Chaar-Lee discovered poker over 20 years ago, starting with fixed-limit games before embracing the rise of No-Limit Hold’em across cash games, STTs, and MTTs. In the early days, he and his circle sometimes played more than 40 different formats in a single night. He organized the first poker camp in his region and has contributed poker technology to several televised shows. Today, he supports the SOMUCHPOKER team from the tech side, blending two decades of poker passion with technical expertise.

Updated: 2024.10.17

Espen Jorstad is a professional poker player who originally hails from Steinkjer in Trøndelag, Norway but currently resides in London. The 36-year-old is ranked number 1 in his country and is also first in Norway’s All-Time Money List. He is also the owner of 2 WSOP bracelets.

Espen Jorstad wins WSOP Main Event

Espen Jorstad at 2023 WSOP — Espen Jorstad

Espen Jorstad began primarily as a cash game player and many of his fans know him from his online poker persona “Hymn2ninkasi” on Pokerstars. He was also a former Unibet Poker ambassador. Jorstad however made the transition to live tournament play to become a legitimate contender in the sport.

In July 2022, Jorstad won the ultimate poker prize by winning the 53rd World Series of Poker Las Vegas Main Event taking a coveted bracelet plus an astronomical $10,000,000 in prize money. In the process, he made history by being the first ever Norwegian to win the Main Event. He also joins an elite club of less than 50 players who have won poker’s most prestigious title. Jorstad had earlier won a first bracelet in the same tournament via the $1,000 NLHE Tag Team event partnering with England’s Patrick Leonard. With the tournament winnings, Jorstad then shifted his focus on the High Roller scene.

Norway’s Espen Jorstad reigns as 2022 WSOP Main Event champion

Espen Jorstad worked the tables at the Triton High Roller Series and secured his maiden win in 2023 at the London edition, winning the $40,000 Mystery Bounty event to clinch his first Super High Roller title and $639,000. He followed this up with deep runs in the other events including a 3rd place finish in the 8-Handed Event, banking a cool $ 2,766,191, after a three-way deal. This was his second largest career score.

To date, he has made a total 9 cashes in different Triton Events in Cyprus, Monte Carlo and Jeju, amounting to $ 4,228,391. With his winning consistency, Espen Jorstad has breached the $ 15,000,000 mark in total live earnings.

Interestingly, the top player from Norway had experimented on content creation last year by vlogging behind the scenes of High Stakes tournaments with an eponymous YouTube channel. In an interview, Jorstad said, “I thought all of that would put me in a good spot to try to be a good example for the game and what an ambassador could be.”

*Profile by Mike Alcazaren