Pierre Neuville, Belgian Poker Legend and Former November Niner, Dies at 83

Belgian poker legend Pierre Neuville has passed away aged 83 after a long battle with prostate cancer, PokerNews understands. In a social media post earlier this month, Neuville stated that he wanted to “continue living as long as possible”.

Neuville famously reached the final table of the 2015 WSOP Main Event, finishing seventh for $1,203,293.

The Belgian finished as a European Poker Tour Main Event runner-up on two separate occasions, in 2009 and 2012. He also twice missed out on a WSOP bracelet, finishing second in the $5,000 6-Max in 2014 and the $1,500 6-Max in 2016.

Everyone at PokerNews offers their condolences to Neuville’s wife, Claudine, his friends, and his family at this time.

Pierre Neuville Outside of Poker

Neuville was born in Montigny-le-Tilleul, Belgium, a small municipality with a population of only 10,205, on January 2, 1943. He continued living there throughout his life. Neuville discovered poker in 1957 and regularly played while studying at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles from 1963 to 1969.

After graduating, Neuville designed a board game named after the famous cyclist Eddy Merckx. He then started a toy company, which he sold in 1982 to the American toy giant Hasbro. Neuville acted as Vice President with Hasbro for the next decade.

Neuville started a personal consulting service in 1993 as his life took a new direction. Some of his famous clients include golfer Gary Player and Hollywood actor Kevin Costner. The Belgian fully retired in 2008.

The Start of an Illustrious Poker Career

According to The Hendon Mob Database, Neuville’s first live in-the-money finish came in November 2007, when he finished 31st in a €1,650 buy-in event in Namur, Belgium, for €5,022.

Two months later, Neuville was the 18th-place finisher in the 2008 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, earning him $48,000. The poker bug had bitten the Belgian.

Neuville went deep in the 2009 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Sanremo Main Event. He finished ninth for €78,800, a new career-best. Later that year, he was the runner-up in the EPT Vilamoura Main Event, earning a new career-high prize worth €257,681.

The popular Belgian became a regular on the EPT, racking up dozens of cashes. Despite being in his seventh decade, Neuville was a force to be reckoned with in online poker circles, particularly in satellites. He earned the title of “Online Qualifier of the Year” at PokerStars in 2012 after qualifying for 23 consecutive EPT Main Events. Neuville retained “The Serial Qualifier” throughout the rest of his playing days.

Reaching the WSOP Main Event Final Table

Every poker player has a year they fondly remember; 2015 was likely Neuville’s.

Neuville received a Lifetime Achievement award at the Global Poker Awards, proclaiming, “the best is yet to come” as he collected his trophy. That prediction came true because Neuville navigated to the final table of the 2015 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.

“I am living a dream, the most beautiful dream for someone as in love with poker as I am”

“I am living a dream, the most beautiful dream for someone as in love with poker as I am,” he told PokerNews prior to the resumption of play.

Although he sat down fourth in chips, Neuville bowed out in seventh place, and scooped $1,203,293, the first and only seven-figure score of his poker career.

Deep runs became the norm for Neuville, and he came agonizingly close to winning a WSOP bracelet in 2016. Neuville finished second in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed event. Neuville had previously finished second in the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed event at the 2014 WSOP.

Neuville reached another WSOP final table in 2019, doing so in the €2,500 No-Limit Short Deck Hold’em event at the WSOP Europe in Rozvadov, Czechia. His latest deep run ended in seventh place.

From 2020 onward, Neuville mostly frequented low-stakes live events in Namur, Belgium, and Rozvadov, Czechia. Indeed, from December 2022 until his final recorded live score in November 2024, only 16 of his 91 cashes came from events away from the Casino de Namur, or the Grand Casino Brussels; none cost more than €1,100 to buy into.

Neuville attended the 2024 WSOP in Las Vegas, cashing in three events and seven PokerNews Daily Deepstacks tournaments. In May 2025, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer.

Neuville’s last public appearance in a live poker event was during the 2025 PokerStars Open Namur festival.

Pierre Neuville’s Top 5 Live Poker Results

Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He now works as Managing Editor.

He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.