Andrew Neeme Tops Gamers to Win Sixth Battle Royale at European Open

Poker vlogger  Andrew Neeme did the poker world proud when he topped a 9-player field consisting of himself and eight eSports gamers in the sixth edition of the Battle Royale that kicked off the European Open at the Wynn Las Vegas.

The $10K invitation only freeroll pitted Neeme as the only poker pro against the eSports stars who together have over 1.2 million followers on the live streaming video platform of Twitch.tv. Neeme is the most popular poker vlogger on YouTube with subscribers totaling more than 70,000. His vlogs typically recap his poker sessions at cash games in and around Las Vegas.

Neeme took the first place prize of $5,000 in the live SitNGo, staving off Rumay "Hafu" Wang, a Hearthstone streamer who pulled in $3,000 for her runner-up finish. Wang's resume includes championships at World Of WarCraft and BlizzCon 3v3 before taking up Hearthstone and becoming recognized as the game's top female player. Some well-timed bluffs helped her land just behind Andrew in the Battle Royale, according to Unibet.

Also landing in the money in the freeroll was Craig "onscreen" Shannon, a Unibet eSports ambassador and Counter Strike: Global Offensive player who took home $2,000 for third place. Indiana native Tyler "I Am Wildcat" Wine just missed a payday by finishing 4th.

Neeme took to Twitter following his victory, thanking Unibet Poker for inviting him to play in the tournament and informing his fans that he "successfully defended the honor of the poker world vs some tough eSporters." A couple of favorable coin flips certainly didn't hurt his game.

The sixth Battle Royale was live streamed on a delay via Twitch and also included gamers Sophia "Djarii" White, Alan "Hotted89" Widmann, Justin "KOSDFF" Chandler, Scott "Sco" McMillan and Hayli "HayliNic" Baez.