Thursday, August 14, 2008

Latest Online Poker Cheat, Natalie 'TheV0id' Teltscher, Confesses!

'TheV0id' Admits WCOOP Cheating

According to a press release by PokerStars, Natalie 'TheV0id' Teltscher confessed the cheating at the Main Event of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) and withdrew her claim against her disqualification.

In 2007, 'TheV0id' won the WCOOP Main Event. In the aftermath, PokerStars noticed irregularities in her account and decided after an internal inspection to disqualify the account and 'TheV0id'. The prize money of about $1.2M was stripped from her and handed over to the hitherto runner-up 'ka$ino'. All the other players were upgraded by one rank as well.

The Briton Natalie Teltscher went to court against this decision. There she had to admit though that she didn't play herself under the account 'TheV0id'. A not further named "agent" had used the account and supposedly used several other accounts during the tournament. At first it was assumed that Mark Teltscher is this agent, or at least involved in the case as he is the brother of the plaintiff and a poker pro himself. A confirmation of this assumption failed to materialise though.

Below the press report:

"PokerStars™ are pleased to announce that Natalie Teltscher has recently withdrawn her claim in the Isle of Man Courts against PokerStars.

Furthermore, in discontinuing her claim, she has agreed to contribute a sum towards the legal costs incurred by PokerStars in this matter.

Ms Teltscher brought her claim against PokerStars because she was disqualified from first place of the 2007 WCOOP Main Event after PokerStars internal investigations demonstrated beyond doubt that she had not played on the account. On her disqualification all other players were moved one place higher in the prize table and the money confiscated from her account, TheV0id, was redistributed in full, according to the amended tournament placings.

Ms Teltscher initially claimed that she had played the account. However, when faced with the results from PokerStars' investigation she eventually admitted she hadn't played.

The decision of Ms Teltscher to withdraw her claim fully vindicates
PokerStars' decision to disqualify her from the tournament and subsequently defend the claim, actions which were taken in order to protect the integrity of the games on offer at PokerStars."