When Reuben Peters sat down at the table today he was the first player to go all-in. It was the first hand and he pretty much had to. As one of the short stacks he knew he wouldn't have long to double up and position himself better to make it through the day. As it turned out no one called the all-in. Had they done it might have changed the outcome of EPT Dublin, but it was a fighting spirit that kept the PokerStars qualifier from Colorado alive, and ultimately led him to the moment when he would seemingly defy logic and become the latest EPT champion.

How it looked at the start of the day:

Seat 1: Thierry Van Den Berg, 35, from Holland - PokerStars qualifier - 274,000
Seat 2: Daan Ruiter, 24, Groningen, Holland - 646,000
Seat 3: Reuben Peters, 45, from Colorado, USA - PokerStars qualifier - 176,000
Seat 4: Annette Obrestad, 19, from Norway - 788,000
Seat 5: Anders Pettersson, 20, from Sweden, PokerStars qualifier - 166,000
Seat 6: Casper Hansen, 24, from Denmark. PokerStars qualifier - 360,000
Seat 7: Trond Eidsvig, 22, Aalesund, Norway - 184,000
Seat 8: Michael Durrer, 42, from Germany, PokerStars qualifier - 247,000
Seat 9: Reijo Manninen , 47, from Helsinki, Finland - PokerStars qualifier - 480,000


In certain segments of society there exist people who are different to everyone else. Greeted in awe by the world's followers these uber-folk are called by their first name and first name only. Ever since the WSOP Europe named its inaugural winner the poker world has known one of its number by the name 'Annette', and nothing more.



It has been a word spoken in reverential terms here in Dublin, even before she looked likely to follow her success in London by winning her first EPT. Miss Obrestad - and that may be the last time her surname is ever used - barged through to the front of the pack on day two and didn't look back. And today she took an incredible lead all the way into the heads-up match with Reuben.



He had been just one of eight players treated like sparring partners. Deft at using her stack to maximum effect Annette doled out punishment at every turn with five players eventually done and dusted at the hands of the Norwegian.

First it was Casper Hansen. When he found queens he pushed in finding Annette meeting him there with pocket aces. The Danish PokerStars qualifier took €30,630 for ninth place. Thierry van den Berg, another PokerStars qualifier, went next 30 minutes later. He moved in on a flop featuring two aces only to be called by Dutchman Daan Ruiter who held a third. Thierry had tried the bluff and it had blown up in his face. Out with an 'Oops', Thierry took away €47,650 for eighth place.

The next twenty minutes saw a further two players exit, both PokerStars qualifiers from a six strong final. First it was the German Michael Durrer. He beat his 12th place finish in Baden last month, but was clobbered by Trond Eidsvig here when he moved in with A-Q only for Trond to show Q-Q. It didn't finish Michael, but the 20k it left him with went in next hand. Annette added the finishing touches, sending Michael to the wings.

He was followed by Anders Pettersson, a 20-year-old PokerStars qualifier from Sweden, who pushed in with Q-7. Trond called with A-3, the ace being enough. In a little over an hour we were down to five players, with Anders gone in sixth place for €83,380.



By now Annette had a stack of 1.3million, ahead of Daan Ruiter on 770k. But second in chips was no guarantee of safety and when Daan lost a pot to Reijo Manninen, which doubled up the Finnish PokerStars qualifier, his tournament was suddenly in jeopardy. Moving all-in behind a raise from Annette, Daan cringed when his A-T was bettered by her A-J. It was the difference of one rank in the deck, but a huge difference in the tournament. The Dutch railbirds called out their support but the board brought no favours. Daan was out in fifth place for €105,510.

Meanwhile, with all attention focused on the Norwegian wunderkind, Reuben Peters tried hard not to be a piece of the scenery on Annette's road to victory. He moved in shortly before the break, Q-J diamonds against Annette's A-K. The flop 9-2-8, with two diamonds, gave Reuben options with a gutshot straight and a flush draw. As it turned out he needed neither with the queen on the river doubling him up. Play merged into the break and players stretched their legs, and we'd seen the eventual winner flex a few muscles. But most people had missed it.

Such was the pace it was not long after the break that Trond Eidsvig's tournament came to an end. Again it was Annette and for a second time she did the deed with aces. Trond left in a slight state of shock, his face pleading for sympathy from someone somewhere and it was easy to understand his confusion. We can only hope the €127,630 for fourth place will settle his shredded nerves.

