John Duthie

Born in Leeds, Yorkshire, John Duthie initially built a career in television as an assistant director, working alongside renowned directors such as Charles Sturridge, Lewis Gilbert, and Bille August on films like Longitude, Haunted, and The House of the Spirits. He later became a full-time director on TV series including As If, Clocking Off, and Silent Witness, the last of which won an RTS award for Best Editing and a BAFTA for Best Drama Serial. Duthie then created and executive produced the European Poker Tour (EPT) television series, now in its eleventh season, which revolutionized poker broadcasting in Europe.

Duthie first gained widespread recognition by winning the televised Poker Million tournament in 2000 on the Isle of Man, earning £1,000,000 (approximately $1,426,330 at the time). He outlasted a final table that included Tony Bloom and Barny Boatman. He later made four appearances on Late Night Poker and won Series 9 of the show, defeating Phil Ivey heads-up for a $200,000 prize. Other notable achievements include a second-place finish to Mike Sexton in the 2003 European Heads-Up Championships in Paris, as well as runner-up results in the 2009 WSOP $10,000 Heads-Up Championship and the PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker $25,000 heads-up event. In 2015, he came second in WCOOP Event No. 1, earning $145,000. As of 2015, his total live tournament winnings exceeded $3,200,000.

Perhaps Duthie's most enduring contribution to poker is founding the European Poker Tour (EPT), which became one of the most prestigious tournament circuits globally. He also served as president of partypoker LIVE, the live global poker tour for partypoker.com, starting in February 2017. In recognition of his impact on the game, he received the European Poker Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. Duthie's background in television production allowed him to bridge the gap between poker and mainstream media, helping to popularize the game across Europe. His personal life includes being married with two sons, and he once revealed in an interview that he rode bulls in Australia in 1976.