Poker news

Sandra Naujoks, a member of the prestigious PokerStars.de ShootingStar team and Europe’s current Leading Lady, has won EPT Dortmund for €917,000.

The 27-year-old from Dessau is only the second woman to win an EPT after Victoria Coren, now Team PokerStars Pro, won EPT London in season three.

Naujoks triumphed in Germany’s biggest ever poker tournament after beating fellow German Holger Kanisch, a 26-year-old economics student from Koblenz. Germany dominated the €5,300 No Limit Hold’em event with 270 players out of a 667-strong field, and 31 players cashing from a total of 64. Between them, German players won €2.1 million – more than half the total prize pool of €3,335,000.

Naujoks – known online as the "Black Mamba" - started playing live last year and almost immediately had her first big result - winning the European Championship at the Casinos Austria Poker Tour. She was elected Europe’s Leading Lady at the European Poker Awards and joined the ShootingStar team at the PCA in January.

Naujoks was the third German EPT winner this season after ShootingStar Sebastian Ruthenberg won EPT Barcelona and Moritz Kranich won Deauville.

The final was disappointing for Team PokerStars Pros William Thorson and Luca Pagano however. Both were desperate to secure an EPT victory but Thorson was knocked out in 7th place for €116,500 and Pagano in 6th place. For Pagano, it was a record 10th EPT cash.

The final was also a near-miss for Canadian Mike McDonald who won Dortmund last year but was eliminated in 5th place by Naujoks. The newest ShootingStar recruit Florian Langmann was knocked out in 9th place.

The tournament featured a wealth of international stars including Pokerstars-sponsored WSOP champion Peter Eastgate as well as Team PokerStars Pros Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Noah Boeken, Dario Minieri, Luca Pagano, Katja Thater, Alex Kravchenko and all the ShootingStar team. Some 143 PokerStars players won their seats online.

Results from the final table:

1. Sandra Naujoks, Germany - €917,000 (ShootingStar)
2. Holger Kanich, Germany - €533,000
3. Marc Gork, Germany - €307,000
4. Johan Storåkers, Sweden - €237,000
5. Mike McDonald, Canada - €197,000
6. Luca Pagano, Italy - €153,000 (Team PokerStars Pro)
7. William Thorson, Sweden - €116,500 (Team PokerStars Pro)
8. Cengizcan Ulusu, Turkey - €83,500