EMPC 2026: Thor William Morstøl Wins Lowball Draw Mix for His 12th Mixed-Game Title in a Year

Norway’s Thor William Morstøl has won another mixed-game title. The Oslo-based specialist took down the €555 Lowball Draw Mix at the 2026 European Mixed Poker Championship (EMPC) in Tallinn, beating England’s Dinesh B. Khatri heads-up for €9,967.

It’s Morstøl’s 12th mixed-game title since October 2025, and the first EMPC title ever won by a Norwegian player.

Result at a Glance

Detail	Info
Event	EMPC 2026 Event #2: €555 Lowball Draw Mix
Venue	Olympic Park Casino, Tallinn, Estonia
Finished	Tuesday night, October 27, 2026
Entries	63
Places paid	7
Winner	Thor William Morstøl (Norway): €9,967
Runner-up	Dinesh B. Khatri (England)
3rd place	Anders Auset (Norway)
Winning hand	A six-high low in A-5 Triple Draw

How the Final Played Out

Sixty-three players entered the €555 Lowball Draw Mix, and only the top seven made the money. That’s about 11% of the field, a tight payout structure even by mixed-game standards.

Two Norwegians made the podium. Anders Auset finished third, which left Morstøl heads-up against England’s Dinesh Khatri. The title was decided in A-5 Triple Draw, where Morstøl won the final hand with a six-high low. In ace-to-five lowball that’s a very strong hand, beaten only by the five-high “wheel” combinations.

The win comes one day after Luxembourg’s Christophe Stammet won the festival’s opening event, the €200 Welcomer Big Bet Mix.

The Five Lowball Games Explained (for Beginners)

In all of these games, the lowest hand wins, but each game defines “low” differently. The Lowball Draw Mix rotates through five fixed-limit games:

Game	How it works	Best possible hand
2-7 Triple Draw	Five cards, three draws. Aces count high, and straights and flushes count against you	7-5-4-3-2 (mixed suits)
A-5 Triple Draw	Five cards, three draws. Aces count low, and straights and flushes don’t count	5-4-3-2-A (the “wheel”)
Badugi	Four cards, three draws. You want four different suits and four different ranks, as low as possible	A-2-3-4, one of each suit
Badacey	Split pot: half goes to the best Badugi hand, half to the best A-5 low	Both halves to one player is possible
Badeucey	Split pot: half goes to the best Badugi hand, half to the best 2-7 low	Both halves to one player is possible

Why these games favour specialists: Each game uses different rules for what counts as low, and the games change every few hands. Players have to switch instantly between ace-high and ace-low, and between counting straights or ignoring them. Even strong Hold’em players often make costly mistakes. Experienced draw players like Morstøl avoid them.

Tip for newcomers: In split-pot games like Badacey and Badeucey, try to play hands that can win both halves. Splitting a pot often means you barely break even after the bets.

Who Is Thor William Morstøl?

Morstøl is one of the most prolific mixed-game players on the European and Asian circuits, and he’s based in Oslo.

Stat	Figure
Nationality	Norway
Total live earnings	$843,708+ (The Hendon Mob)
2026 live earnings	About $162,000
Norway all-time money list	34th
Mixed-game titles since Oct 2025	12

A Year of Mixed-Game Titles

His 12 wins since October 2025 have come at some of the biggest festivals in poker:

• EPT Malta: won the €1,920 + €280 10-Game Mix for about $23,435
• EPT Prague: another mixed-game title on the PokerStars tour
• APT Taipei (April–May 2026): three wins and a runner-up finish in six days, including the NL Triple Draw Mix (NT94,110)andFixedLimitOctoRazz(NT118,261)
• ARIA Poker Classic (Las Vegas): a title in a mixed-game event
• The Festival Bratislava (July 2026): won the €550 TORSES Mixed Game Main Event for €10,365 on his first visit to the tour
• EMPC Tallinn (October 2026): won the €555 Lowball Draw Mix

Lowball is his speciality. Many of his wins have come in draw and razz-based games, including the Triple Draw Mix, Octo Razz and now the Lowball Draw Mix. Reports on the EMPC win note that these are the games that suit him best.

About the European Mixed Poker Championship

Detail	Info
Dates	October 26–31, 2026
Venue	Olympic Park Casino, Hilton Tallinn Park, Estonia
Organiser	OlyBet
Events	12, all mixed games
Buy-ins	€200 to €1,500
Main Event	€800 8-Game (online satellites from $10 on Phenom Poker)
Biggest buy-in	€1,500 6-Game High Roller (October 31)

The EMPC is one of the very few festivals in the world made up entirely of mixed games. There’s no No-Limit Hold’em on the schedule. Buy-ins are kept low (from €200) to attract new mixed-game players as well as regulars.

Still to come: the €800 8-Game Main Event, the €1,500 6-Game High Roller and an Omaha Dealer’s Choice event on the final day. See the full schedule on our European Mixed Poker Championship 2026 page.

Our Take

Twelve titles in about a year is a remarkable run in any format. Most of Morstøl’s wins come from small and medium fields, but mixed-game fields are full of specialists, so they’re often tougher than their size suggests. His win here also shows how much demand there is for mixed games. OlyBet built a whole festival around them, and players like Morstøl are making the most of it.

Expect him to be among the favourites for the rest of the EMPC, especially in any event with a draw or razz game in the rotation.

Please play responsibly. Olympic Park Casino is 21+.

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