The 2008 World Series of Poker Europe is officially off and running, and already the first bracelet has been claimed.

Jesper Hougaard won Event #1, a ?1,500 (about $2,755 USD) buy-in No-Limit Hold 'em tournament that saw 410 players sign up to play. For the victory, Hougaard earned a first prize worth ?144,218.

Hougaard entered the nine-person final table eighth in chips, well behind such notable players as APPT Macau Main Event winner Yevgeniy Timoshenko and PokerVT's Adam Junglen. Hougaard though was able to overcome this disadvantage, and not only win the event, but also earn the distinction of being the first player ever to win a WSOP bracelet and a WSOP-E bracelet in the same year. 2008 has been good to Jesper Hougaard.

The Final Table pay outs for the 2008 WSOP-E Event #1 were as follows:

1st. Jesper Hougaard- ?144,218
2nd. F. Serhan- ?89,175
3rd. Yevgeniy Timoshenko- ?55,350
4th. Neil Channing- ?44,588
5th. John Dwyer- ?36,285
6th. Adam Junglen- ?28,598
7th. Linda Lee- ?22,448
8th. Ian Woodley- ?17,835
9th. Daniel Nutt- $13,222

For story in it's entirety, please visit the Independent Online Poker Authority, PokerNews.com