Thriller of a climax to Spring Poker Festival

A Croatian student lawyer who plays poker part-time was the surprise winner of the 2007 Party Poker.com European Challenge this week in a thrilling close to the Spring Poker Festival at the Concord Casino in Vienna, Austria

Branimir Brunovic (32), who qualified online, won the prestigious title and a very handy Euro 190 160 winner's pot after victories over some of Europe's best, with players from Germany, Hungary, Sweden, the UK, Lithuania and from further afield, Canada as his opponents at the final table.

Brunovic defeated German pro Andreas Krause in a lengthy and exciting heads up finish to take the title.

"I play in as many tournaments as I can but this was the greatest experience and by far the biggest win I have had," said Brunovic. "Poker has a big future in Croatia and is growing bigger everyday," he said. "We have a good set of players who are playing regularly. It started with just a few of us but the group is getting larger all the time."