"I'm truly delighted to have won," Homam said. "My luggage got lost on the flight over to London, and I was down about that. When it was located and arrived, I felt I had a new lease on life. It sounds strange, but it gave me more confidence and made me feel much more comfortable at the table."

She needed that extra edge too. She's been playing poker for 20 years, both in tournaments and in cash games, but she was up against some skilled female opponents from around the world.

"I have been playing tournaments and cash games for many years now and I see all the debate in the poker world about all women's tournaments. The future is all about us ladies!" Homam said.

Among those who took part were PartyPoker Women's World Open I champion Bev Pace, Jen Mason, Late Night Poker finalist Maria Demetriou, former PartyPoker World Open winner Pippa Flanders and former European Ladies champion Jackie Meecham.

Erica Schoenberg was also on hand, along with Katharine Hartree, Mel Lofthouse, comedienne Lucy Porter, Michelle Orpe, Bucks Fizz star Cheryl Baker, Bronwyn Campbell, Shelley Rubenstein, Dutch pop star Maud Mulder, Polish television presenter Agnieszka Rylik and Christine Klecz.

The final table came down to the following players:

[ul][li]Seat 1: Soraya Homam, Germany[/li][li]Seat 2: Eliza Burnett, United Kingdom[/li][li]Seat 3: Michelle Orpe, United Kingdom[/li][li]Seat 4: Kyla Kalmar, United Kingdom [/li][li]Seat 5: May Maceiras, Spain[/li][li]Seat 6: Stefanie Bergener, Germany[/li][/ul]

First out from the final table was Kyla Kalmar, wife of Jon Kalmar, a 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event final tablist. Michelle Orpe, a TV presenter and poker pro, went out behind Kalmar in fifth place.

Eliza Burnett, a journalist, picked up fourth place, while May Maceiras, a 28-year-old from Spain, finished in third place.

Initially Macerias was a favorite to win when she started out the final table running over the other players. According to PartyPoker, commentary on her use of position and exploiting the format was very complimentary.

Maceiras has already achieved moderate success, with victories at the Spanish Poker Championships and on the Spanish Poker Tour.

"Poker in Spain is still in its infancy," Maceiras said. "There is still such a long way to go, but I am proud of what I achieved here, and I hope it encourages others to follow in my path."

After Maceiras took her leave from the table, it was down to Stefanie Bergener, also a German pro poker player, against Homam. The balance of power shifted numerous times during heads-up play, but eventually it came down to Homam's A-K suited against Bergener's A-6 offsuit.

The A-K held up for the win, and Homam was $50,000 richer. Bergener received $22,000 for her second-place finish.

"I'm so happy with the result. I have had most of my success online, and this is great," Bergener said. "I promised my son 1% of my winnings to buy him a new BMX bike, so I have no problems there!"

The results of the final table were:

Place Name Prize 1st Soraya Homam $50,000 2nd Stefanie Bergener $22,000 3rd May Maceiras $14,000 4th Eliza Burnett $10,000 5th Michelle Orpe $7,000 6th Kyla Kalmar $5,000

"The international flavor of the PartyPoker.com Women's World Open II final table just goes to show that this tournament is stronger than ever," said Eddie Hearn, head of online gaming at Matchroom Sport. "It is one of the most popular events in the eyes of international broadcasters."

A PartyPoker spokesman also noted that U.K. players dominated the final table in the Women's World Open I last year, while this year was a complete turnaround from that.

"Beverley Pace won last year, but there is no doubt that the ladies from Germany and Spain are now the pacesetters," the PartyPoker spokesman said. "It could also be true that the Spanish poker scene has found itself a Fernando Torres in the form of May Maceiras."

Related Article: PartyPoker Women's World Open starts Friday

 

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