PokerStars’ Peter Eastgate, Youngest Ever WSOP Champion, Quits Poker
Poker fans were amazed by 22 year old Peter Eastgate’s performance at the 2008 World Series of Poker when he took not only the title of Main Event champion but also became the youngest player to do so. Now, less than two years after setting the record, Eastgate is shocking industry spectators again by announcing that he’s retiring from professional poker.
Eastgate hails from Denmark and became an instant star after defeating Russia’s Ivan Demidov at the 2008 WSOP and cashing over nine million dollars. His win broke the previous record for youngest WSOP champion held by Phil Hellmuth (who triumphed in 1989 when he was only 24 years old) and also gave Eastgate access to the lucrative sponsorship opportunities that led to his signing with Team PokerStars Pro. Despite a career that continued to demonstrate a profound level of talent, Eastgate recently announced that he has lost his motivation for playing professional poker. Stating that his goal was always just to become financially independent, Eastgate now feels that the poker world has little left for him.
Neither PokerStars nor Eastgate have spoken to press as to the young player’s future plans but, for better or worse, they won’t include the world of professional poker. Peter Eastgate has only commented that he wants to “. . . try to focus on Peter Eastgate the person” rather than on his career in cards.
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Eastgate hails from Denmark and became an instant star after defeating Russia’s Ivan Demidov at the 2008 WSOP and cashing over nine million dollars. His win broke the previous record for youngest WSOP champion held by Phil Hellmuth (who triumphed in 1989 when he was only 24 years old) and also gave Eastgate access to the lucrative sponsorship opportunities that led to his signing with Team PokerStars Pro. Despite a career that continued to demonstrate a profound level of talent, Eastgate recently announced that he has lost his motivation for playing professional poker. Stating that his goal was always just to become financially independent, Eastgate now feels that the poker world has little left for him.
Neither PokerStars nor Eastgate have spoken to press as to the young player’s future plans but, for better or worse, they won’t include the world of professional poker. Peter Eastgate has only commented that he wants to “. . . try to focus on Peter Eastgate the person” rather than on his career in cards.
Visit PokerStars.com For the best online Poker experience now
