German Player Wins WSOPE

A poker player from Frankfurt, Germany has gone down in history as the first winner of the World Series of Poker Europe HORSE championship. Thomas "Buzzer" Bihl only started playing the game four years ago, but he is now the proud owner of the first WSOP bracelet ever to be awarded outside the USA, as well as the winning of a pot worth £70,875.

The three-day HORSE event, which was presented by betting exchange giant Betfair.com, was as demanding as they come, and featured five different variations of the game. Bihl had already had a pretty good few years considering how new he is to poker, having amassed $132,226 in official prizes over the last four years. The WSOPE win almost doubles that amount, and will no doubt spur him on to go onto even bigger things in the future.

Bihl, who is 32 years of age and an avid Betfair poker player, won the last hand of the tournament at 4:15 in the morning at The Casino at The Empire in London. He had played a very patient game for the bulk of his thirteen hour stint at the final table, and patience proved itself invaluable as he beat Jennifer Harman into second place. Kirk Morrison finished in third place and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson finished in fourth.

WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack said: "Thomas Bihl has earned a place in poker history with this incredible win. The fact that he is a Betfair player, when Betfair is our presenting sponsor, makes this even sweeter."

The World Series of Poker Europe continues running until Sunday 16 September, with the main £10,000 buy-in event having 750 players and a first prize that is expected to be worth around £1,500,000. And, of course, the winner will get a coveted WSOP bracelet. What they won't get if Thomas Bihl's new claim to fame of being the first WSOPE bracelet winner - that's something that will be in the history books of poker forever.