On February 24, the Gran Casino Barcelona was the host of an all-Scandinavian affair, the
Nordic Summit. Fast-growing site Everest Poker has made it a bit of a habit to host special or remarkable types of events in Barcelona. (For instance, just a few months before this
Nordic Summit, it also hosted the
Everest Poker European Championships EPEC at the same venue.). This time it was the
Nordic Summit, an event in which Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish players (10 each, for 30 players total) would battle for the semi-official title "Best Scandinavian."
The 30 finalists were all players who had qualified online through satellites (for as little as $3 + 30¢) or by accumulating sufficient "summit points." All of this led to a 30-player final with a $20,000 total prize pool, in an event with a rather unusual structure. First, there were 10 matches in which one Dane, one Swede, and one Norwegian would play a shootout - the winner going to the final. This led to a final table of 10 players, a sit'n'go if you will, in which, as it turned out five Danes, four Norwegians and only one Swede would battle things out for the trophy. When looking at things from a "Nations Cup" perspective, Denmark could claim victory, but the goal was of course winning the event. And at the final table, there was no team play anymore - it was just every person playing for himself.
And while the Spanish people were mostly sitting in front of the large TV screen in the casino to watch the Atletico Madrid- Real Madrid football match, and with many eliminated Scandinavians heading back and forth to the bar to get their beers, the action started heating up at the 10-player final. For instance, on one hand, no fewer than two players got eliminated, when queens held up against the other players' pocket jacks and ace-king. In the end, three players remained that were all named "Nielsen" or "Nilsen," and this didn't make things easy of course for yours truly the reporter. After all, it's not like most of the players were well known, or had large reputations. No, Everest is known for the large emphasis that it puts on, above all, the recreational players, showed by the fact that in this
Nordic Summit some of the players clearly lacked a bit of live poker experience.
The final was still very exciting to watch though, and at all times a large crowd of spectators was surrounding the table. After Denmark's Björn Nielsen had been eliminated in third place (netting him $2,500), heads-up play started with a $30,000-$20,000 chip lead for Norway's Tore Nilsen against Denmark's Anders Nielsen. Tore Nilsen, a 42-year-old from Arendal, Norway had qualified for this final by winning a $22 + $2 qualifier, beating 74 players to get his ticket. And in Barcelona, it was clear that Lady Luck favored him, as he won two races with J-10 versus deuces and with pocket fives against a nine-six, and even a crucial pot as a 4-to-1 dog with again pocket fives against pocket sixes. But he also played well - and as a result was crowned the 2007
Nordic Summit champion, with a $6,000 first prize to go with it.
All of this happened while the Spanish regulars had left the TV-screen in favor of the cash games again, pleased that the club that they hate so much, Real Madrid , had lost another two points, leaving them even further behind Barcelona and Valencia at the top of the Primera Division. So, while poker is definitely booming in Spain, when faced with a choice between poker and football, right now poker is still usually just second-best. But with all these interesting tournaments that are hosted in Spain now - well, I guess that this could very well be about to change soon.
1) Tore Nilsen (Norway) - $6,000
2) Anders Nielsen (Denmark) - $4,000
3) Björn Nielsen (Denmark) - $2,500
For more Happenings in Europe, visit
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