It was douze-points for Norway this week when the country’s teenage poker prodigy, Annette Obrestad grabbed some of the industry’s most illustrious prizes.

Obrestad walked away from the European Poker Awards with the title of “Tournament Performance of the Year”, making this 19 year old the youngest player to ever win the award.

The European Poker Awards, held this year in Paris, France, honors those poker players who have brought prestige to the game throughout the course of the year. Players can compete for prestigious awards such as “Rookie of the Year”, “Leading Lady” and, of course, “Tournament Player of the Year”. 

In awarding Annette Obrestad at the event, Mr. Nic Szeremeta, head of Poker Europa, said that the young player’s win was truly “phenomenal”, considering that she was competing against some of the industry’s top performers such as Bruno Fitoussi (winner of the $4-million World Poker Tournament in Las Vegas) and Carlos Mortenson (2nd place in the Vegas WSOP HORSE event). 

Obrestad began playing poker at the age of fifteen and it didn’t take long for experts to recognize her uncanny talents. She became a household name when she grabbed the title of Winner of the Main Event at the World Series of Poker Europe in Leicester Square and earned herself a cool $2-million in prize money in one sitting.  

Obrestad also managed to grab a five-year sponsorship deal with the leading poker site, Betfair.com through its new Director of Poker, Bruce Stubbs. The site regularly dedicates special tournaments to the young player, including bi-weekly freezouts on Tuesday and Friday evenings. 

Annette Obrestad was also nominated for “Rookie of the Year” and “Leading Lady” in the European Poker Awards, although she was beaten in both categories. The Leading Lady of the year was undoubtedly Katja Thater, Germany’s most famous female poker player. Thater won her first World Series of Poker bracelet this year in the $1,500 Razz event and finished fifth place in the $1000 World Championships Ladies no limit Texas Hold ‘em event.  

Obrestad was modest about her success at the awards and commented that she was only at the beginning of her poker journey. “I am still learning so much. 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,” she said in an interview. 

Author:  Renee Kingsley