International poker lost one of its most emblematic names. Pierre Neuville died at 83 years old, after a long battle with prostate cancer. Moreover, the Belgian left a career marked by great results in the main circuits of the world.
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Thus, among his greatest achievements, Neuville reached the final table of the 2015 WSOP Main Event. On that occasion, the Belgian finished in seventh place and secured the impressive prize of US$ 1,203,293. This was the only seven-figure prize of his career.
Additionally, the player also built a prominent history in the European Poker Tour (EPT). Neuville finished as runner-up in the Main Event in 2009 and 2012. Therefore, he came very close to winning one of the main titles in European poker on two occasions.
However, before becoming a well-known figure at the tables, Pierre Neuville built a successful career outside of poker. He created a board game inspired by cyclist Eddy Merckx and later founded a toy company. In 1982, he sold the business to Hasbro and went on to serve as vice president of the company.
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A career marked by great achievements
However, in poker, Neuville began to register significant results later. According to “The Hendon Mob,” his first live tournament prize came in 2007, in Namur, Belgium. Shortly after, he finished in 18th place in the 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, receiving US$ 48,000.
From there, the Belgian gained ground in the European circuit. In 2009, he reached ninth place at the EPT Sanremo, with a prize of €78,800. That same year, he was runner-up at the EPT Vilamoura and received €257,681. Additionally, Neuville gained enormous recognition in online poker by standing out in satellites.
Finally, 2015 represented the peak of Pierre Neuville’s career. That year, he received the Lifetime Achievement award at the Global Poker Awards and later reached the final table of the WSOP Main Event. Although he never won a bracelet, he finished twice as runner-up in 6-Max events of the series.
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