Seat 8: Pierre Neuville, 67, Knokke, Belgium - PokerStars player - 1,027,000 chips | 2009 PokerStars.com EPT Vilamoura

Pierre started playing poker 50 years ago at university when he and his fellow students used to play every day. He then took 25 years off while working at Hasbro where he eventually became Vice President. Once he retired two years ago, he decided to follow his dream of playing poker around the world. He took his wife to the PCA in the Bahamas in 2008 and finished 18th place, scuppering his wife's doubts that he could compete against world-class players. The following season he did even better and, although hugely disappointed to bubble the final table, he took ninth place at EPT5 San Remo for €78,800. He believes making the final here in Portugal has a lot to do with being better prepared. Up against younger players, Pierre tries to give himself an edge by making sure that he is fit and also by planning scenarios ahead of time. Pierre has had tons of support from the Belgian poker community and woke up this morning to a barrage of emails from fans. He feels he is proving that 'older' players can handle the modern game against young aggressive players.