Belgian poker legend and former "November Nine" player Pierre Neuville has passed away at the age of 83.

Belgian poker legend Pierre Neuville passed away at the age of 83 after a long battle with prostate cancer. He reached the final table of the 2015 WSOP Main Event, finished as runner-up in the EPT Main Event twice, and amassed over $3 million in career winnings.

According to PokerNews, Belgian poker legend Pierre Neuville recently passed away at the age of 83 after a long battle with prostate cancer. In a social media post earlier this month, Neuville stated that he wanted to "live as long as possible."

Neuville is best known for reaching the final table of the 2015 WSOP Main Event, finishing seventh and winning $1,203,293.

This Belgian player is a two-time runner-up in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event, in 2009 and 2012. He has also come close to winning a WSOP bracelet twice – finishing second in the $5,000 Six-Max Event in 2014 and the $1,500 Six-Max Event in 2016.

PokerNews extends its deepest condolences to Neuville’s wife Claudine, his friends and family.

Pierre Neuville's life outside of poker

Neuville was born on January 2, 1943, in Montignny-le-Tilleul, Belgium, a small town with a population of only 10,205. He lived there his entire life. Neuville discovered playing cards in 1957 and played them frequently while studying at the Free University of Brussels from 1963 to 1969.

After graduating, Neuville designed a board game named after the famous cyclist Eddy Merckx. He then founded a toy company, which he sold to American toy giant Hasbro in 1982. Neuville served as vice president of Hasbro for the next decade.

In 1993, as he embarked on a new chapter in his life, Neuville began offering personal consulting services. Some of his notable clients included golfer Gary Player and Hollywood actor Kevin Costner. The Belgian retired completely in 2008.

The starting point of a brilliant poker career

According to records from The Hendon Mob's database, Neuville's first live tournament winnings were in November 2007, when he finished 31st in a €1,650 buy-in event in Namur, Belgium, earning €5,022.

Two months later, Neuville finished 18th in the 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, winning $48,000. From that moment on, the Belgian's passion for poker was completely ignited.

Neuville had a deep run in the 2009 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Sanremo Main Event, finishing ninth and earning a career-high €78,800. Later that year, he finished runner-up in the EPT Villamora Main Event, winning a career-high €257,681.

This beloved Belgian became a regular at the EPT, accumulating dozens of winnings. Despite being over sixty, Neuville remained a force to be reckoned with in online poker, especially in satellite tournaments. He was named PokerStars' Online Qualifier of the Year in 2012 for participating in 23 consecutive EPT Main Events. Neuville held the title of "Consecutive Qualifier" for the remainder of his career.

Reaching the final table of the WSOP Main Event

Every poker player has a memorable year; for Neuville, 2015 was likely that year.

Neuville received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Global Poker Awards, declaring during his acceptance speech that "the best is yet to come." This prediction came true, as Neuville successfully reached the final table of the 2015 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.

"I'm realizing a dream, the most beautiful dream for someone as passionate about poker as I am," he told PokerNews before the tournament resumed.

Despite finishing the final table with fourth-place chip stack, Neuville was eliminated in seventh place, winning $1,203,293 – his first and only seven-figure prize in his poker career.

Deep play has become the norm for Neuville, and he narrowly missed a WSOP gold bracelet in 2016 by finishing as runner-up in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Max event. He had previously finished second in the 2014 WSOP $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Six-Max event.

Neuville made it to the WSOP final table again in 2019, this time in the WSOP Europe €2,500 No-Limit Short Deck Hold'em event in Rozvadov, Czech Republic. His most recent deep run ended in seventh place.

Since 2020, Neuville has mostly participated in low-stakes live events in Namur, Belgium, and Rozvadov, Czech Republic. In fact, from December 2022 until his last recorded live winnings (November 2024), only 16 of his 91 winnings came from events outside of Namur or the Grand Casino in Brussels; and none of them had a buy-in exceeding €1,100.

Neuville participated in the 2024 WSOP in Las Vegas, winning prizes in three events and seven PokerNews Daily Deepstack Championships. In May 2025, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer.

Neuville's last public appearance in a live poker tournament was during the 2025 PokerStars Open Namur Music Festival.

Pierre Neuville's Top 5 Live Poker Records

 

Date	Tournament	Ranking	bonus
July 2015	$10,000 WSOP Main Event	Seventh place	$1,203,293
June 2014	$5,000 WSOP NLHE Six-person table	Second place	$385,041
November 2009	€5,300 EPT Villamora Main Event	Second place	$383,962
February 2012	EPT Copenhagen Main Event	Second place	$282,843
October 2016	€10,300 EPT Malta High Roller	Second place	€228,400

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