Peter Eastgate: The World Champion Speaks
The 2008 WSOP Main Event final table has been called historic, and when Peter Eastgate took it down earlier tonight in Las Vegas it lent a great deal of credence to that claim.
To replace Phil Hellmuth as the youngest-ever World Champion, at 22, Eastgate had to wade through a massive 6,843-strong field and face Russia’s Ivan Demidov heads-up. Eastgate, who plays under the name Isser on PokerStars.com, didn’t look worried for a second.
When it comes to media circuses in poker the Main Event’s conclusion is unparalleled. Thanks to a well-placed microphone and the ability to interrupt people, we managed to get a few choice cuts from the post-victory discussion.
Congratulations Peter. Take us through that last hand.
Sure. To sum up the heads-up match a bit I got him crippled, down to under $20 million, and I was lucky he hit two pair on the turn in the last hand and I hit the wheel. It was inevitable that it would go in there. So I was very lucky in that spot.
You were in control of this match for most of the time. Tell us a bit about how it went.
Well, the early stages of heads-up were just the standard swings. I didn’t make any real mistakes. It might have been that he was catching hands but he was taking good advantage of the spots. But I wasn’t afraid of him getting the chip lead. I was confident in my game and I really just wanted to keep playing the game I always do.
I do try to adjust to my opponents and change gears but I wasn’t in doubt of what I was doing. I think I played great.
You’re so calm right now. You just won $9 million and you’re sitting here with such a calm look. How are you feeling?
Well, I guess I haven’t really realized how big this is. I’m sure in the next day or week I will become more emotional.
Do you have a background in games or sports? Are you really competitive?
I’m just a gambler. I’ve been gambling for like four years. With poker I approach it by just putting in a lot of hours. I try to learn from my mistakes and improve my game. I was introduced to poker in high school and I loved it.
Will you be watching it tomorrow on television?
That’s for sure! But tonight I have to celebrate.
How does it feel to be the youngest Main Event winner?
It’s incredible. It’s great to have this record. Phil Hellmuth wished me luck yesterday.
Was there a clear turning point at this final table?
For the whole final table I never got below $20 million. There was one big hand against Dennis Phillips where I got up to almost $40 million so I think that would be the turning point. When I got to heads-up I was pretty confident. I thought I had an edge over everyone but Ivan was probably the most competent player at the table.
It was kind of expected when I ended up heads-up with Ivan.
Thanks Peter and congratulations again.
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It seems like Peter Eastgate is a man of few words. Luckily for him his play was able to speak volumes at this final table. Eastgate may have run great, but he backed it up with an extremely disciplined strategy.
We’ll be seeing a whole lot more of Peter in the next year as he begins his one-year sentence as worldwide ambassador of poker, carrying on the long tradition of PokerStars champions.
Having waited so long for this day it’s hard to believe it’s come and gone. In the end it was the longest Main Event final table in history. We enjoyed every second of it and we’ll be back next year to do it all over again.
[Thanks to pokerlistings.com for the contribution]
WSOP 08 Final Table: Peter Eastgate Crowned Champion
Peter Eastagte is crowned WSOP 08 Main Event Champion making him the youngest ever WSOP Main Event Champion.
Gus Hansen
Gustav Hanson was born in Denmark and is 30 years old at the time this is being written (2004). He was originally a professional backgammon player but has moved to poker and quickly become a celebrity. Many world-class backgammon players have moved to poker and become successful. Backgammon requires many of the same skills as poker, including calculating percentages and making challenging decisions.
In the last two years, Gus has become well recognized (and rich) due to his four appearances at final tables on the World Poker Tour. He has won over 1.5 million dollars in these WPT events, more than any other player in the world. Gus makes an otherwise often mundane game very interesting to watch. He is certainly the focus of the entire table whenever he sits down.
Gus appears to play horrible poker. He bets at the wrong time with nothing in his hand. He bullies the other players and keeps them off-guard with every bet. He takes advantage of other players by knowing exactly how they will react to any bet. The other players always seem to be amazed at how lucky he is, but Gus makes his own luck by only going to the showdown with his good hands and bluffing players out with his bad hands. Couple this unpredictable talent with his mathematical genius and you have a player to be feared, even by professionals.
Gus takes a lot of chances other players are afraid to take, which makes him fun to watch. Not every player can play this style successfully though. When Gus makes a wild bet, he has a plan. He is exploring the other player’s hands. Occasionally this style of play will go very wrong, but Gus’ success proves it can be profitable if played with skill and guts.
(Source: professional-poker.com)
Clonie Gowen
Clonie Gowen was born Cycalona Gowen during the powerful storm that took over in Oklahoma which served as the inspiration for her name. She became a professional poker player while taking a vocational scuba diving trip to Costra Rica. It was then when she joined the World Poker Tour Season One tournament for $500 and finished in tenth place in the money which earned her a seat at the invitational WPT’s Ladies Night where she overcame many accomplished players to elevate into the spotlight.
While in high school, Gowen won Miss Teen Oklahoma at age 15, she was a varsity basketball player, and a high jump track star. She was introduced to playing poker by her boyfriend’s father and the competitive woman she is, she prevailed in yet another sport. Clonie Gowen opened a travel agency which quickly spread to two locations, and later sold it and moved to being a full-time poker pro.
In 2005 Las Vegas found Gowen at third place in the $20,000 No Limit Hold’em FullTiltPoker.Net Championship where she took home $99,000. In the $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em Ultimate Poker Challenge tournament she placed in seventh and at the WPT Borgata Poker Open in Atlantic City, she finished 31st with $14,987 in the $9,700 No Limit Hold’em Championship Event. Once again in Las Vegas she reached fourth place in the Fourth Annual Five Diamond World Poker Classic $2,000 No Limit Hold’em event and in 2006’s Full Tilt Poker Pro Showdown she made her mark again at third bringing in $120,000.
At the Ultimate Poker Challenge Clonie Gowen was a guest commentator, as well as in The Gaming Club World Poker Championship and the 888.com Women’s Poker UK Open. All In magazine holds her as a regular columnist and at the United States Poker Association, a non-profit organization; she is a member of the Board of Directors. The cameras love Gowen and she often hosts tournaments.
As of 2006, her total live tournament winnings exceed $300,000.
(Source: pokerteam.com)
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