Ready or not, today marks the start of the 35th Poker European Championship at Casino Velden. Ten championship titles await until July 26, along with numerous side events and many of the popular specials that make Velden a highlight every year.
“It’s always nice in Velden!” This phrase will be heard hundreds of times during the Poker European Championship. The weather could be nice this year, but variable, however, the tournament schedule offers plenty of action and daily variety.It opens today with the €300 + 30 Welcome Event. Many players have already arrived in Velden, and many are traveling today. The pursuit of titles begins tomorrow, Wednesday, when the very first €500 + 50 Seniors European Championship (50+) will be held.
The ten title events for 2026
July 15 – 16 – €500 + 50 NLH Senior European Championship
July 16 – 17 – €300 + 30 Ladies Championship
July 16 – 20 – €500 + 50 NLH Showdown at Wörthersee
July 19 – 20 – €2,000 + 200 Omaha Championship
July 20 – 21 – €800 + 80 NLH 6-handed European Championship
July 20 – 21 – €5,000 + 400 PL Omaha High Roller European Championship
July 20 – 21 – €400 + 40 Seven Card Stud
July 21 – 22 – €5,000 + 400 High Roller Championship
July 20 – 26 – €2,500 + 250 Poker EM Main Event Championship
July 24 – 25 – €1,000 + 100 Mystery Bounty (€500) ChampionshipThere will be no boredom; in addition to the title events, there will be plenty of satellites and side events, and of course the Boccia tournament on July 16. The in-house motorboat is available with a driver. And let’s not forget the beautiful Wörthersee, which invites you to relax.For those who decide last minute to come to Velden, recommendations can be found on the
Poker EM page, and a complete overview of all accommodation options from the Wörthersee tourism offer can be found at
woerthersee.com.Anyone with questions about the Poker European Championship can contact Thomas Lamatsch (
thomas.lamatsch@casinos.at / +43 664 78284910) or the poker manager from Casino Velden, Jasmin Michael (
jasmin.michael@casinos.at / +43 664 8104305). For all information about the Poker EM, it’s best to check out
pokerem.at.
Schedule
All European Champions since 1990
Seven Card Stud
| Year | Buy-In | Entries | Winner | Country | Payout |
| 1990 | | | Peter Praxmair | AT | |
| 1991 | | | Hans Siderits | AT | |
| 1992 | | | Franz Vollstuber | AT | |
| 1993 | | | Eric de Bouet du Portal | FR | |
| 1994 | | | Lothar Landauer | DE | €36,576 |
| 1995 | | | Kurt Pittel | AT | |
| 1996 | | | Tibor Tolnai | HU | |
| 1997 | | | Henry Nowakowski | AT | €152,616 |
| 1998 | | 441 | Xu Hong Sheng | MY | €128,700 |
| 1999 | | 435 | Paul Alterman | UK | €209,661 |
| 2000 | | 438 | Phil Hellmuth | US | €128,695 |
| 2001 | €290 | 396 | Manfred Willi | AT | €126,593 |
| 2002 | €290 | 356 | Heinz Piroth | DE | €121,496 |
| 2003 | €290 | 342 | Raymond Brown | UK | €112,239 |
| 2004 | €300 | 290 | Theo Jorgensen | DK | €101,688 |
| 2005 | €300 | 305 | Jan Bitsch Pedersen | DK | €107,787 |
| 2006 | €300 | 270 | Vlado Sevo | AT | €82,243 |
| 2007 | €2,500 | 156 | Camilla Dennig | DK | €103,740 |
| 2008 | €2,500 | 100 | Fabrizio Leonardi | IT | €68,860 |
| 2009 | €2,500 | 86 | Richard Ashby | UK | €59,140 |
| 2015 | €300 | 82 | Qushqar Morad | AF | €15,550 |
| 2016 | €330 | 65 | Daniel Studer | CH | €11,665 |
| 2017 | €440 | 64 | Antonio Turrisi | IT | €10,020 |
| 2018 | €440 | 47 | Christian Schober | AT | €11,640 |
| 2019 | €330 | 54 | Antonio Turrisi | IT | €12,000 |
| 2022 | €330 | 61 | Harry Casagrande | AT | €11,430 |
| 2023 | €440 | 65 | Nikolaus Grubmayr | AT | €12,800 |
| 2024 | €440 | 64 | Roland Weidinger | AT | €7,160 |
| 2025 | €440 | 67 | Philipp Hofbauer | AT | €15,200 |
No Limit Hold’em
| Year | Buy-In | Entries | Winner | Country | Payout |
| 2008 | €4,000 | 164 | Sandra Naujoks | DE | €174,500 |
| 2009 | €4,000 | 189 | Martin Kabrhel | CZ | €190,320 |
| 2010 | €4,000 | 155 | Mihai Manole | RO | €160,800 |
| 2011 | €4,000 | 145 | Zoltán Szabó | HU | €150,425 |
| 2012 | €4,000 | 132 | Andrei One | RO | €140,450 |
| 2013 | €3,000 | 117 | Lasell King | DE | €92,035 |
| 2014 | €3,000 | 147 | Artur Koren | DE | €70,430 |
| 2015 | €4,350 | 169 | Simon Boss | CH | €182,600 |
| 2016 | €2,700 | 237 | Matthias Habernig | AT | €109,000 |
| 2017 | €2,700 | 236 | Simon Boss | CH | €120,000 |
| 2018 | €2,700 | 250 | Philipp Hartmann | DE | €150,000 |
| 2019 | €2,700 | 240 | Christian Rudolph | DE | €144,000 |
| 2022 | €2,750 | 246 | Christian Leichtfried | AT | €114,135 |
| 2023 | €2,750 | 309 | Nicola Angelini | IT | €154,500 |
| 2024 | €2,750 | 253 | Harald Heigl | AT | €135,200 |
| 2025 | €2,750 | 311 | Jan Zupec | SI | €151,000 |
Pot Limit Omaha
| Year | Buy-In | Entries | Winner | Country | Payout |
| 2010 | €3,000 | 85 | Maurizio Guerra | IT | €72,675 |
| 2011 | €3,000 | 58 | Kimmo Kurko | FI | €52,900 |
| 2012 | €3,000 | 57 | Aubin Cazals | FR | €57,670 |
| 2014 | €2,000 | 55 | Kurt Yusuf | AT | €35,420 |
| 2015 | €2,000 | 122 | Josef Friedl | DE | €64,100 |
| 2016 | €1,620 | 103 | Jules Ayoub | DE | €34,420 |
| 2017 | €2,160 | 135 | Tomasz Sumek | PL | €75,600 |
| 2018 | €2,160 | 124 | Ivan Mairhofer | IT | €56,000 |
| 2019 | €2,160 | 119 | Zsolt Péntek | HU | €67,900 |
| 2022 | €2,200 | 149 | Victor Vorobjov | LT | €67,885 |
| 2023 | €2,200 | 131 | Jonas Kronwitter | DE | €52,350 |
| 2024 | €2,200 | 109 | Stanislav Koleno | SK | €54,585 |
| 2025 | €2,200 | 132 | Nebojsa Ankucic | AT | €42,580 |
Ladies
| Year | Buy-In | Entries | Winner | Country | Payout |
| 2017 | €275 | 51 | Jessica Teusl | AT | €3,340 |
| 2018 | €330 | 42 | Jessica Teusl | AT | €4,540 |
| 2019 | €330 | 41 | Jessica Teusl | AT | €4,430 |
| 2022 | €330 | 42 | Sarah Strak | AT | €4,410 |
| 2023 | €330 | 57 | Anca Eggenberger | CH | €5,240 |
| 2024 | €330 | 70 | Yvonne Savary Taveras | CH | €5,820 |
| 2025 | €330 | 75 | Maria Perraymond | IT | €6,270 |
High Roller
| Year | Buy-In | Entries | Winner | Country | Payout |
| 2022 | €5,400 | 30 | Oliver Wulf | DE | €61,500 |
| 2023 | €5,400 | 61 | Daniel Lange | DE | €108,350 |
| 2024 | €5,400 | 81 | Hannes Pflanzl | AT | €112,600 |
| 2025 | €5,400 | 86 | Thomas Mühlöcker | AT | €112,400 |
Mystery Bounty| Year | Buy-In | Entries | Winner | Country | Payout |
| 2022 | €1,100 | 183 | Boris Progner | SK | €20,105 |
| 2023 | €1,100 | 167 | Rene Kükenbrink | DE | €24,600 |
| 2024 | €1,100 | 172 | David Gradic | SI | €18,300 |
| 2025 | €1,100 | 170 | Mantas Liachauskas | LT | €18,830 |
6-handed| Year | Buy-In | Entries | Winner | Country | Payout |
| 2023 | €880 | 232 | Arkadiusz Liszewski | PL | €39,235 |
| 2024 | €880 | 186 | Moritz Dietrich | DE | €33,000 |
| 2025 | €880 | 213 | Jan Zupec | SI | €36,500 |
Showdown at Wörthersee| Year | Buy-In | Entries | Winner | Country | Payout |
| 2025 | €550 | 772 | Martin Lechner | AT | €45,810 |
“It’s always nice in Velden!” This phrase will be heard hundreds of times during the Poker European Championship. The weather could be nice this year, but variable, however, the tournament schedule offers plenty of action and daily variety.It opens today with the €300 + 30 Welcome Event. Many players have already arrived in Velden, and many are traveling today. The pursuit of titles begins tomorrow, Wednesday, when the very first €500 + 50 Seniors European Championship (50+) will be held.The ten title events for 2026
July 15 – 16 – €500 + 50 NLH Senior European Championship
July 16 – 17 – €300 + 30 Ladies Championship
July 16 – 20 – €500 + 50 NLH Showdown at Wörthersee
July 19 – 20 – €2,000 + 200 Omaha Championship
July 20 – 21 – €800 + 80 NLH 6-handed European Championship
July 20 – 21 – €5,000 + 400 PL Omaha High Roller European Championship
July 20 – 21 – €400 + 40 Seven Card Stud
July 21 – 22 – €5,000 + 400 High Roller Championship
July 20 – 26 – €2,500 + 250 Poker EM Main Event Championship
July 24 – 25 – €1,000 + 100 Mystery Bounty (€500) ChampionshipThere will be no boredom; in addition to the title events, there will be plenty of satellites and side events, and of course the Boccia tournament on July 16. The in-house motorboat is available with a driver. And let’s not forget the beautiful Wörthersee, which invites you to relax.For those who decide last minute to come to Velden, recommendations can be found on the Poker EM page, and a complete overview of all accommodation options from the Wörthersee tourism offer can be found at woerthersee.com.Anyone with questions about the Poker European Championship can contact Thomas Lamatsch (thomas.lamatsch@casinos.at / +43 664 78284910) or the poker manager from Casino Velden, Jasmin Michael (jasmin.michael@casinos.at / +43 664 8104305). For all information about the Poker EM, it’s best to check out pokerem.at.Schedule