Ex-InsideEdge writer Roland de Wolfe, 27, cemented an awesome 15 months of poker success on Sunday night, 29 October, by claiming the €554,300 top prize at the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour event in Dublin.

De Wolfe, 27, beat a tough field of 389 players in the four-day No Limit Texas Hold'em event, which generated a total prize pool of €1,847,750. De Wolfe, who won the World Poker Tour (WPT) event in Paris last year, becomes the first player to win both EPT and WPT titles.

PokerStars qualifier David Tavernier, 50, - a Parisian anaesthetist who plays poker as a hobby - came second for €314,120, with 23-year-old Swedish pro William Thorson taking third place for €184,780.

Londoner De Wolfe said: "This week I didn't have the luck of the Irish, I had the luck of the whole of Europe. It's an honour to be the first person to win an EPT title and a WPT title when there are so many good players out there. I'm thrilled."

De Wolfe had enjoyed only modest cashes before bursting onto the poker scene with his win in Paris, where he earned $599,600. Then in April this year, he came 3rd in the WPT Five-Star World Poker Classic in Las Vegas for another bumper payout of $1,025,205. Roland, a dedicated Arsenal football fan, is also no stranger to the EPT, finishing 20th in Barcelona last month.

Other stars in Dublin this week included Team PokerStars members Chris Moneymaker (2003 World Champion), Greg Raymer (2004 World Champion), Luca Pagano - who enjoyed his sixth EPT cash when he came 13th, Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier and Katja Thater, as well as 74 players who won their seats on PokerStars.

All three of this year's EPT winners were also in Dublin - England's Victoria Coren (London EPT), Norway's Bjorn-Erik Glenne (Barcelona EPT) and Thang Nuc Nguyen of Germany (Baden EPT). Other stars included Noah Boeken, Martin Wendt, Marcel Luske as well as Hendon Mobsters Joe Beevers, Ram Vaswani, Ross and Barny Boatman. Some 92 players came from the UK, with a further 72 from Ireland and 71 from Sweden.

Final standings:
1. Roland de Wolfe, UK, €554,300
2. David Tavernier, France, €314,120
3. William Thorson, Sweden, €184,780
4. Gavin Simms, UK, €138,580
5. George McKeever, Ireland, €112,710
6. Rob Yong, UK, €88,690
7. Nick Slade, UK, €70,210
8. Patrick Bueno, France, €51,740