Espen Jørstad
Espen Uhlen Jørstad is a Norwegian professional poker player born in 1988, best known for winning the 2022 World Series of Poker Main Event. His 10.000.000 $ victory made him Norway’s first Main Event champion and completed a summer in which he also won the WSOP Tag Team event with Patrick Leonard.
The Hendon Mob snapshot checked for this profile records 19.796.079 $ in live tournament earnings, with the Main Event prize remaining his largest cash. The same record places him second on Norway’s all-time money list and 78th worldwide.
His career extends beyond that defining victory. Online tournament success, streaming, a Triton title and further high roller results form a broader record, while his public comments frequently emphasise preparation, health and maintaining perspective outside poker.
Early Life and Education
Jørstad was born in May 1988 and comes from Levanger, Norway. His tournament profile lists London, England, as his residence. English-language poker coverage often writes his surname as Jorstad, while Norwegian usage retains the letter ø.
Before becoming a full-time professional, he studied brewing science at the University of Copenhagen and worked in the brewing industry. That background gives his route into poker a different starting point from a career built exclusively around card rooms.
He began playing poker in the mid-2000s, with gaming friends helping introduce him to the game. Over time, poker developed from an interest into the main focus of his working life.
Online Foundations and a Major 2021 Result
Online play was central to Jørstad’s development. Among his best-known aliases are Hymn2ninkasi on PokerStars and COVFEFE-19 on GGPoker.
In 2021 he finished sixth in the WSOP Online 5.000 $ Main Event on GGPoker for approximately 603.058 $. It was a substantial tournament result before his live world championship run the following summer.
That online final table is a separate achievement from the live Main Event victory. The similar event names can obscure the difference between the online championship and the multi-day tournament held in Las Vegas.
Streaming and a Public Poker Identity
Jørstad began streaming on Twitch in 2016 under the uhlenpoker name and was a Unibet Poker ambassador. He later became associated with the Overbet Express channel.
Streaming gave audiences a connection to him before the WSOP Main Event brought worldwide attention. It also meant he entered his championship year with experience explaining poker decisions and sharing parts of a professional player’s routine.
His later public role built on that foundation. Rather than beginning from complete anonymity after the world title, he already had an online identity and an audience familiar with his approach to the game.
First Bracelet in the 2022 Tag Team Event
Jørstad’s first WSOP bracelet arrived before the Main Event. He partnered with Patrick Leonard to win the 1.000 $ Tag Team tournament, beating a field of 913 teams.
The pair defeated Corey Paggeot and Jamie Kerstetter heads-up after overcoming a substantial chip deficit. The first-place prize of 148.067 $ was awarded to the team, rather than being a separate payout of that amount to each partner.
Both players earned their first bracelets through the result. For Jørstad, it supplied a major success early in a summer that would soon become much more significant.
Winning the 2022 WSOP Main Event
The 2022 WSOP Main Event attracted 8.663 entries. Jørstad emerged from that field to claim the 10.000.000 $ first prize and the world championship bracelet.
He reached the final day with the chip lead over Adrian Attenborough and Michael Duek. Duek exited in third place, leaving the Norwegian and the Australian to contest the title.
Jørstad ultimately defeated Attenborough, who received 6.000.000 $ as runner-up. It was Jørstad’s second bracelet of the series and the result that established him as the first Norwegian winner of poker’s most prominent annual tournament.
The achievement involved much more than one televised hand. Surviving a field of that size required sustained play across successive tournament days, followed by a final table in which the financial consequences of each decision had become enormous.
Queen-Deuce and the Championship Hand
The final hand became the lasting image of Jørstad’s victory. Holding queen-deuce, he flopped three deuces and improved to a full house when a queen arrived on the river.
Attenborough held jack-four and faced an all-in river bet. After a prolonged decision, he called, allowing Jørstad to reveal the winning hand and complete the championship.
The confrontation illustrates how an ordinary-looking starting hand can become decisive as a board develops. Jørstad’s queen-deuce became associated with the title because of that particular runout, rather than because it is generally a premium holding.
Mindset, Health and Life Away From the Table
After becoming world champion, Jørstad spoke about wanting to promote a healthier approach to professional poker. Exercise, nutrition and meditation featured in his public descriptions of preparation and maintaining balance.
He identified emotional stability as a strength, explaining that avoiding frustration and staying composed helped his game. These are his own descriptions of his approach, rather than a claim that any particular routine guarantees tournament success.
The theme also shaped how he viewed his role as an ambassador. He wanted the public image of a poker professional to include habits that support life outside long sessions at the table.
