbers of media covered this year’s competition in Monte Carlo. The tournament also received live coverage by national publication, the Times Online. 

Back to March 2006 Online Gambling News
Back to latest Online Gambling News
Back to Online Gambling Archive