The first round in the new battle for global poker bragging rights goes to Europe, thanks to Thomas “Buzzer” Bihl who made poker history today at the inaugural World Series of Poker Europe Presented by Betfair.com.

Bihl, a native of Frankfurt, Germany, who started playing poker just four years ago, won £70,875 and the first-ever WSOP bracelet awarded outside the United States. Bihl outlasted a field of the world’s top poker pros in one of the most challenging of all poker games, the £2,500 HORSE championship that kicked off the inaugural WSOP Europe.

“Thomas Bihl has earned a place in poker history with this incredible win,” said WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack.