Espen Jorstad wins 2022 World Series of Poker Main Event for $10,000,000

Norway's Espen Jorstad has won the 2022 WSOP Main Event title at Bally's & Paris, Las Vegas.

Jorstad first hit poker news headlines when he won Event #55: Tag Team alongside Patrick Leonard for $148,067, but he is lighting up the scene once again after topping a field of 8,663 players, the second-largest in WSOP history, to win the Main Event. The Norwegian pro put on a stellar performance throughout the tournament and closed out the event by defeating runner-up, Adrian Attenborough, in tough heads-up play to take home the first place prize of $10,000,000.

Though the final table upset may have been a disappointment for the Australian Attenborough, he was still able to cash in a whopping $6,000,000, while third-place finisher Michael Duek won $4 million.

Jorstad makes history as the first Norwegian ever to win the WSOP Main Event. The closest a Norwegian poker player has come to the prestigious gold bracelet, is the 2014 runner-up Felix Stephensen who now falls to second place on Norway's all-time money list.

The question now is... what will he do next?

It seems Jorstad has his plans already laid out:

The question now is... what will he do next?

It seems Jorstad has his plans already laid out:

My goal has been to reach into the High Roller scene and play more $25,000 tournaments and stuff like that. I've dipped my toes, but now I have a bigger bankroll to take some shots in those tournaments. I need to get in the lab and make sure I'm good enough to play them... And make some very sensible investments — cryptocurrencies and tech stocks, probably.

The moment he secured the win, Jorstad immediately called his mother:

She was crying and had trouble speaking. She's my biggest fan, so it was kind of emotional... It feels really good.

Final Table Results

Place	Winner	Country	Prize (USD)
1	Espen Jorstad	Norway	$10,000,000
2	Adrian Attenborough	Australia	$6,000,000
3	Michael Duek	Argentina	$4,000,000
4	John Eames	United Kingdom	$3,000,000
5	Matija Dobric	Croatia	$2,250,000
6	Jeffrey Farnes	United States	$1,750,000
7	Aaron Duczak	Canada	$1,350,000
8	Philippe Souki	United Kingdom	$1,075,000
9	Matthew Su	United States	$850,675
10	Asher Conniff	United States	$675,000

It was mostly smooth sailing for Jorstad, who entered the final day as the chip leader. He was able to sit back and watch Attenborough send Duek to the rail on just the tenth hand of the day. Just one hand later, Jorstad almost sent Attenborough home right behind him, but the Australian tank-folded a bottom paid to stick around for a short heads-up battle. This hand has since been dubbed 'The tank heard around the world' by PokerGo.

Funnily enough, Jorstad revealed to Attenborough that he was the one player he did not want to face heads-up for the title and admits he "just got better cards than him today."

In a post-win interview Jorstad commented on the tank:

"How long was he tanking? It felt like an eternity... I was trying to focus on my breathing, did some meditation. I've been [meditating] on and off for an eternity. You focus on different body parts, focusing on each finger and just chilling in my zone."

Unlike the 10 hour heads-up stint we witnessed in 2018, it took the Norwegian just 20 minutes to be crowned champion. Jorstad forced another deep tank from Attenborough on the final hand, where the soon-to-be champion landed a full house on the river.

I was curious how the match was going to go... The heads-up was almost finished in one hand which was kind of absurd. It went as expected. He's a really tough opponent, plays aggressively and finds good hero calls... He's a very tough opponent so it went as expected."

Attenborough reflected on his heads-up mistakes:

I ran really good and definitely don't deserve to win $6,000,000, I was just along for the ride and it sucks. Such a big mistake at the end, but it's ok. I'm super proud.