There is a lovely country called Denmark. It’s small, but it has left a mark far out of proportion to its size. The Danes once ruled the seas as vikings, and in 1992 they won the European Championship in football.
They’ve proved themselves at something else too: poker. In this article we celebrate four Danes who left their mark on the game, and what each of them did for it.
Peter Nicolas Eastgate
Fortune favors the bold – and young. Peter was only 22 years old when he won the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event. It made him the youngest poker player to have ever won the World Series at the time.
He beat pro Phil Hellmuth’s 19-year-old record. Phil won at the age of 24. Peter learned to play the game with his friends and had only played professionally for 2 years prior to his major win. He took home an astounding amount of $9,152,415.
Peter held the record one year until 21-year-old Joe Cada won the very next year.
Peter spent his winnings much as any other 22-year-old would: enjoying himself in Las Vegas with his girlfriend. He admits he did little to promote the game after his win, which arrived right at the peak of the boom we cover in our history of poker.
Nevertheless, his win made history and threw Phil off the mantle. A new and young generation had arrived, and it started with Peter.
Jan Vang Sørensen
As a former professional football player, this guy craves to win. Jan spent his early career as a footballer in the best football league in Denmark. A knee injury ended his career.
He transferred his competitive ability to poker and stands tall as the Dane with most won bracelets.
Jan won World Series of Poker bracelets in Pot-Limit Omaha in 2002 and Seven-Card Stud in 2005. He began playing in the mid-1970s, so he has a long history with just about every iteration of the game.
His favorite is Seven-Card Stud. Jan is a fighter and a testament to hard work, ability and dedication. At a final table he never leaned on mathematics – he played what he could see in front of him: the stakes, the cards, the players.
By a 2007 interview he had reached roughly 50 final tables, so he knows what he’s talking about. His best live earnings stand at $800,972, and he appears to have been largely inactive since 2013, when he finished 12th in the No Limit Hold’em Main Event in Copenhagen.
Mads Mikkelsen “Le Chiffre”
There are benefits of playing the part of the most despicable poker player in the world. Renowned Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen took on the role of “Le Chiffre” opposite Daniel Craig’s depiction of “James Bond”.
Mads Mikkelsen did as much as anyone to convey the intensity of high-stakes poker on the big screen – even if his character’s methods away from the table were rather less sporting. There’s no denying that Casino Royale succeeded in making poker the engine of the story rather than set dressing.
Each hand made it harder to watch, in the best possible way.
The movie was released in 2006 and made $606.1 million in box office earnings. Sadly, 2006 was also when the poker boom was near its end. If it had to finish on a high note, Casino Royale and Le Chiffre did it justice. Just not enough to keep the boom booming.
Mads Mikkelsen was, because of the storyline, coached in playing the game. He took home his newfound knowledge and used it to win money from his friends. They were not so happy. He was.
A fun fact: Mads Mikkelsen appeared in a Danish mockumentary called “Pokerface” (Danish: Pokerfjæs), playing himself in a tour de force of five friends’ failure of trying to make it big with poker in the U.S.
Gus Hansen “The Great Dane”
He is known as “The Great Dane”, but feared as “The Madman”. Gus is ferocious at the poker table – his style is relentlessly aggressive and, now and then, completely bonkers. He is the textbook loose-aggressive player, the style that produces most of poker’s legends and most of its horror stories.
Nevertheless, Gus’ fearless personality has made him a force to be reckoned with. In the slipstream of televised poker tournaments and the poker boom, Gus became a great character and ambassador for the intensity of the game. Suddenly poker players became celebrities.
Whether Gus Hansen was cherished, loved, hated or feared, he was most of all respected. His influence was widespread. In Denmark he was a national hero and equal to Denmark’s celebrities. On the international scene of poker, Gus was a superstar. Everybody knew him.
A great ambassador for the mainstream perception of poker and further development of the popular game.
Like Icarus, Gus Hansen flew too close to the sun. His aggressive style came with a serious downside, and he ended up losing more than he could afford – millions of dollars in losses that brought a long winning run to an end.
At least he has a bracelet to show for it. In 2010 he won his first and only WSOP bracelet by winning the High-Roller No-Limit Hold’em Heads-Up Championship at WSOP Europe in London. He ended up bringing home $451,880.
Even if he is not as he once was, he is still remembered as the Dane who has had the most influence in promoting poker in Denmark. A true gambler and aficionado of our beloved game of poker.
If you’d like more player stories, we’ve written about Doyle Brunson, Doug Polk and Maria Ho – and a full Gus Hansen story is on the way.
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Danish Poker Players FAQ
Who is the most famous Danish poker player?
Gus Hansen is one of the most famous Danish poker players. He became internationally known as “The Great Dane” during the televised poker boom.
Which Danish poker player won the WSOP Main Event?
Peter Eastgate won the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event at age 22, making him the youngest Main Event champion at the time.
Which Danish poker player has multiple WSOP bracelets?
Jan Vang Sørensen won WSOP bracelets in Pot-Limit Omaha in 2002 and Seven-Card Stud in 2005.
Why is Mads Mikkelsen included in a poker article?
Mads Mikkelsen played Le Chiffre in Casino Royale, one of the best-known poker movie villains, and helped bring high-stakes poker drama to a mainstream audience.