It had now become even more one-sided. Was it simply a matter of time before Annette finished off Reuben and Reijo and cement her legend into fact? What if Reuben eliminated Reijo? He'd have close to a million chips and be a double up away from seizing the tournament by the throat? It seemed feasible for those wanting to deny one player's dominance, but it wouldn't happen.

When PokerStars qualifier Reijo Manninen went it was Annette forcing him to leave. Behind on the showdown, A-3 to Reijo's A-J, he would depart in third place when the three hit the turn. €178,680 for the Finn.

Annette still had Reuben to beat. He'd seen the turmoil, the players repeatedly thwacked by the 19- year-old girl with a reputation that stretches back to Oslo. Not much was seen or heard of Annette even as she played in full view of the rail this week. Hidden by a fringe, sunglasses and a stack of chips to her chin, she only came out from behind her stack to shake the hand of the vanquished.



The hypothetical plot to topple Annette seemed crushed. Or was it?

Out of synch with events so far Reuben was thrown a lifeline, doubling up when he pushed with bottom two pair and found Annette calling with top pair. It gave Reuben the million chips he would need to have a chance of catching her, a pot which she would later say was a mistake to play.

Then the hand came that would turn the game on its head. Following a Reuben bet Annette re-raised, over 100k more. Reuben called, watching as Annette bet 420k. With a hand that would remain a mystery he moved all-in. Annette couldn't risk it and folded. Suddenly the switch that no one thought possible just 30 minutes earlier had come about, and it would culminate with a stunning victory just a few minutes later.
The flop read T-6-3. Annette bet 230k before Reuben made the decision to settle it then and there. "All-in."

Eyes were on Annette now. She reached for a bottle of water and took a sip, and another, and a third. After the fifth sip she slowly screwed the top back on the bottle, very slowly, like she was ringing its neck. "Call."

A-T for Reuben, pocket sevens for Annette who made an involuntary 'shh' noise when she showed her cards. A four on the turn - she would need a seven or a five. A three came instead and the EPT Dublin was all over. Annette would have to take second, but PokerStars qualifier Reuben Peters from Colorado USA, was able to breathe a sigh of relief. He'd sealed an incredible and unlikely victory, the latest player to make it to an EPT via the lobby of PokerStars.com and become a champion. He's now €532,620 richer and has a place in the EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo next year.


Quotes:

Reuben Peters, winner

"Today I was getting horrible cards and Annette just ran over the table. But the blinds weren't big so there was no panic, I felt like I could take my time.
"I was not supposed to win this. I was down to five big blinds yesterday. I started as one of the short stacks and needed to double up. I got lucky, but it's good to get lucky in poker.

"When I got some cards I was able to play back her. I've played against her many times online in $100 re-buys on PokerStars but that's the first time I've met her face to face. It's by far my biggest win to date."

What will he spend the money on?

A vacation and it'll help pay for my kids education. Charlie, 12 and Martha-Jane, 14.


Annette Obrestad, runner-up

Going into the final, did you think you would win?

"Heads up I thought I could win. But I made a few mistakes. I meant to bet 220k but bet 420k by mistake. I also made a mistake on the two pair hand."

You impressed a lot of people this week

"I'm not happy though."

This EPT Blog is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events Europe has to offer at PokerStars.com.

If you're looking for a little more background information as you follow the progress of an EPT event you might like to check out the EPT database which details results of all EPTs played from all the way back to season one to the present day. Lok up how many times a player has cashed, made a final table or where they stand on the official EPT tournament leader board, the top ten of which looks like this...

Ram Vaswani -- UK -- 2,151 points
Julian Thew -- UK - 2,017 points
Mark Teltscher - UK - 1,817 points
Noah Boeken -- Netherlands - Team PokerStars Pro -- 1,656 points
Luca Pagano -- Italy - Team PokerStars Pro - 1,557
Patric Martensson -- Sweden - 1,517
Bjorn-Erik Glenne -- Norway - 1,436
Roland de Wolfe -- UK - 1,412
Marc Karam -- Canada - 1,401
Gavin Griffin -- USA - 1,361

This week Luca Pagano cashed yet again (his seventh at an EPT) which moved him up the table, and fellow Team PokerStars Pro Noah Boeken did likewise helping him improve. He's now in fourth place in the standings.

Find out more about individual players and on how the leader board is calculated visit the EPT database here.

This EPT Blog is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events Europe has to offer at PokerStars.com.

Guinness might be the staple of many a tourist's itinerary on a Dublin excursion, often at the expense of everything else, but anyone stopping by the Royal Dublin Society this week will have seen another display of world class poker.