First Triton Title in London
In 2023 Jørstad won the 40.000 $ Mystery Bounty event at Triton London, securing his first title on the series. He defeated Phil Ivey heads-up after a final three that also included Stephen Chidwick.
The tournament drew 133 entries. Jørstad repeatedly recovered from a very short stack during the closing stages, eventually collecting the trophy and a regular tournament payout of 639.000 $.
The Mystery Bounty prizes were handled separately from that payout. The 639.000 $ figure therefore describes the published finishing-position prize, rather than an attempt to combine every bounty he received with the main result.
A Seven-Figure London High Roller Cash
At the same 2023 Triton London festival, Jørstad finished third in the 200.000 $ eight-handed event for 2.766.191 $. David Yan won the tournament, with Nacho Barbero finishing second.
The last three players agreed to a deal that altered the final payouts. As a result, the recorded prizes do not follow a simple descending order based only on finishing position.
This was one of Jørstad’s largest results after the Main Event. It placed him deep in a high roller field with a very different size and buy-in from the world championship he had won a year earlier.
Third in the 2024 Triton Invitational
Jørstad added another major result at the 2024 Special Triton Invitational in Monte Carlo. He finished third for 2.255.000 $, behind champion Patrik Antonius and runner-up Vladimir Korzinin.
The 200.000 $ event attracted 102 entries and used Triton’s invitational format, bringing selected recreational players together with professional opponents.
His finish provided further evidence of success on the high roller circuit after his world title. It also reinforced the distinction between his biggest individual prize and the additional major cashes that make up his career record.
EPT Prague Super High Roller Warm Up Victory
In December 2024 Jørstad won the 25.000 € Super High Roller Warm Up at EPT Prague for 277.500 €. The one-day tournament drew 34 entries and ended with Enrico Camosci as runner-up.
The result was his first title at an EPT festival. It should be described specifically as a Super High Roller Warm Up victory, keeping it distinct from winning an EPT Main Event.
Together with his Triton results, the Prague title showed that his post-WSOP schedule produced victories as well as substantial final-table payouts.
Taking a Step Back and Returning in 2025
Jørstad reduced his poker schedule in 2025 and skipped the summer WSOP in Las Vegas. In an interview at WSOP Paradise that December, he explained that the time away allowed more attention to health, relationships and reflection.
He described the Bahamas stop as a return after months without a poker trip. The break formed part of his reassessment of how much space the game should occupy in his life, rather than an announced permanent retirement.
At the time of that interview, he also discussed his work as a GTO Wizard ambassador and the role of study tools in his preparation. His comments connected strategic development with the broader question of how he wanted to continue his career.
Selected Career Results
| Year | Tournament | Finish | Recorded prize |
| 2021 | WSOP Online 5.000 $ Main Event, GGPoker | 6th | Approximately 603.058 $ — online |
| 2022 | WSOP 1.000 $ Tag Team, with Patrick Leonard | 1st | 148.067 $ — team payout |
| 2022 | WSOP 10.000 $ Main Event | 1st | 10.000.000 $ |
| 2023 | Triton London 40.000 $ Mystery Bounty | 1st | 639.000 $ — regular payout, bounties separate |
| 2023 | Triton London 200.000 $ 8-Handed | 3rd | 2.766.191 $ — after a deal |
| 2024 | Monte Carlo Special Triton Invitational | 3rd | 2.255.000 $ |
| 2024 | EPT Prague 25.000 € Super High Roller Warm Up | 1st | 277.500 € |
Career Figures and Place in Norwegian Poker
Jørstad’s place in Norwegian poker history rests first on becoming the country’s inaugural WSOP Main Event champion. His subsequent record adds a Triton title, an EPT festival victory and multiple seven-figure high roller cashes to that defining achievement.
The figures below reflect the Hendon Mob snapshot checked for this article. Tournament prizes are gross cashes and should not be interpreted as profit or net worth. Buy-ins, re-entries, travel costs and any private staking or swapping arrangements are not deducted from headline payouts.
| Category | Profile snapshot checked in October 2026 |
| Full name | Espen Uhlen Jørstad |
| Year of birth | 1988 |
| Nationality | Norway |
| Hometown | Levanger, Norway |
| Listed residence | London, England |
| Recorded live tournament earnings | 19.796.079 $ |
| Largest recorded live cash | 10.000.000 $ |
| Norway all-time money list | 2nd |
| All-time money list | 78th |
| Best historical all-time money-list position | 67th |
| Defining championship | 2022 WSOP Main Event |
Career figures checked on October 20, 2026. Recorded live tournament earnings are gross cashes and exclude private cash-game results. Image positions refer to three separately supplied AI-generated illustrations created in October 2026.