poker-players

Michael Addamo

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Michael Addamo is an Australian poker player and four-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner. He is also a former WPT World Online Championships Super High Roller (2021), Super High Roller Bowl (2021) and Poker Masters (2021) champion. As of December 2021, he has amassed over $17.7 million in lifetime earnings and is top of the Australian all-time money list. Early Poker Achievements During the early 2010s, most of Addamo’s cashes came in A$200 weekly tournaments at the Crown Casino, Melbourne in his native Australia.

• 7
• 1485

poker-players

JJ Liu

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography J J Liu is a poker player with over $3.5 million in career earnings. She is third on the Taiwanese all-time money list behind James Chen and Pete Chen. In 2012, she was inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame. During her career, she has won several tournaments including at the Borgata Fall Poker Open and APPT Macau. The largest cash of Liu’s career came in 2007, when she finished second in the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship for $600,000. In 2021, she made the final table of the WSOP Ladies Championship, finishing fifth for $26,458.

• 5
• 951

poker-players

JJ Liu

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography J J Liu is a poker player with over $3.5 million in career earnings. She is third on the Taiwanese all-time money list behind James Chen and Pete Chen. In 2012, she was inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame. During her career, she has won several tournaments including at the Borgata Fall Poker Open and APPT Macau. The largest cash of Liu’s career came in 2007, when she finished second in the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship for $600,000. In 2021, she made the final table of the WSOP Ladies Championship, finishing fifth for $26,458.

• 5
• 951

poker-players

JJ Liu

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography J J Liu is a poker player with over $3.5 million in career earnings. She is third on the Taiwanese all-time money list behind James Chen and Pete Chen. In 2012, she was inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame. During her career, she has won several tournaments including at the Borgata Fall Poker Open and APPT Macau. The largest cash of Liu’s career came in 2007, when she finished second in the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship for $600,000. In 2021, she made the final table of the WSOP Ladies Championship, finishing fifth for $26,458.

• 5
• 951

poker-players

Teun Mulder

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Teun Mulder is a Dutch professional poker player, not to be confused with the Netherlands’ world champion cyclist of the same name. Mulder has more than $6 million in online poker tournament winnings, the bulk of which stems from his play at PokerStars, where he is known as “tinnoemulder.” Mulder has online poker tournament cashes dating back to 2013 but it is in recent years where the Dutchman’s skills have been there for all to see. In 2020, Mulder won a $10,300 Spring Championship Of Online Poker (SCOOP) event for $113,785, a $5,200 Blowout Series title for $211,740, and was the third-place finisher in the $5,200 World Championship Of Online Poker (WCOOP) for a career-best $762,169. He added a second SCOOP title to his long list of poker accomplishments in 2021, taking down the $5,200 High Roller for $247,089. Mulder’s first recorded live cash came in August 2017 when he finished fourth in the 1,650 WSOPC Rotterdam Main Event for 31,214. Although Mulder does not play all that many live events, his results are incredible. At the time of writing, nine of Mulder’s 35 live scores are worth six figures or more (he has two hauls of more than $1 million). In 2020, Mulder finished second in the online edition of the $10,300 WPT World Championship Main Event at PartyPoker for $1,231,600, which remained his best-ever score for only two years. In 2022, Mulder won a 25,000 High Roller at EPT Prague for 250,928 and followed that up with a seventh-place finish in the 5,300 EPT Prague Main Event a few days later for an additional 138,750. Less than a month later, Mulder won a $100,000 buy-in event at the Triton Poker Cyprus festival for a massive $1,940,000. The future is bright for this flying Dutchman.

• 3
• 620

poker-players

Yuri Dzivielevski

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Yuri Dzivielevski is a Brazilian poker player with four World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and over $5 million in live tournament earnings. Dzivielevski is best known as an online player who has racked up millions in earnings on PokerStars playing under the username “theNERDguy.” He was a PartyPoker Ambassador fromSeptember 2021 to January 2023. Live Poker Achievements Dzivielevski has enjoyed success on the live felt, and at the 2019 WSOP he won his first bracelet and $213,750 by taking down Event #51: $2,500 Mixed Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or Better, Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo 8 or Better. The same year, he made a deep run in the Main Event and finished 28th for $261,430. At the 2022 EPT Monte Carlo, Dzivielevski won the 25,000 Single Day High Roller for 448,515 the largest cash of his career. However, that was soon eclipsed when, at the 2022 WSOP, Dzivielevski came within inches of winning his third bracelet in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship. However, he finished second to Dan Cates, picking up his best-ever live cash of $895,614. At the 2023 WSOP, he won his third WSOP bracelet in Event #47: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E., in which he topped the 836-player field.

