The Remarkable Norwegian poker championship 2018 Held in Dublin
Poker has become increasingly common among Norwegian players, as shown by the 2018 Norwegian Championships held in Dublin, which brought over 1200 players to the city. The tournament turned out to be the largest single nation poker event in the world.
The best players from Norway graced the tournament which was hosted at the Citywest Hotel Dublin. More than 75 events were held in over 10 days and players were given a variety of games to choose from, which included such games as Three-Card Super Hold’em, Limit and No Limit Hold’em, Eight-Game Mix and Pot Limit Omaha. The event was closely followed by local Norwegian Poker sites such as Casinotopp.net (site in Norwegian). Winners included this year’s champion, Stian Rasmussen who went home with €154,615, in the No Limit Hold'em - Norwegian Open, sponsored by PartyPoker (NM7) for which the buy-in was €800 and the total number of entries 1,253. Rasmussen was followed by runner-up Patrick Ånonli who won €90,200. Others include Svein Thomas Nordbotten €58,685, Øyvind Solberg €38,370, Raymond Evensen €21,220, Anders Stai €17,605, Jan Patrick Romero €14,900 and Daniel Vassbund with €12,640.
A look back at the history of Norwegian poker.
Until March of 2015, it was illegal to play poker for money in Norway. All gambling activities in Norway were controlled by the government and there were no forms of online gambling. This didn’t change the fact that the Norwegian population are extremely active on the internet; with the number of Norwegians playing poker online growing dramatically over the last decade. The interest in gambling was so strong that the Norwegians up till the poker legalization, had moved their poker championship abroad, just to be able to play the card game legally.
This meant that all Norwegian poker championships, prior to legalization were held outside the country in such places as Sweden, Ireland, Latvia and England. This went on until 2014 when Norway’s Minister of Culture suggested that restrictions on poker events should be removed. In 2015, the Norwegian Poker Federation (Site in Norwegian) announced the start of the first ever Norwegian poker championship and the event played was held for the first time on Norwegian soil.
However, this year’s event was held in Ireland because apparently, organizers are not prepared to totally discard the idea of hosting the championship abroad. This could be due to the fact that these tournaments have been publicized abroad for years and tournament officials may feel the event would be more successful in cities where they are more popular such as Citywest in Ireland. The major reason, however, may be that there are still certain limitations contained in Norway’s gaming law.
Tournament organizers lament that the authorisation to host the Norwegian Championship in Norway provides very limited terms. The rule states that only three tournaments at the most, along with a combined total buy-in of about €1,000 are permitted. Furthermore, the permit has only been granted for three years, and tournament organizers are unsure what would happen at the end of those three years.
In addition, the Gaming Authority had only accepted that the national championship be arranged on Norwegian soil, on the condition that the event be organized by a charity organization. To date, all other poker and gambling activities are still considered illegal under Norwegian law.
The organizers of the tournament, therefore, feel it is unwise to move away from the already established Ireland audience.
Poker Championship
Stian Rasmussen from Bergen won the suspense-filled Main Event, he beat 1253 opponents to secure the most sought-after title in Norwegian poker along with the sum of €154 615.
First, runner-up was Patrick Ånonli who fought gallantly but still cheered as a new champion was crowned. He went home with the sum of €90,200.
Daniel Vassbund won the PartyPoker Norwegian Poker Championships last longer competition. For reaching the final table, he scored himself a Barcelona package worth €1,100. And for finishing eighth, he received €12,640, in addition to the €1,100 event in Barcelona at the MILLIONS Grand Final and $500 for his travel expenses.
Winners for the Main Event are as Follows:
Stian Rasmussen €154,615
Patrick Ånonli €90,200
Svein Thomas Nordbotten €58,685
Øyvind Solberg €38,370
Raymond Evensen €21,220
Anders Stai €17,605
Jan Patrick Romero €14,900
Daniel Vassbund €12,640
Other Norwegian Champions
There were several other Norwegian championships held in Dublin which produced even more winners on the PartyPoker LIVE tour.
Lars Haraldsen won the No Limit Hold’em Turbo 6-Max, while Robert Einar Kaggerud took the No Limit Hold’em Heads-Up trophy. Kevin Larsen came out tops in the Omaha Pot Limit 6-Max.
The winner for the Texas Hold’em Fixed Limit 6-Max winner was Tobias Leknes, while Kenneth Aspestrand conquered in the 8-Game Mixed Limits.
For the No Limit Hold’em Senior Event, Børre Ludvigsen took the title, while the title for the No Limit Hold’em Ladies Event was won by Camilla Rørholt.
