MAIDSTONE, England, March 8 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Juha Helppi celebrated his 30th birthday in style and avenged his inner demons by winning the inaugural www.PartyPoker.com Premier League Poker title. Helppi, from Helsinki, Finland showed skill and patience in abundance to overcome a world class field in a unique televised tournament, filmed at Maidstone Studios, Kent, UK.
As well as celebrating his landmark birthday, the flying Finn, who has also been a national paintball champion, shot down poker legend Phil Hellmuth, who won his landmark 10th WSOP bracelet at his expense last year.
"This was not about the money," said Helppi. "If I hadn't beaten Phil it would have hurt really bad. This is a big title with a top quality field and it happened as I hit a big landmark in my life. I will remember this forever. It is a perfect birthday present."
Hellmuth had taken the field by storm earlier in the week and went into the final as chip leader. Juha had finished 3rd in the league table but had impressed all his fellow players with his unbreakable focus. Juha continued: "Phil really wanted to win this one and didn't take it too well, I think I managed to tilt him on one occasion. This does help with losing out on the bracelet and is satisfying because the league structure means that skill was so important." The final table lasted over 7 hours with 1.6 million chips in play and blinds starting at 1000/2000. The first player to be eliminated, England's serial televised tournament winner Ian Frazer went after five hours.
Phil was disappointed and instantly announced that he wanted to play the Finn heads-up for US$100,000 but the winner was too busy calling his girlfriend back home and checking on his two-month year old son. The Poker Brat certainly didn't disappoint those who love or loathe him with his banter and behaviour all week. His table talk, in particular, with Tony G, the Devilfish and the under the table camera was as lively as ever. However, the Madison Kid was gracious in defeat, "I have to give Juha credit, he played very well all week," said Hellmuth.
Hellmuth eventually finished third after his kings were cracked by Helppi's two pair -- when Juha called a pot sized raise with 8-7 off suit before the flop-and this when Hellmuth melted down and turned into the Poker Brat. Hellmuth shouted, "You are such a donkey, how could you call a US$50,000 reraise with eight seven off suit. You tried to give me the chip lead!" German WSOP bracelet holder Eddy Scharf finished runner-up after going all in with 5-6 suited against Juha's Ace-2 off suit. At the time the Finn had a 4-1 chip lead. Liz Lieu finished fourth, Vicky Coren finished 5th and Ian Frazer finished 6th.
A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: "Halfway through the tournament we thought we would just have to give the trophy to Phil Hellmuth and halfway through the tournament we thought we'd have to bring in a mediator so that Devilfish, Tony G and Hellmuth could resolve the deep seated issues they have with each other."
"Juha was a worthy champion and was respected by all his fellow players. Everybody was thrilled by the format of tournament and nobody involved doubts that it has a big future."
The series, developed by Matchroom Sport, features 12 of the world's best players playing in a unique league format for a US$500,000 pot. Each player bought in for US$20,000, with PartyPoker.com adding US$260,000. The field included Phil Hellmuth, Dave 'The Devilfish' Ulliott, Tony G, Andy Black, Kiril Gerasimov, Liz Lieu, Ian Frazer, Roland De Wolfe, Vicky Coren, Juha Helppi, Kenna James and Eddy Scharf. PartyPoker.com Premier League Poker is due to be broadcast in the UK on Channel 4 and internationally later this year.
"Premier League Poker featured a fantastic format filled with skill, twists and turns, great players and made for electric television." Phil Hellmuth
"This is a totally different concept and will make great television, it's like a poker Big Brother. It sets a new bar for televised poker." Dave "The Devilfish" Ulliott.
"The Premier League is the best poker event I have ever played in. A real breakthrough for poker." Tony G
"This is one of the most exciting events I have played in. The tournament really highlighted skill." Liz Lieu
"It's the best made for television tournament I've participated in." Roland De Wolfe
"It's the most fun I've had in a room with a group full of men since the summer of 1976...but that is a different story." Vicky Coren
"The PartyPoker.com Premier League event was something that everyone involved in will never forget. When we set out on this project we always envisaged that the event would be something special but what evolved was the most entertaining poker spectacle that the public will ever witness. Twelve grueling heats, four heads up battles and one stunning final table that features tears, joy, verbal warfare and a camaraderie amongst players that has never been seen before." Eddie Hearn, Director, Matchroom Sport
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