Footballer Pique Scoops €129, 350 in PSC High Roller

(Photo: Gamblegeek.com)

Celebrities playing poker is nothing new, but footballers (that’s soccer players for our TransAtlantic cousins) have certainly been at the forefront of popularity drives in the game over the last few years, and Barcelona centre-half Gerard Pique is the latest to hit the big time at the tables with a 5th spot and €129,350 in this weekend’s PSC €25K High Roller.

The Spanish footballer, who has over 90 caps playing for his country, is a regular at the tables when the PokerStars crowd come to town, cashing 3 times previously, in 2011, 2013 and 2016 in events of varying buy-ins, but this time he made a splash among the biggest names in the high-roller game.

Dan Colman, Mustafa Kanit, Ben Tollerene and Christoph Vogelsang were among the big name regulars in the field of 66, along with the winner of the first €25K of the PSC stop, Stephen Chidwick, so Pique’s 5th place finish is definitely something to be proud of.

Pique, who married Colombian-born pop star Shakira in 2010 and with whom he has 2 children, has appeared on these pages before, last year describing his poker hobby as a love of competition against the best, be it football poker, or anything else.

“In this case against the best poker players. When I sit down at the table and I know I'm against some of the best players at the poker table I really enjoy the challenge."

Of course Pique is not the first star of the pitch to have success on the green felt, with Neymar Jr, Ronaldo and namesake Cristiano Ronaldo all taking their shot at the world of poker over the past few years, but the Barcelona defender is clearly the most successful of the bunch.

Hopefully he can avoid the fate of German footballer Max Kruse, the Wolfsburg forward last year scooping €75,000 in a tournament and leaving his cash in the taxi home, leading to a €25K fine – enough for a Barcelona High Roller buy-in no less!

The final table results: