Dominick Nitsche first European to win WSOPC National Championship

German pro Domink Nitsche has won the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) National Championship, taking home $352,800 for his troubles and breaking the ice for Europeans in this event. This is an important score for Nitsche, though by no means his biggest; at the 2012 WSOP, he won Event 59 for $654,797 and his first bracelet. He also holds a WPT title and over $3 million in career earnings.

The WSOP National Championship is an invitational tournament with a minimum $1 million prize pool guaranteed for 100 qualifiers. The qualification system is complex, with seats going to winners of the 22 main events on the WSOPC, individual Casino Champions at each of those 22 stops, and the top 56 on the circuit as a whole.

Additional seats are made available at $10,000 apiece for anyone in the top 100 of the previous year’s WSOP Player of the Year list. This time around, 26 players accepted that offer, placing the total prize pool at $1.26 million.

Because of the nature of the tour, with its low buy-ins and stops at smaller venues across the country, the WSOPC is largely American-dominated. As a result, and because the National Championship is by qualification only, there has never been a European player at its final table, let alone a European winner. For Nitsche, a six-figure payday and a second gold bracelet would have been sweet enough, but making history in this way is the icing on the cake.

Alex Weldon is a game designer by day and poker tournament wizard by night. You can read more from Alex at www.benefactum.ca and follow him on Twitter at @benefactumgames

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