Annette Obrestad: WSOP Europe Champion and Online Poker Pioneer
POKER HALL OF FAME
Inducted 2014
Annette Obrestad secured a permanent place in poker history before her 19th birthday. The Norwegian tournament player, already famous online as “Annette_15,” won the inaugural World Series of Poker Europe Main Event in 2007 for £1 million and became the youngest WSOP bracelet winner in history. Nearly two decades later, that record still stands, and her return to major tournament poker in 2026 opened a new chapter in one of the most distinctive careers of poker’s early online era.
⠀
Who Is Annette Obrestad?
Annette Obrestad is a Norwegian poker player best known for her success in online multi-table tournaments and her landmark victory in the first WSOP Europe Main Event. Hendon Mob lists her nationality as Norway and her residence as Sandnes, Norway.
Her recorded live tournament career dates to 2006, but Obrestad was already a recognized online player before becoming eligible for many major live events. Playing as “Annette_15,” she developed a reputation as an aggressive tournament competitor at a time when online poker was producing a new generation of players with extensive experience in high-volume tournament play.
Obrestad’s primary live accomplishments have come in No-Limit Hold’em, although she has also won a notable Pot-Limit Omaha title. As of August 25, 2026, her official WSOP player profile lists one WSOP bracelet and zero WSOP Circuit rings.
⠀
From Annette_15 to Online Poker Stardom
Obrestad began playing online poker as a teenager, using the screen name “Annette_15.” PokerNews has reported that she built her early bankroll through freerolls rather than making an initial deposit, gradually moving from small tournaments into larger online events.
Her most famous online achievement came in 2007, shortly before her WSOP Europe breakthrough. Obrestad entered a 180-player online sit-and-go and covered the portion of her screen displaying her hole cards. Contemporary accounts, including a CardPlayer interview with Obrestad, reported that she won the tournament while playing almost entirely without looking at her cards, peeking once during a significant all-in decision.
The exercise was designed to emphasize how much tournament decisions can depend on stack sizes, betting patterns, opponents and poker position, rather than simply the strength of two starting cards. The unusual victory became one of the most widely remembered stories from the early online-poker era and reinforced Obrestad’s reputation as a highly instinctive tournament player.
⠀
The 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event Victory
Obrestad’s defining live result came at the inaugural World Series of Poker Europe in London.
The £10,000 Main Event attracted 362 entries. Obrestad reached heads-up play against John Tabatabai and ultimately won the tournament for £1 million. The victory came one day before her 19th birthday.
The official WSOP account of Obrestad’s victory established her as the youngest bracelet winner in WSOP history. That distinction remains attached to her career as of August 2026.
The championship was significant for more than her age. Obrestad entered the live poker spotlight with an established online reputation and immediately converted that experience into a victory in one of the most important new events on the international poker calendar.
⠀
Other Major Poker Accomplishments
Obrestad followed her WSOP Europe championship with several other major live results rather than disappearing after a single breakthrough.
Among the most notable accomplishments of her career are:
One WSOP bracelet, won in the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event.
Second place in the 2007 European Poker Tour Dublin Main Event for €297,800.
Victory in the 2010 Aussie Millions $1,100 Pot-Limit Omaha event for AUD $40,000.
Seventh place in the 2010 Aussie Millions Main Event for AUD $175,000.
An 89th-place cash in the 2013 WSOP Main Event.
Her EPT Dublin runner-up finish came only weeks after the WSOP Europe victory and reinforced the strength of her 2007 breakout year.
At the 2010 Aussie Millions, Obrestad demonstrated some versatility by winning the Pot-Limit Omaha event in a 160-entry field. She also reached the final table of the festival’s Main Event, eventually finishing seventh.
Obrestad has competed on the World Poker Tour as well, but the WPT’s official player record lists no Main Tour victories. Her recorded WPT results include two cashes for a combined $49,233.
⠀
Annette Obrestad’s Career Earnings
As of August 25, 2026, Hendon Mob lists Annette Obrestad with $3,998,579 in recorded live tournament earnings.
Hendon Mob lists her largest live cash as $2,013,733, its U.S.-dollar conversion of the £1 million prize from the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event. Historical dollar conversions can differ slightly among poker databases and contemporary reports because exchange rates vary by source and date.
Live tournament earnings are not the same as profit. Public tournament databases generally record gross cashes and do not subtract buy-ins, travel expenses, staking arrangements or other costs. The total can also change whenever a player records another qualifying result.
Hendon Mob’s database shows live cashes for Obrestad beginning in 2006. After recording results through 2018, she went several years without a listed live cash before returning to the results database in 2026.
