Teen Internet Poker Star Wins 2007 WSOP Europe

Norway’s Annette Obrestad, who is well-known in online poker circles as “Annette_15,” win the inaugural £10,000 Main Event at the World Series of Poker Europe this weekend.  Still only eighteen years-old at the time of her victory, and not even old enough to play in the “real” WSOP, she became both the first woman to win a WSOP Main Event and the youngest player to ever win a WSOP bracelet.

If there is anyone who personifies “poker phenom,” it’s Obrestad.  She burst onto the online scene in 2006, just old enough to be allowed to play at the internet poker sites.  She has won over 20 major online tournaments and chalked up almost 100 final tables.  She has won the popular $109 re-buy on PokerStars numerous times, most recently on July 24.  At the beginning of August, she nailed her largest prize up until the WSOP when she won the $500,000 guarantee at Full Tilt Poker for over $117,000.   “Annette_15” has been ranked as the number one online poker tournament player in the world on the famous PocketFives.com rankings and is currently sitting at number four.

Interestingly, she lists her favorite hand as 5-6 of diamonds.  On the final hand of the WSOP Europe, she got all of her chips in the pot with 7-7 on a 5-6-7 board.  Her opponent, John Tabatabai, whom she obviously had covered (barely), also committed his stack with 5-6.  He needed a runner-runner miracle to catch up, but it never happened for him.  So, while 7-7 will surely have a place in Annette Obrestad’s heart, that 5-6 has got to be cemented has her favorite.  After all, it helped her win £1,000,000.