Annette Obrestad became the youngest player ever to win the “Tournament Performance of the Year” award at the prestigious European Poker Awards in Paris.Her achievement at the World Series of Poker Europe was recognised as “phenomenal” by Poker Europa Chief Nic Szeremeta who presented the award. She defeated a field comprising of “one of the toughest fields in poker” to win more than $2 million.
Annette beat fellow nominees Carlos Mortensen and Bruno Fitoussi. Mortensen won $3.97 million at the WPT in Las Vegas while Fitoussi took $1.2 million by finishing second in one of the most prestigious tournaments in the poker calendar, the WSOP HORSE event, also in Las Vegas.
Annette was nominated in two other categories including “Leading Lady” and “Rookie of the Year.” She narrowly missed out to Katja Thater, who also won a WSOP bracelet this year, in the “Leading Lady” category.
Only 19, and two years too young to legally enter a Las Vegas casino, Annette Obrestad is an online poker prodigy who shot to fame after winning the Main Event at the World Series of Poker Europe in London’s Leicester Square. Two months later Annette narrowly missed her first European Poker Tour win—taking second place and a $429,181 payday in Dublin.
“I am so happy to win this award. I prefer this one than rookie of the year because I was up against such great players. I am still learning so much,” she said. “There are still a lot of areas of my live game that can improve. My instincts, my ability to know what certain tells mean. But I am getting better all the time.”