⠀
Playing Style and Poker Reputation
Obrestad built her early reputation as an aggressive online tournament player who was comfortable applying pressure without relying exclusively on premium starting hands.
Contemporary coverage from PokerNews and CardPlayer frequently emphasized her willingness to use position, betting patterns and perceived weakness to make decisions. The famous no-look tournament became an extreme illustration of those ideas, although it should not be interpreted as a normal poker strategy.
Her online background also gave her extensive tournament experience before she became a regular presence in major live events. That progression was particularly notable in the mid-2000s, when online tournament specialists were increasingly demonstrating that skills developed on the internet could translate to major live championships.
Because Obrestad spent a long period away from major tournament poker, descriptions of her historical style should not automatically be treated as a precise description of how she approaches the game today.
⠀
Annette Obrestad’s Return to Poker in 2026
Obrestad became an active tournament story again in 2026 after an extended period away from major poker competition.
Her return included a deep run in the €5,300 WSOP Europe Main Event in Prague, the same championship she had won in its inaugural edition 19 years earlier. She collected €40,000 in the 2026 event.
Hendon Mob records six live cashes for Obrestad through May 2026 totaling $56,346. In addition to the WSOP Europe result, she recorded two 12th-place finishes at the WSOP International Circuit stop in Panama in May, including a $5,610 cash in the $1,700 Main Event.
Her comeback then extended to Las Vegas. In July 2026, PokerNews documented Obrestad’s return to the WSOP Main Event, marking her first appearance at the Las Vegas WSOP in eight years. She entered Day 1c of the $10,000 Main Event, finished the starting flight with 44,200 chips and advanced to Day 2.
Those appearances establish that Obrestad is playing live tournament poker again in 2026. Her current schedule does not provide enough evidence to characterize her return as a full-time professional tournament schedule, but she is no longer simply a historical name from the 2000s poker boom.
⠀
Why Annette Obrestad Matters in Poker
Obrestad’s importance to poker rests on a combination of accomplishments that remain unusual even years later.
Her 2007 WSOP Europe victory gave her a permanent place in the WSOP record book as its youngest bracelet winner. The fact that she had already become known through online tournaments also made her career an early example of the transition from internet poker success to elite live competition.
The no-look tournament added another dimension to her reputation. Although it was an experiment rather than a blueprint for conventional play, it became a memorable demonstration of how much information tournament players can gather from position, stack depth and opponent behavior.
Her 2026 return adds contemporary relevance to that history. Obrestad is now competing in a poker environment that has changed substantially from the one in which Annette_15 first emerged, while the central achievement that made her famous — becoming the youngest WSOP bracelet winner — remains intact.
⠀
Frequently Asked Questions
How many WSOP bracelets does Annette Obrestad have?
Annette Obrestad has one WSOP bracelet. She won it in the inaugural WSOP Europe Main Event in 2007.
⠀
How old was Annette Obrestad when she won a WSOP bracelet?
Obrestad was 18 years old when she won the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event, one day before her 19th birthday. The victory made her the youngest WSOP bracelet winner in history.
⠀
What is Annette Obrestad’s online poker name?
Obrestad became famous online as “Annette_15,” a screen name associated with her rise through online multi-table tournaments.
⠀
Did Annette Obrestad really win a tournament without looking at her cards?
Yes, contemporary poker coverage reported that Obrestad won a 180-player online sit-and-go while intentionally avoiding looking at her hole cards for almost the entire tournament. Later accounts note that she peeked once during an important all-in decision.
⠀
How much has Annette Obrestad won in live poker tournaments?
As of August 25, 2026, Hendon Mob lists Obrestad with $3,998,579 in recorded live tournament earnings. That figure represents gross recorded cashes rather than net poker profit and can change with future results.
⠀
What is Annette Obrestad’s biggest live poker cash?
Hendon Mob lists her largest live cash as $2,013,733, representing its U.S.-dollar conversion of the £1 million she won in the 2007 WSOP Europe Main Event.
⠀
Does Annette Obrestad have any WSOP Circuit rings?
No. The official WSOP player database lists Obrestad with one bracelet and zero WSOP Circuit rings as of August 2026.
⠀
Has Annette Obrestad won a World Poker Tour title?
No. The World Poker Tour’s official player record lists two Main Tour cashes and zero WPT victories for Obrestad.
⠀
Is Annette Obrestad playing poker again?
Yes. Obrestad returned to live tournament competition in 2026, including a €40,000 cash in the WSOP Europe Main Event, two cashes at WSOP Circuit Panama and an appearance in the 2026 WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas.