Paul Pham beat a field of 300 poker players to win the Black Belt event in London.

Online poker specialist Paul Pham has won the top prize of $15,000 (C$15,240) at a tournament held in London this week.

The Frenchman triumphed over a field of 300 players to win the Black Belt Poker event at Victoria Casino.

He said after his win that it was only the third time he had entered a tournament in the flesh.

"I only played this one because the structure was deep and it suited my game," he commented.

"I wouldn't normally play, but deep structures suit my style. I don't really like playing full-ring, but if I have a deep stack, it's easier for me to run over."

Pham added that he may now enter more live tournaments, but it will depend on if he feels the structure suits his game.

Players started with 20,000 chips and with blinds only increasing every hour, there was a lot of play in the tournament.

Although the buy-in of just $200 (C$203) was low, some of the game's better known players were persuaded to take part.

Karl Mahrenholz, Rory Liffey, Praz Bansi and Ian Frazer all took part, but it was Karim Louis that Pham beat in the final hand, with the turn handing him two pairs to Louis' pair of jacks.