The beauty of poker is its inclusiveness. Poker doesn’t just belong to the realm of casinos; it started life in the streets and soon became the staple of game nights all over the world. Anyone and everyone can pick up a pack of cards and play a game of poker. The rules are easy to learn and it’s a fun game to play.
Online casinos have certainly played a part in keeping the game alive and kicking, though, as have the grand tournaments that attract the world’s best players. Some of those kick-ass players are famous faces from movies, television and sport, such as Matt Damon and Jennifer Tilly.
Americans dominate the scene, but today we’re going to look at some of the best celebrity poker players that Europe has to offer. These are the top 5 European celebrities that have taken the poker world by storm.
Gerard Pique
Spanish footballer, Gerard Pique is best known for his time at Old Trafford. However, this Manchester United veteran is also an avid poker player. He has taken part in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and he has played in games associated with the European Poker Tour. He has earned over €200,000 in winnings from poker tournaments, which is no small feat for a part-time poker player.
Teddy Sheringham
It seems that footballers like to play poker between games – perhaps it’s a way to distress- because we have yet another footballer in our top 5. Sheringham has turned his hobby into a second career.
While many celebrities stick to celebrity poker tournaments, Sheringham hangs out with the big guns in the WSOP. In 2009, he placed 14th in the WSOP and in 2010, he made it to the final table in the European Poker Tour Main Event. He ended up in a very respectable 5th place and walked away with €93,121 in winnings.
Petter Northug
Petter Northug is a world champion cross-country skier – one of the most successful cross-country skiers ever, in fact. Not only has Northug won two Olympic gold medals, he’s also become something of a media mogul in his native Norway. Steely determination goes a long way in both sport and poker, so it’s no wonder that he’s made it onto our list as one of the best celebrity poker players in Europe.
If his track record on the snow is anything to go by (and by that we mean his world domination!), this mighty Norwegian is one to look out for in future WSOP events.
Stephen Hendry
Stephen Hendry is another Brit from the world of sport – this time snooker. He’s not the first snooker player to branch out into poker, but he’s one of the only snooker players to take it seriously (Jimmy White and Steve Davis, for example, can be found in private poker circuits).
He regularly attends celebrity poker tournaments and he can certainly hold his own at the table. We’ve yet to see him take a step further and dip his toes in a WSOP event, but having conquered the Snooker circuit at such a young age its highly likely that Hendry could make bigger waves in poker should he turn his full attention to it.
Victoria Coren Mitchell
Victoria Coren Mitchell is a well-respected, British writer and television presenter, which when compared with the rest of the entries in our top 5 may seem rather tame. However, don’t be fooled into thinking this intelligent and well-spoken lady won’t destroy you at the poker table.
Coren Mitchell has become a renowned figure in both celebrity and professional poker tournaments; she was the first female player to win a European Poker Tour event and the first player to win two EPT Main Events – London 2006 and San Remo 2014. With over 2 million Euros in winnings and a place in the Women in Poker Hall of Fame, Victoria Coren Mitchell is, perhaps, more poker player than celebrity.
