LAS VEGAS, Nov. 13, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 2008 WORLD SERIES OF POKER -- PokerStars-sponsored Danish pro poker player Peter Eastgate has become the youngest player to win the World Series of Poker (WSOP) main event after winning this year's Main Event, earning $9,152,416 million. The 22-year-old professional poker player from Odense, Denmark, broke Phil Hellmuth's 19-year record as the youngest Main Event champion -- set in 1989 when he won at the age of 24. Eastgate also made history by playing in the first ever all European heads up WSOP main event showdown.
"It's an honor to hold the record as youngest World Series of Poker Main Event champion," said Eastgate. "I played really solidly throughout this tournament and I'm proud of that. This gives a new level of credibility for young online players. Thanks to sites like PokerStars, we have become a force to face on the felt."
Click here to see Peter's triumphant post event interview on http://www.pokerstars.tv/:
http://www.pokerstars.tv/movies/47C/wsop-08-final-table-peter-eastgate-crowned-champion.html
Eastgate is one of the top cash pro poker players in Denmark, and has already made a name for himself in several tournaments across Europe and online. Earlier this year, he finished in the top 30 at PokerStars EPT Copenhagen and made the final table of the Irish Poker Open in 2007. During the three month break in the WSOP, Eastgate often played the $200-400 No Limit Hold' Em on PokerStars to sharpen up for the final table.
"Peter is the kind of player who is not afraid to put you under pressure in a game," said Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu. "I'm impressed by the way he played this tournament. He is testament to the young, up-and-coming European players in the poker field."
The soft spoken and stone cold Eastgate is known for his ultra-aggressive poker playing style. He headed into the final table in fourth place with more than $18 million in chips. Entering the final part of the tournament in a one on one game against Russian PokerStars player Ivan Demidov, Eastgate was ahead $79.5 million to $57.7 million, and never looked back.
Six of the nine players to make the 2008 WSOP final table were PokerStars sponsored players. The "PokerStars Million Dollar Men" included:
Ivan Demidov, 27 from Moscow, Russia finished in second place winning $5,809,595. He competed against Peter for the final 4 hours of the game. Ivan made history this year as the first person to make two WSOP final tables.
Dennis Phillips, 53 from Missouri, USA finished in third place winning $4,517,773. Phillips entered the final table as chip leader and pledged to donate 1% of his final table winnings to Put a Bad Beat on Cancer with PokerStars matching 100% of this donation.
Ylon Schwarz, 38, New York, USA finished in fourth place winning $3,774,974. Schwarz is no stranger to WSOP tournaments and has had 11 cashes in WSOP events since 2005.
Darus "Dennis_TO" Suharto, 39, Ontario, Canada finished in sixth place winning $2,418,562. Darus paid $80 for a seat in a satellite tournament on PokerStars and progressed through two levels of online tournaments to win his seat in the WSOP.
David "Chino" Rheem, 28 from California, USA finished in seventh place taking home $1,772,650.
For more coverage on the 2008 World Series of Poker tournament, go to:
http://www.pokerstars.tv/channels/936/wsop-2008.html
More than 1,000 PokerStars qualifiers competed in this year's World Series Main Event and 123 of these PokerStars players have cashed at this year's event -- winning more than $9 million between them and leaving another $32.6 million up for grabs at the final table event. The PokerStars Million Dollar Men have walked away with just under $27.5 bringing the total cash winnings for PokerStars players at the 2008 WSOP main event to more than $36 million.
Among Team PokerStars Pro, Daniel 'Kid Poker' Negreanu won his 4th WSOP bracelet in the Limit Hold'em Event, cashing $204,874. Poker legend Barry Greenstein won his 3rd WSOP bracelet in the Seven Card Razz Event and Italian poker pro Dario Minieri recorded his first WSOP bracelet in the No-Limit Hold'em Six-Handed event pocketing $528,418.
Places Player Payout
---------- -------------------- ----------
1st Peter Eastgate $9,152,416
2nd Ivan Demidov $5,809,595
3rd Dennis Phillips $4,517,773
4th Ylon Schwartz $3,774,974
5th Scott Montgomery $3,096,768
6th Darus Suharto $2,418,562
7th David 'Chino' Rheem $1,772,650
8th Kelly Kim $1,288,217
9th Craig Marquis $ 900,670
About PokerStars:
PokerStars is the world's largest poker room with over 15 million members worldwide, and more free-to-play tables than any other site. At PokerStars.net, players learn how to play, and practice poker skills for free. As the premier destination for the top players, with numerous tournaments running every day, PokerStars is renowned for offering the best software and security in the online poker world.
PokerStars:
- Has dealt over 20 billion hands
- Has run more than 100 million poker tournaments
- Entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the first and only poker website to reach the 160,000 simultaneous players mark
PokerStars is the official sponsor of: The European Poker Tour (www.ept.com), PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Latin American Poker Tour (www.lapt.com), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (www.appt.com) and The World Cup of Poker. PokerStars is the home of Team PokerStars Pro, a group of 30 veteran and up-and-coming players from around the world who play online at PokerStars and are sponsored by the site in international tournaments around the world. For more information please visit http://www.pokerstars.net/.