Partypoker finished off a successful MILLION Germany festival after Michal Mrakes took down the €1,100 Main Event for €200k; partypoker Ambassador Natalie Breviglieri finished sixth.

There’s an old adage that a lucky man falls into a vat of nipples, and comes out sucking his thumb. Recently, partypoker seems to have fallen into a vat of thumbs, and each time I see them, they are sucking on a nipple.

For the past decade, there has been barbed wire protecting the live tournament scene in Europe. PokerStars erected it during a period when they delivered customer value as frequently and accurately as a Japanese postman delivers manga magazines to horny teenagers. Partypoker is standing by that barbed wire armed with a pretty impressive pair of bolt cutters, and they are snipping.

With the pros heading to Las Vegas armed with a dream, it seems foolhardy to organise a live event anywhere else in the world, but partypoker relish a challenge.