Eleanor Gudger, also known as Elz442, finished first at the WPT500, held in Dusk till Dawn Casino in Nottingham. She faced and defeated Matthew Noonan in a heads-up final game.
The WPT500 was an aspiring project, result of the collaboration between Rob Yong, owner of the Dusk till Dawn Casino, and the World Poker Tour brand. A total of 2,133 players took part in the event and a prize pool of £1 million was generated.
It took Gudger quite some time and effort to eliminate all her opponents and win the tournament. Yet, she demonstrated excellent skills and did not lose her composure even for a moment. It was due to her forbearance and technique that she finished first at the WPT500 event and earned the total sum of £140,000. Some months ago, Elz took the third place at the United Kingdom & Ireland Poker Tour, winning $62,336.
Currently, Gudger is one of the four PKR-sponsored professional poker players. The other three are Roman “Trogvar” Khlan, Simon “Rhymenoceros’ Hemsworth, and Patty “BabyTes” Beaumier. It is important to note that Elz was noticed by the famous gaming provider after her sixth position in the WSOP Ladies Championships back in 2013 and her second place in the WSOPE Ladies Championships in 2011. What is more, she became the best female PKR player, winning more than $200,000 – proof enough to the executives of the 3D poker platform that she was worth sponsoring.
At the final table, Gudger first eliminated Derek Payne, whose best achievement was his second position at a WPT Seniors Event, held at the Bellagio, and Hamid Rowshanaei, sending them to fourth and third place, respectively. The first got home with the sum of £35,000, while the other earned £55,000 for entering the final three.
Eventually, Gudget was seated at the final table facing the not particularly experienced Matthew Noonan for a heads-up action. At the beginning of this final game, the female poker player was holding the majority of chips – that is, 44.2 million versus Noonan’s 18.3 million.
Finally, Noonan called all-in with [Ah][9c]
in his hand. Gudger’s [Ac][Qh]
and the board showing [Ad][Kd][Ks][5h][4c], however, sent him to second position with £85,000 of the overall prize pool. Thus, the female poker player claimed her first major poker title. As already mentioned, she also acquired £140,000, her biggest winning from a tournament.
Minutes after her victory, Elz shared with interviewers that she was extremely happy to take part in such a major event together with more than two thousand other players and she was particularly pleased with her achievement. She also shared on her Twitter page that she was going to sip some champaign at her home, in order to celebrate her first place.
Once that we know the big winner of the WPT500, it is time to focus our attention on the £3,000 WPT UK Main Event with a total prize pool of £1 million that starts today, November 18.
