The EPT Vienna Tournament of the European Poker Tour

During the first season of the European Poker Tour, the world witnessed the very fun and exciting EPT Vienna tournament in Austria. During that time there were no PokerStars qualifiers yet. Almost all the players included bought their way into this wonderful tournament. It featured some of the up-and-coming superstars in European poker.

It is somehow sad to see that this tournament has yet to have another follow-up after a successful showing in the first season of the tour. Some of the top European poker players as well as from neighboring countries flocked the tournament to add on something to their reputation as professional poker players.

With the help of this event, the European Poker Tour has continued on its legacy of presenting the best competitive game of poker. All in all, there were 297 players who signed up for the EPT Vienna poker tournament. The game still followed the usual No Limit Holdem poker tournament format.

In the end, it was Pascal Perrault of France who won this prestigious tournament. This victory added on to his reputation as a really good professional poker player. After making waves in the World Series of Poker, he once again proved himself to the world that he is a real winner after bagging this major tournament at the European Poker Tour. His poker credentials include being a grand finalist of the William Hill Poker Grand Prix, being number 1 on the European poker rankings, and being voted the 2001 Poker Personality of the Year.

The Vienna event was star-studded as other European poker greats graced this wonderful tournament. They include Luca Pagano of Italy, Xuyen Pham of the United Kingdom and Alan Betson of Ireland. But it was the final table contestants that really took center stage. Those who were able to reach this level of the tournament include Simon Nowab and Dave Clayton of England, John Schiffmann and Tim Ramsay of the U.S., Joachim Sanjestra of Austria, Andreas Harnemo of Sweden, Mika Puro of Finland, and Perrault.

It was Perrault and Hernemo in the final round. After a thrilling and exciting start, Perrault's hand proved to be much superior to Hernemo at the end of the tournament. Perrault was then given the rights to take home the grand pot which is valued at 184,500 Euros. It is somehow sad to hear that this tournament was held only once. A follow up would definitely be a nice thing. But one thing is for sure, the EPT Vienna poker tournament contributed greatly to the rich and colorful history of the European Poker Tour.