She was the prodigy who conquered the inaugural 2007 WSOP Europe at 18, then walked away from professional poker soon thereafter.
Now, Annette Obrestad is making her return, planning to play both the Ladies and Main Events at WSOP Prague, after so much time away from the game.
It’s been 19 years since her breakthrough win in London. In that time, she has built a successful makeup tutorial YouTube channel and competed in major Scrabble championships, as poker has taken a back seat. Despite this, Annette has shared with PokerOrg that "the game is still never far from my thoughts."
Annette looks forward to her return to the big time in the interview above — click to watch now.
'Maybe this is the comeback of all time?'
In the recent episode of PokerOrg’s The Interview, Annette admitted she’s had very little interest in poker over the past nine years and isn’t familiar with many of today’s top players.
“I literally took a long break from poker,” said Obrestad. “I didn't follow poker at all during that time. I have no idea what's going on these days. I don't know who's playing. I don't know who's winning. I just started watching a few streams recently, and I don't know any of these guys.”
That’s about to change.
“I spoke with the WSOP last week. I thought maybe they wanted me to participate in the events and make content if I traveled there. When you and I talked last, I said I wasn’t really interested in doing that at this point.”
Annette was prepared to shut down any such requests, but vowed to keep an open mind. And when the offer came through from the WSOP with no strings attached, she found she couldn’t resist.
Especially when it came with the rare honor of announcing the classic catchphrase to start the action in the Main Event.
“They asked if I wanted to do the ‘shuffle up and deal’ kickoff for the Main. I was, like, ‘Holy sh*t! Are you kidding me right now?’ And again, they assured me there was nothing to worry about.”
It was an honor Annette could have never imagined after so long away from the game. As well as performing that long-standing ceremonial duty, she’s also confirmed she’ll be playing both the Ladies and the Main Event.
“It's absolutely insane. I never in a million years thought that I would play in such a big tournament again. Maybe this is the comeback of all time, right?”
Under the gun
Annette has less than two weeks to prepare as the Prague tournament is approaching fast. So how does a former world champion gear up for a last-minute challenge?
The answer isn’t as complicated as you might think: she'll be playing a lot of poker.
“I just want to get in as many hands as possible. I do watch a lot of poker content now, but I've never been a studier — even though I think about the game all the time.”
A lot has changed over the last 10 years, and while Annette is well aware she has a tough road ahead, she’s happy to take it as it comes.
“I just want to get into the habit of playing a lot and constantly thinking about the game. I feel like my game is still pretty good. I don't know if it's as good as it used to be or if I can stack up to what people do now, but maybe just trying to figure things out in the moment is the best thing to do."
Keeping things simple and having fun, Annette flies to Prague with a spring in her step but no expectations.
“I feel like I have nothing to lose right now. I'm just going there to have a good time and not expecting to win. I’ll figure things out as they happen; that’s the best I can do. If I do well, that's great. If not, I tried.”
Don’t miss Annette Obrestad’s full interview with PokerOrg — watch the video above for more of her remarkable story and insights into her imminent comeback.
