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Victoria Coren Mitchell makes poker history with San Remo victory Victoria Coren Mitchell makes poker history with San Remo victory
(35 minutes later)
She started by frittering away her pocket money in an effort to fit in with the boys, now Victoria Coren Mitchell has made poker history by becoming the first two-time winner of one of the game's most presitigious tournaments. Her introduction to poker came when as a teenager she joined a game, using her pocket money as a stake, in an effort to fit in with her brother's friends.
The writer and television presenter, who took up poker when she was at school, took home a cash prize of £391,932 and a watch worth more than £4,000 after overcoming the odds to win the European Poker Tour in San Remo, Italy. Now Victoria Coren Mitchell has made history by becoming the first two-time winner of one poker's most prestigious tournaments.
"I WON! I bloody WON!!!!!!" Coren Mitchell wrote on Twitter after a finale in which she fought back from eighth place. She added: "Sorry for that language on Easter Sunday. But I WON!!!!!! That is at least partly thanks to the amazing support, God bless everyone." The writer and TV presenter took home £391,932 in cash and a watch worth more than £4,000 after overcoming the odds to win the European Poker Tour in San Remo, Italy.
A member of the elite Team PokerStars Pro, Coren Mitchell rose from relative unknown to poker superstar in 2006 when she became the first female winner of the European Poker Tour. Her second victory, on Sunday night, takes her total winnings to £1,430,855 and lifts her into the all-time top 10 female winners at a poker table. "I WON! I bloody WON!!!!!!" she tweeted after a finale in which she fought back from eighth place. She added: "Sorry for that language on Easter Sunday. But I WON!!!!!! That is at least partly thanks to the amazing support, God bless everyone."
Speaking from her hotel room in San Remo yesterday, Coren Mitchell said she felt "a sense of vague bafflement and joy" at the win, which she hopes will inspire millions more Britons to play the game once associated with seedy clubs and crooks. A member of the elite Team PokerStars Pro, Coren Mitchell rose from relative unknown to poker superstar in 2006 when she became the first female winner of the European Poker Tour. Her second victory, on Sunday night, takes her lifetime winnings to £1,430,000 and puts her in the all-time top 10 of female poker players.
Speaking from her hotel room in San Remo on Monday, Coren Mitchell said she felt "a sense of vague bafflement and joy" at the win, which she hopes will inspire millions more Britons to play the game once associated with seedy clubs and crooks.
"The big thing for me is trying to fly the flag for people who are playing poker primarily for fun and have another job. I want those people to feel they have a chance at winning," she said."The big thing for me is trying to fly the flag for people who are playing poker primarily for fun and have another job. I want those people to feel they have a chance at winning," she said.
"You don't have to be a full-time professional, or a teenage maths graduate who studies videos all day long. It's an incredibly inclusive game, for men and women, for old or young. I've played with the blind and people in wheelchairs, we can all do it. I want women to feel encouraged and not to be put off but the bigger thing is everyone should feel very welcome." "You don't have to be a full-time professional, or a teenage maths graduate who studies videos all day long.
While some might expect poker stars to celebrate their jackpot with a night on the tiles, Coren Mitchell instead went back to her hotel with her husband, the comedian David Mitchell, and ordered room service. She did, however, manage to see off a bottle of wine at the poker table. "It's an incredibly inclusive game, for men and women, for old or young. I've played with the blind and people in wheelchairs, we can all do it. I want women to feel encouraged and not be put off but the bigger thing is everyone should feel very welcome."
The 41-year-old journalist, who writes for the Observer and presents BBC4's quiz show Only Connect, was inundated with celebratory messages from her fellow competitors as she collected the trophy, proving her reputation as one of the most popular – and respected – players on the circuit. While some poker champions would celebrate their jackpot with a night on the tiles, Coren Mitchell, 41, instead went back to her hotel with her husband, the comedian David Mitchell, and ordered room service. She did, however, manage to see off a bottle of wine at the poker table.
"I think I'm quite quirky in poker because there still aren't many women playing big tournaments," she said. "I have another job and I sit at the table drinking wine and chatting. Poker's a strange game because it's face-to-face combat and we're trying to knock each other out and take their money but at the same time we're all friends." The journalist, who writes for the Observer and presents BBC4's quiz show Only Connect, has the reputation of being one of the most popular – and respected – players on the poker circuit.
Ross Jarvis, the editor of PokerPlayer magazine, said Coren Mitchell's win was all the more surprising because it came at a time when professional poker veterans are fighting it out with a new generation of online whizzkids, many of whom have million-dollar winnings before they turn 20. "You have players who are the best in the world who are well-known in poker, then there's so many young players who you won't have heard of until they burst on the scene. Within the hardcore, there are people as famous as Victoria but when it comes to the mainstream she's in a league of her own," Jarvis said. "I think I'm quite quirky in poker because there still aren't many women playing big tournaments," she said.
Coren Mitchell, the daughter of broadcaster Alan Coren and sister of Times journalist Giles Coren, has said she grew up playing poker in an effort to fit in with her brother's "big, brash, confident" friends – and to double her weekly pocket money. On the PokerStars site where Coren-Mitchell plays regularly under the name "Vicky Voren", the writer Howard Swains said it was difficult to think of a more popular champion. "Coren Mitchell is without question the best known poker player in the United Kingdom and her endeavours in the media – she is a journalist, television personality, film director and all-round raconteur – have endeared her to huge swaths of the mainstream," he said. "Poker is going to enjoy an enormous uptick in popularity, clinging on the coat-tails of this sensational triumph." "I have another job and I sit at the table drinking wine and chatting. Poker's a strange game because it's face-to-face combat and we're trying to knock each other out and take each other's money but at the same time we're all friends."
Ross Jarvis, editor of PokerPlayer magazine, said Coren Mitchell's win came at a time when professional poker veterans are fighting it out with a new generation of online whizzkids, many of whom have won millions before they turn 20.
"You have players who are the best in the world who are well-known in poker, then there are so many young players who you won't have heard of until they burst on the scene. Within the hardcore, there are people as famous as Victoria but when it comes to the mainstream she's in a league of her own," Jarvis said.
Coren Mitchell, the daughter of the late Alan Coren, a broadcaster, and sister of Times journalist Giles Coren, has said she first played poker to fit in with her brother's "big, brash, confident" friends – and to double her weekly pocket money.
Howard Swains, who writes about poker, said it was difficult to think of a more popular champion. "Coren Mitchell is without question the best known poker player in the UK and her endeavours in the media – she is a journalist, television personality, film director and all-round raconteur – have endeared her to huge swaths of the mainstream," he said.
"Poker is going to enjoy an enormous uptick in popularity, clinging on the coat-tails of this sensational triumph."