Espen Jørstad Wins “Tortilla Slap Challenge” At The Mediterranean Poker Party

Summary

• The challenge took place at the Mediterranean Poker Party in Cyprus
• Jørstad defeated Argentina’s Nacho Barbero to win a seat into a $25K NLH event
• Popular high-stakes pros including Rob Yong, Tony G, and Phil Nagy also joined in on the action

Espen Jørstad, the 2022 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion, recently triumphed in another competition, the “Tortilla Slap Challenge“.

The game is based on the latest social media craze whereby the participants fill their mouths with water and then slap each other with the tortilla. The first person to spit out the water loses.

Jørstad and Argentina’s Jose Ignacio “Nacho” Barbero were the last two players standing among a bunch of high-stakes pros who joined the fun-filled game which took place at the Luxon Pay Mediterranean Poker Party in Cyprus on September 5.

The challenge had some poker element in it with the winner walking away with a ticket to the $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em event which got underway on the same day. Jørstad ultimately defeated Barbero to take home the prize.

How it Started

The original plan was to set up the challenge with just four participants who are well-known in the high-stakes circuit – Rob Yong, Phil Nagy, Faraz Jaka and Tony G. It was initially scheduled to take place on September 3 at the Luxon Pay Mediterranean Poker Party.

The competitors were supposed to pay a $5,000 buy-in to take part in the challenge, with the winner securing a seat into the $10,000 6-Max High Roller Turbo event scheduled for September 4. But organizers eventually decided to postpone the challenge to give way for more players to join the competition.

Plenty of high-stakes poker players expressed interest in participating and so a few changes were made – the challenge was rescheduled to September 5 and the winner would qualify for the $25K NLH event.

The Challenge

The challenge took place with just five participants including Espen Jørstad and Barbero. Jaka didn’t make it due to a scheduling conflict. The first person to be slapped out of the competition was Tony G, followed by Nagy. Yong was next out, setting the one-on-one match between Jørstad and Barbero. The latter failed to hold the water in his cheeks after exchanging slaps with his Norwegian opponent who was ultimately declared the winner.

 

The Tortilla Slap Challenge is currently trending on TikTok and various celebrities have since joined the craze, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kevin Hart, James Corden, Jason Momoa, Demi Lovato, and Jimmy Fallon.