International Young Guns Steal Show at World Series Final Table

The 117-day wait to declare the 2008 World Series of Poker main-event winner is now over. Peter Eastgate of Denmark became the youngest world champion in history at 22 years old when he defeated Ivan Demidov of Russia in the longest WSOP final table in history. Read all about the highly anticipated matchup of the "November Nine" on Page 60.

Demidov and Eastgate personify the new establishment in poker: young, tough, and fearless international players who cut their teeth online. A packed-to-capacity theater at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino was treated to a firsthand look at just how good these two players are.

Peter employed a patient, calculated approach, and was able to catch opponents' ill-timed mistakes throughout the entire final table. He was aggressive at the right times, while his opponents chose inopportune times to make moves.

Erick Lindgren, who was on hand to take home his custom Harley-Davidson motorcycle for winning the World Series Player of the Year title, reminded the players before they squared off that Doyle Brunson wanted to let them know there was a cash game running after the final table concluded.

Eastgate's $9.1 million first prize certainly could juice up a cash game. But the high-stakes online cash-game player who calls $200-$400 no-limit his bread-and-butter game certainly wouldn't be an easy mark. After outlasting 6,843 players, Peter told Card Player, "I will try my best to be an inspirational figure for poker players in Europe and globally." Demidov, who also final-tabled the European WSOP main event and, combined, won more than $6.4 million in the two events, will certainly be a name that we have just begun to write about.

It's worth repeating just how global poker has become in such a short period of time. In 2004, players from 24 different countries competed in the main event. In 2007, when players from five nations (U.S., Canada, England, Russia, and South Africa) fought their way to the final table, 87 countries were represented. This year, an astonishing 118 different countries had players venture to Las Vegas.

After these two emerging poker superstars make the rounds, bet on more and more players taking a shot at poker's most prestigious title.