Martin de Knijff
Martin de Knijff (born 2 October 1972) is a professional sports bettor and live tournament high-stakes poker player from Gothenburg, Sweden.
| Martin de Knijff | |
|---|---|
 de Knijff in 2006 World Series of Poker | |
| Nickname(s) | The Knife |
| Residence | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Born | 2 October 1972 (age 51) Sweden |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | None |
| Money finish(es) | 3 |
| Highest ITM Main Event finish | 13th, 2002 |
| World Poker Tour | |
| Title(s) | 1 |
| Final table(s) | 1 |
| Money finish(es) | 6 |
| European Poker Tour | |
| Title(s) | None |
| Final table(s) | None |
| Money finish(es) | 1 |
His last name is from his Dutch father. His mother is Swedish. The family moved to Falkenberg when Martin was 5 and in 1992 Martin left to go to Stockholm and from there to Las Vegas where he currently lives.
Martin started playing poker aged 15 (mostly 5-card draw) but became fond of Omaha and Hold-Em when introduced to them. He considers Doyle Brunson's book Super/System to be the best poker book ever written.
He first made a name for himself in the poker world with a 13th-place finish in the 2002 World Series of Poker Main Event, earning himself $60,000.
In the World Poker Tour, he finished 15th in the series 1 championship, winning $26,664; and went on to win the same tournament the following year, earning a then-record-breaking $2,728,356.
Less than a month later his success continued with a 2nd-place finish in the $5,000 No Limit Hold-Em event at the 2004 World Series of Poker.
Martin wrote an article for Card Player magazine in 2005 encouraging tournament backers to reveal themselves. It was met with mixed reactions from poker professionals.
As of his last tournament cash in 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $3,370,000.[1]
In addition to poker, Martin is an avid bridge player. He finished second in the 2008 Blue Ribbon Pairs, one of the two major North American pairs bridge championships.