A card-playing Basset Hound couldn't defeat her. Not even a dour Angela Merkel could.
In the end only one winner could emerge from our 20 finalists in the BOM 2014 photo competition and that is Lilly DeFeu, a pyrotechnician and poker fan from Berlin.
DeFeu was the ony entrant to produce an animated GIF and, incorporating her pyrotechnic background and a little help from a photographer, she won over the voters with her winning entry below:
"When I heard first about the Battle of Malta tournament," DeFeu says, "I was super excited and was looking for ways to be part of it.
"Malta combines a few things I am really passionate about: Great climate and history, poker and pyrotechnics! Malta has a rich firework tradition and I always wanted to visit.
"I am a pyro technician and fire performer myself, and I do love playing poker. A friend told me about the picture competition and I was immediately sold"
BOM Batman was the runner-up in the votes. See the full list of finalists here.
Idea Came Together Considering Women in Poker
Understanding the context of being a woman in poker, DeFeu says she took that into consideration for her idea:
"It took me a while to come up with a concept. One of the first suggestions I got from friends I consulted was: Get the logo body painted on you!
"After some thought I decided not to follow through with that. I am well aware about the picture of women in modern poker so I wanted to portray myself in a less sexualised position.
"So, fire it was. I phoned up my friend, Jascha Eidam, who is a vivid cosplay photographer if he would like to help to get me to Malta. I explained something about pirates, special effects and fire and he was sold on the spot"
"We met a couple of days later and had a great shoot together, much to the amazement of a couple of Berlin tourists, who witnessed the whole thing."
DeFeu won't just be playing for herself in the BOM Main Event either. Her photographer also stands to make a nice bit of cash if she goes deep.
"So, unfortunately I am not the richest person, so instead of money I promised my photographer 10% if I should win the picture competition and cash in the tournament.
"So here I am now, very happy to get the opportunity to visit Malta and play the Battle of Malta!"
DeFeu's winning package for the Battle of Malta includes:
Four nights at the 5-Star Hilton Malta Buy-in to the Battle of Malta Main Event Daily breakfast and buffet Tickets to both BOM VIP parties
Read more about the packages for the Battle of Malta here.
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