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Early Success and Drama at the MPP for 2022 WSOP Main Event Champion Espen Jorstad

Early Success and Drama at the MPP for 2022 WSOP Main Event Champion Espen Jorstad
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Jason Glatzer Content Writer
  • Fact Checked by: PokerListings
  • Last updated on: July 2, 2024 · 5 minutes to read

The buzz around the Luxon Pay Mediterranean Poker Party (MPP) at the Merit Royal Hotel & Casino picked up when 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion Espen Jorstad announced he would attend and play a full schedule of events including the Triton Poker $200,000 Coin River Invitational.

Yong Defeats Jorstad Heads-Up in The One Drop

Luxon Pay Co-Founder Rob Yong invited Jorstad to the $200,000 Coin River Invitational and both players found early success in The One Drop on Sunday before Yong defeated Jorstad to win his first live poker tournament for $87,000. 

Despite Jorstad missing out on the trophy, he did manage to bank $52,600 for his runner-up performance while ACR CEO Phil Nagy banked $35,000 for his third-place finish.

The $11,111 buy-in event raised $19,998 in charitable contributions to the One Drop Foundation, which provides access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, thanks to the tidy field of 18 players.

2022 MPP $11,111 The One Drop Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize
1Rob YongUnited Kingdom$87,000 
2Espen JorstadNorway$52,600 
3Phillip NagyUnited States$35,000 

“Intoxicated Irish Fellow” Sparks Controversy

Jorstad managed some early success on the tables but some drama found his way as well with what was described by Jorstad as “a clearly intoxicated Irish fellow” got in his face during a meet-up game. Although it couldn’t have been pleasant for the Norwegian WSOP Main Event champion, the encounter was deescalated before Jorstad took to social media.

The drama centered on what many would describe as a misunderstanding between Jorstad and well-known Greek poker pro Alex “Pwndidi” Theologis.

Theologis reached out to Jorstad on Day 7 of the WSOP Main Event wishing Jorstad good luck and looking to confirm that he swapped 3% of his action which would mean an eventual pretax payout of $300,000 based on Jorstad’s $10,000,000 haul.

Jorstad replied that he didn’t recall a conversation and didn’t have any evidence of a swap taking place.

“F*** I knew this would happen when I didn’t write down in chat with my (swaps),” Theologis messaged Jorstad. “I am sure that we swapped 3% at some point, maybe it was on our way or during dinner? Maybe at the wynn? I’m not sure at what point but I’ve swapped with everyone and I’m very confident we swapped.”

“That’s awkward indeed,” Jorstad replied. “I don’t remember swapping with you, and I have all my swaps in a list here.”

Although Jorstad refused to pay, he did offer arbitration by reputable members of the poker community such as Ike Haxton and Mike “Timex” McDonald and if ruled against, pay Theologis the disputed 3% of his winnings.

Jorstad’s TwitLonger explanation of the situation was highlighted by some key points.

  • Before the main event we had only met twice, and we have never swapped in anything else.
  • I have no recollection of swapping with him. 
  • I did not have it written down. 
  • He did not have it written down. 
  • We had nothing about it in our chat. 
  • For every other swap during WSOP I immediately wrote it down in my own document + confirmed in chats. I have to assume this is routine on his part too. 
  • Alex did not remember when or where we had this swap convo, or any other details about it. 

The former Unibet Poker ambassador Jorstad has had a stellar reputation for years. Thus it should come as no surprise that the poker community in general sides with him.

Meanwhile, Theologis also never had a black eye with no reported problems after numerous swapping deals in the past. Theologis pointed out in an interview with PokerNews that although the conversation about the alleged swap was “long before the final table was made,” he also has moved on with no plans on making anything public.

“Our last communication was over a month ago about the swap,” Theologis said to PokerNews. “I’m not making drama out of it, I’m not asking for him to pay me. I understand that if he doesn’t remember it and I have no proof, it doesn’t matter. It’s over.”

Why Public Now?

So why is this coming to light for many in the poker community only now? After all, a month has passed since their last communication and both Theologis and Jorstad appeared to put the issue to rest for more than a month.

It appears an unrelated party got wind of the situation and aggressively approached Jorstad in a situation Jorstad described on social media.

To go back to the situation I mentioned at the beginning… During a meet-up game I was playing in Cyprus two nights ago, a clearly intoxicated Irish fellow came up to my table and pointed at me, saying «pay the man his money, pay the man his money. You know what I’m talking about, pay him his 3%». He proceeded to get right up to me and said stuff like «do you want to discuss it outside??» etc in a pretty aggro manner, basically hinting there would be violence if I did not pay Alex. I calmly told him that «I’m not sure what you’ve heard, and from who, but I don’t owe Alex 3%.» I explained that my conscience was clean, and in the end he said he believed me, and walked off. Fwiw I have no reason to believe that Alex knows this Irish guy, and he probably just heard about the situation through the grapevine. I by no means think that Alex would want this situation to occur. 

Regardless, it was a very uncomfortable situation, having a drunk aggro guy in my face «wanting to discuss it outside», and questioning my integrity and credibility in a public setting. It’s also not the first time I get approached with this, as I also got a DM on Instagram a couple of weeks ago, telling me to «pay Alex his 3%». 

– Espen Uhlen Jørstad · @UhlenPoker

Hopefully airing out the situation provides some additional closure for both Jorstad and Theologis instead of opening up any old wounds and we wish Jorstad the best of luck the rest of the way in Cyprus including in TheFestival.com $1,100 Pot-Limit Omaha event on Saturday, Sept. 3 and TheFestival.com $550 HORSE event on Sunday, Sept. 4.

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