Poker News

Peter Eastgate returns to Poker and PokerStars

In the summer of 2008, Peter Eastgate shocked the poker world by winning the WSOP Main Event and $9,119,517 after satelliting in through Ladbrokes Poker. Nearly two years later, Eastgate shocked the poker community once again by announcing his decision to retire from poker at age 24.

It looked even less likely that Eastgate would be back anytime soon when he put his 2008 WSOP Main Event bracelet up for auction on eBay in November. But as strange as it seems, Eastgate has decided to return to poker after just half a year away from the game. In addition to this, Eastgate will also be returning under PokerStars sponsorship.

Eastgate released a statement that read, “Sometimes in life, a person can feel lost and wake up one morning not recognizing who he is. Last summer, that was how I felt. Prior to winning the WSOP in 2008, my life was very much a good solid routine of playing online poker and hanging out with my friends and family. Winning the WSOP changed that.”

He continued by writing, “I relocated to London and started a new life, the life of a high-profile poker pro. For almost two years I was in a constant spotlight, traveling from poker tournament to poker tournament, doing thousands of interviews, and never had a chance to catch my breath. In the whirlwind that followed winning the WSOP, I lost track of the most importing thing in my life… myself.”

So where will Eastgate’s comeback tour begin? Well his plans are to start by playing in the PokerStars EPT Copenhagen event (begins on February 16th). From there, Eastgate will travel to the NBC Heads-up Championship, which allows him one more automatic berth due to his Main Event champion status.

Despite having only played poker seriously for a little over 3 years, Eastgate has amassed over $10.9 million in live tournament winnings, including his WSOP Main Event title and a 2nd place finish at the 2009 EPT London event.

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