Espen Jorstad Wins 2022 WSOP Main Event for $10,000,000

Norwegian Espen Jorstad has claimed poker's greatest prize by winning the 2022 World Series of Poker Main Event. Jorstad defeated Australian Adrian Attenborough in heads-up play to win the $10,000,000 first-place prize and the prestigious WSOP bracelet. Jorstad is not only the 2022 world champion, but the first WSOP Main Event winner from Norway and eighth overall from Europe.

"I think is going to mean more in a few days when it sinks in," Jorstad said. "Right now, it just feels absurd. I was so focused on this match. I came in today to just play poker. I didn't think too much. I tried to not think too much about what was at stake here, what we were playing for, and whatnot. I was just trying to play the best poker. My opponent, Attenborough, was the one guy I didn't want to meet heads up. He's the one that's been giving me the most trouble the whole tournament. I remember on Day 6 as well, I was like, he kept winning every pot against me, and I was like, get this guy out of here. Then I end up heads up with the guy and I was like, 'Oh, not like this.' But I kept making good hands, fortunately. So, yeah, cards just fell in my favor today."

In the moments after the tournament ended, Jorstad put his phone to his ear as it rang through to his mother on the other end.

"I just told my mom sorry for spoiling this to you, because she was watching the stream, but I won," Jorstad recalled. "She was instantly in tears. I think she was already crying just watching it. She was so nervous, you know, she was way more nervous than me. She was, like, crying before I made a final table, telling my grandma and stuff how far I'd come. So yeah, I felt a few tears myself. It was very emotional hearing her, how happy she was."

The second-largest WSOP Main Event attracted an 8,663-entrant field. After players battled through eight days of poker, just three remained heading into the second day of the WSOP Main Event final table. Jorstad carried his chip lead through to three-handed play and had more than half the chips in play. Trailing Jorstad was Attenborough, followed by Argentinian Michael Duek who came out of the gate strong by immediately closing the gap on his two opponents.

However, on the 10th hand of three-handed play, Duek would find himself in a three-bet pot against Attenborough. Attenborough raised on the button with ace-jack and then called Duek's small blind three-bet. Attenborough would flop a gutshot and both players checked it through to reveal a king on the turn. Duek now had top pair, but Attenborough had an unbeatable Broadway straight. Duek led out for roughly a third of the pot and Attenborough called with the nuts before a blank landed on the river. Duek bet all but one chip and Attenborough instantly announced he was all in. Duek tossed in his final chip, and when shown Attenborough's nut straight, Duek exited in third place for $4,000,000 in prize money.

Jorstad held onto the lead heading into heads-up play with 284,500,000 to Attenborough's 235,500,000. The first hand between both players would involve one of the longest river decisions in WSOP history. On the river, Attenborough held eights and fours and was faced with calling all in for his tournament life. Jorstad had shoved the river with kings-up and Attenborough went into the tank for nearly 20 minutes before correctly folding. Jorstad held nearly a 3-to-1 chip lead, but it would only last a few hands before Attenborough doubled when he called all in on the river with two pair to trump Jorstad's jack-high.

With Attenborough now in the lead, both players would take their turn at holding it until the final hand played out that saw Attenborough flop two pair against Jorstad's trips. Three bets were exchanged on the flop before Attenborough check-called a big bet on the turn as the river landed a queen. Attenborough checked a third time and Jorstad moved all-in. Attenborough went deep into the tank again before eventually calling with fours-up. Jorstad tabled his queen-deuce for a full house, and as Attenborough was eliminated in second place for $6 million in prize money, Jorstad was crowned the 2022 World Series of Poker Main Event champion.

WSOP Main Event Final Table Results

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