While the game's aristocracy of Andy Black, Johnny Lodden and Team PokerStars Pro Noah Boeken all performed well, PokerStars qualifiers too showed the mettle to compete alongside the best. Among them is Thierry van den Berg who last night looked forward to the final whilst dogged mentally by the hand that cost him a good part of his chips. His stack is still a fighting one though, like those of fellow qualifiers Reijo Manninen from Finland and Denmark's Casper Hansen. Both find themselves within sight of the winner's post.

It's not the first time the European Poker Tour has visited the Royal Dublin Society. Two years ago the final table was played here, crossing town after a frenzied two days of action at the Merrion Casino, where late into the night Mats Gavatin defeated Henrik Olander heads-up. Flash forward two years and we're here again, albeit a few metres away in a different part of the RDS, as the final nine of this year's EPT Dublin compete to the last. A check for €532,620 is at stake and a seat in the grand final in Monte Carlo next year.

Of course the RDS is no stranger to high profile events, being the first port of call for any event organiser bringing a headline show or exhibition to the capital of the Emerald Isle.

One such highlight, particularly among fans of kitsch, came back in 1981 and again in 1988, when the RDS hosted the Eurovision Song Contest - an annual music competition staged by the European Broadcasting Union, which sees members submit songs to be performed and then voted on by fellow entrants.

Ireland has won seven times in the past, winning the right to host the extravagant show, but recent years has seen the event dogged by criticism. Due either to sour grapes or good taste, many feel politics rather than music has spiked the voting. It may be politics, but it's shameless politics, and with that comes enough humour to make nearly 600 million people around the world find it worth watching.

Music concerts are a regular fixture here. The EPT is merely the warm up act for 50 Cent, Harry Connick Junior and Amy Winehouse, each of whom are penned in to appear at the RDS which incientally is considered the premier 'Metal' venue in Ireland. If music isn't your thing you might find a Knitting and Stitching Conference more to your tastes, or stick around for the Irish Hairdressers Federation bash. It's all here.

But for now be content with an EPT final featuring some of Europe's top pros and the game's latest phenom Annette Obrestad. It all gets underway at 4pm G.M.T., that's 11am E.T. Here's the full line up:

Seat 1: Thierry Van Den Berg, 35, from Holland - PokerStars qualifier - 274,000



Thierry, a former chef from Almere, is a regular PokerStars qualifier and won four EPT seats last year on PokerStars, as well as four WSOP seats. He turned his WSOP satellite success this year into a place on a side event final table. He also qualified for EPT Baden in October - and came 5th for €132,900, and now he's on his 2nd EPT final table in less than a month. Thierry, who has a six-year-old daughter, turned pro a year ago.

Seat 2: Daan Ruiter, 24, Groningen, Holland - 646,000



Daan turned pro at the start of EPT Season 4 and immediately got a good result - by coming 25th in Barcelona for €16,700. He is also studying for his Masters degree in real estate at Groningen University. Online he only ever plays cash games but he loves live tournaments - and the chance it gives him to get a read on his opponents. Today's final table appearance in Dublin is his best tournament success so far.

Seat 3: Reuben Peters, 45, from Colorado, USA - PokerStars qualifier - 176,000



Reuben "seaanchor" Peters comes from the US ski resort Telluride where he trades stocks for a living - , and plays $100 online re-buy tournaments for fun. He's a serial PokerStars qualifier. As well as winning numerous WSOP and PCA seats, he also qualified for the EPT3 Grand Final in Monte Carlo in April. In WSOP 2006, he cashed in 65th place for $90,000. Reuben's wife Amy hasn't come to support him in Dublin as she was here just a few weeks ago with some friends - they came to The Police reunion concert in Croke Park.

Seat 4: Annette Obrestad, 19, from Norway - 788,000



The "Annette_15" rumours began surfacing last year, about how a Norwegian teenager was spreading fear and panic on the internet with a super aggressive and highly lucrative style of play. Reputations were destroyed and egos crushed. For many, the first public sighting of this internet phenomenon was at the EPT Grand Final last March, but her early forays into live play were unspectacular. Clearly, she was waiting for the top prize in Europe, which she landed when picking up the WSOP Europe title and a cheque for £1m.

Seat 5: Anders Pettersson, 20, from Sweden, PokerStars qualifier - 166,000



Just after he turned 18, Anders qualified for the Swedish Pokermiljonen televised tournament in Tallin, where he found himself on the same table as Mats Rahmn and Peter Eicchardt. He plays a lot online and has been to a few EPTs - but reaching the EPT Dublin final table is his best result so far.

Seat 6: Casper Hansen, 24, from Denmark. PokerStars qualifier - 360,000



This poker pro from Copenhagen bought in direct to the EPTs in London and Barcelona -without getting any return on his investment. Now he's in Dublin after winning a satellite on PokerStars - and has finally secured the cash position his talent deserves. Of his table image, Casper says: "I like to play relaxed, a bit sloppy, like I can barely count to ten." Are his final table opponents going to fall for that old line?

Seat 7: Trond Eidsvig, 22, Aalesund, Norway - 184,000



Trond, who comes from the tiny village of Ǻlesund on the west coast of Norway, is making his 2nd EPT final table in less than three months after winning €250,800 for 5th place in Barcelona at the start of EPT Season 4. Trond turned professional 18 months ago and played at EPT Dortmund last season but got knocked out early in the second day. Since his Barcelona success, Trond has hit a hot streak in the cash games in the last couple of months.

Seat 8: Michael Durrer, 42, from Germany, PokerStars qualifier - 247,000



After studying business and IT at college, Michael has since devoted himself to a lifetime of gambling. Billiards, sports betting, cards - Michael has done the lot. But a few years ago he broke his leg and, while convalescing, decided to take up poker. He said: "It was only after losing around €20,000 that I decided I'd better start playing properly. I bought books, started studying and now I'm getting results." Michael came 12th at EPT Baden last month for €30,000 but his biggest win to date was €60,000in Enschede in Holland last May.

Seat 9: Reijo Manninen , 47, from Helsinki, Finland - PokerStars qualifier - 480,000



Reijo first took up poker in the early 1970s. He says he then had to give it up again in the 1980s "because no one else was playing" but is now enjoying a comeback with success in a wide variation of games including final tabling in the Sökö (a kind of Scandinavian 5-card stud) championships. He's now enjoying a two-month break from work and is focusing on playing online SNGs on PokerStars. He said: "I don't normally have time to play live tournaments but I'm enjoying EPT Dublin!"

And a reminder of what they're playing for:

1st -- €532,620
2nd -- €297,800
3rd -- €178,680
4th -- €127,630
5th -- €105,510
6th -- €83,380
7th -- €66,370
8th -- €47,650
9th -- €30,630

This EPT Blog is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events Europe has to offer at PokerStars.com.

Ludovic Lacey is out in 11th place, moving in with A-T which were stopped dead in their tracks by pocket jacks. Playing down to nine rather than eight means just one further elimination is required for a final table. But the bigger story behind all this is the sudden collapse of Andy Black. From sitting at one point with over 700k a short while ago, he now has just 90k after a series of dark hands sent him to the brink.





It started with a hand against Annette who made a full house that cost Andy 100k. Then a blinds war broke out with Anders Pettersson with Andy pushing all-in with K-2 off suit. Pettersson though had found pocket eights and called, doubling up. There would be more.



PokerStars qualifier Reijo Manninen meanwhile was putting together his own story, battling back from just a few blinds to the felt into the hundreds of thousands despite expectations from all on the rail - who had to kept at bay by Tournament Director Thomas Kremser - that he would be out next. His big hand was with pocket eights and it was Andy Black who called with A-K. With no help on the board another chunk of his stack was headed in the opposite direction. Andy's collapse was almost complete.

But not quite.

In another brutal blow Tronde Eidsvig took a little more from Andy, moving in with over cards and a flush draw on a low flop with Q-9. Andy, finding pocket fours in the hole, called. But the gods had something else in mind sending a fateful nine on the turn, pairing the one in Tronde's hand.

From 700k to 90k in half an hour. We need one more elimination before we reach our final. In an astonishing turn around it could well be Andy Black who falls short.

This EPT Blog is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events Europe has to offer at PokerStars.com.

Team PokerStars Pros have featured largely in this event. Although Dario Minieri and Katja Thater fell on the first day Noah Boeken and Luca Pagano flew the flag for PokerStars into day three. But Luca was eliminated earlier today in 24th place and now Noah has gone, out in 14th place.

He moved all in with A-T hearing Andy Black calling before Noah had moved the first of his chips across the line. A-J for Andy.

"Oooh, that hurts my feelings" he joked. "It's okay, the ten is coming."

Courageous optimism for sure, but the ten failed to show. The last member of Team PokerStars is eliminated and with him the last chance for a double EPT winner. Noah Boeken out in 14th place and €20,420. A handshake from Andy Black and we're five players from our final table.



This EPT Blog is brought to you by PokerStars, the official sponsor of the European Poker Tour. Win your way into the biggest events Europe has to offer at PokerStars.com.