Only Connect: Is Victoria Coren Mitchell a poker player and how much has she won?

Victoria Coren Mitchell is a poker expert (Picture: BBC)

Only Connect has become a staple of the Monday night schedules, with the impossibly complicated game show proving so popular that it even recently outdid EastEnders in the ratings.

The programme sees teams trying to solve the connections between words, pictures and pieces of music over a series of rounds – all presided over by Victoria Coren Mitchell.

As well as being the host of the show Victoria is also known as a journalist and writer – but she’s also a bit of a dab hand when it comes to the world of poker.

Is the Only Connect frontwoman an actual professional player – and how much money has she won?

Is Victoria Coren Mitchell a poker player?

Victoria Coren Mitchell is indeed known for her poker skills, having become the first woman ever to win an event on the European Poker Tour – a tournament similar to the World Poker Tour – which began in 2004.

The 49-year-old scored her first victory in the Tour in 2006 – at the same time becoming the first player ever to win a televised professional tournament – as well as being the first ever to win two events at the EPT, triumphing in San Remo, Italy, in 2014.

She also holds the record for being the first winner of both televised professional and celebrity tournaments after being crowned champion of Celebrity Poker Club in 2005, returning to the show as commentator in 2006.

Victoria has won millions as well as taken championship titles (Picture: Getty Images)

Victoria has also presented a number of poker-themed shows on TV, including Channel 4’s Late Night Poker and The Poker Nation’s Cup, as well as coverage of the World Poker Tour on ITV2.

Other shows she has been involved with have included Sky Sports’ coverage of the William Hill Poker Grand Prix 2 on Sky Sports, and Channel 5’s own programme Ultimate Poker Challenge.

She also became friends with The Hendon Mob – a group of professional players who sprang to fame on Late Night Poker – whose number also includes actor Ross Boatman, currently playing Harvey Monroe in EastEnders, and his brother Barny.

How much money has Victoria Coren Mitchell won playing poker?

According to the Global Poker Index, as of 2021 Victoria is estimated to have won around $2.5m (£1.8m).

This makes her the 14th highest earning female live poker player of all time.

She was also inducted into the Women In Poker Hall Of Fame in 2016.

While she doesn’t play as often as she once did, Victoria does still tweet about games occasionally.

In February 2020 she told her followers: ‘I’m playing a poker tournament! I know, how retro. It’s 4.30pm. In the last hour alone I’ve eaten a bowl of noodles, a plate of cheese and biscuits and a tuna sandwich. And they’ve just called the dinner break.’

Only Connect is on BBC Two on Monday nights at 8pm.

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