• 7
• 1471

poker-players

Yuri Dzivielevski

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Yuri Dzivielevski is a Brazilian poker player with four World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and over $5 million in live tournament earnings. Dzivielevski is best known as an online player who has racked up millions in earnings on PokerStars playing under the username “theNERDguy.” He was a PartyPoker Ambassador fromSeptember 2021 to January 2023. Live Poker Achievements Dzivielevski has enjoyed success on the live felt, and at the 2019 WSOP he won his first bracelet and $213,750 by taking down Event #51: $2,500 Mixed Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or Better, Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo 8 or Better. The same year, he made a deep run in the Main Event and finished 28th for $261,430. At the 2022 EPT Monte Carlo, Dzivielevski won the 25,000 Single Day High Roller for 448,515 the largest cash of his career. However, that was soon eclipsed when, at the 2022 WSOP, Dzivielevski came within inches of winning his third bracelet in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship. However, he finished second to Dan Cates, picking up his best-ever live cash of $895,614. At the 2023 WSOP, he won his third WSOP bracelet in Event #47: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E., in which he topped the 836-player field.

• 7
• 1471

poker-players

Alejandro Lococo

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Alejandro Lococo, also known by his stage name “Papo MC” is an Argentinian MC, avid poker player, and former PokerStars Ambassador. Lococo has racked up $1,343,127 in live tournament earnings, which includes four cashes under the WSOP umbrella. Prior to Lococo finishing 7th in the 2021 WSOP Main Event Final Table, his best live cash of $36,772 was achieved thanks to his fifth-place finish in the MILLIONS South America Rio Open. Lococo is just as sharp at the table as he is on a microphone and has recorded four five-figure paydays, with one of those coming in the 2020 WPT World Online Championships. He finished a respectable 23rd place for $19,200 in Event #4: $3,200 6-Max Championship, $3m GTD, outlasting the likes of Nicholas Marchington, Adrian Mateos and David Peters. 2021 WSOP Main Event Final Table Profile: Alejandro Lococo

• 3
• 597

poker-players

Ramon Colillas

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Ramon Colillas is a Spanish poker player best known for winning the 2019 PSPC PokerStars Players Championship for $5.1 million. With over $6.1 million in live earnings, the PokerStars ambassador sits fifth on Spain’s all-time money list. The majority of Colillas’ tournament earnings were earned in the aforementioned PokerStars Players Championship, a $25,000 buy-in event that the Spaniard freerolled into with a Platinum Pass promotion before he topped the field of 1,039 to earn the seven-figure score. But Colillas has had plenty of success on the live felt since then. He recorded his second-biggest cash in November 2021 when he ran deep in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, coming just short of the final table and falling in 14th place for $380,050. The same month, Colillas came close to winning his first WSOP bracelet when he finished fourth in a $1,500 NLH 8-Handed event for $158,972. In June 2021, Colillas won the partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Europe Open for 45,000. The Spaniard has also had success on the European Poker Tour (EPT) trail, finishing seventh in the 2022 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event for $131,939. More recently, Colillas finished 13th in a 2022 EPT Barcelona High Roller for $67,501. Poker Dream Still Alive says 2019 PSPC Champion Ramon Colillas

• 3
• 598

poker-players

Ramon Colillas

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Ramon Colillas is a Spanish poker player best known for winning the 2019 PSPC PokerStars Players Championship for $5.1 million. With over $6.1 million in live earnings, the PokerStars ambassador sits fifth on Spain’s all-time money list. The majority of Colillas’ tournament earnings were earned in the aforementioned PokerStars Players Championship, a $25,000 buy-in event that the Spaniard freerolled into with a Platinum Pass promotion before he topped the field of 1,039 to earn the seven-figure score. But Colillas has had plenty of success on the live felt since then. He recorded his second-biggest cash in November 2021 when he ran deep in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, coming just short of the final table and falling in 14th place for $380,050. The same month, Colillas came close to winning his first WSOP bracelet when he finished fourth in a $1,500 NLH 8-Handed event for $158,972. In June 2021, Colillas won the partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Europe Open for 45,000. The Spaniard has also had success on the European Poker Tour (EPT) trail, finishing seventh in the 2022 EPT Monte Carlo Main Event for $131,939. More recently, Colillas finished 13th in a 2022 EPT Barcelona High Roller for $67,501. Poker Dream Still Alive says 2019 PSPC Champion Ramon Colillas

• 3
• 598

poker-players

Ali Imsirovic

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Ali Imsirovic is a Bosnia and Herzegovinian poker player known for his achievements on the High Roller scene. In 2021, he was named GPI Player of the Year as well as winning the first ever PokerGO Tour presented by Guaranteed Rate Player of the Year Over the course of his career he has amassed over $17.5 million in total live earnings, and has won numerous High Roller tournaments including the 2018 Poker Masters. Imsirovic has also won High Roller tournaments at the Super High Roller Bowl Europe, PokerGO Cup, U.S. Poker Open, as well as at high-profile Las Vegas casinos such as the Aria, Wynn and Venetian. His biggest cash to date came at the Super High Roller Bowl in London, finishing second for 900,000. In 2022, he won an event at the PokerGO Cup for $365,500 - his 16th high roller title in the space of a year.

• 5
• 1030

poker-players

Adam Friedman

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Adam Friedman is an American poker player and five-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner. After winning his first bracelet during the 2012 WSOP, Friedman then won the $10,000 Dealer’s Choice Championship in back-to-back-to-back years (2018, 2019 & 2021), a feat no other player had ever accomplished. In 2022, he added a fifth WSOP bracelet in Event #22: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship. Poker Achievements Friedman shot to prominence back in 2005 after an infamous hand in that year’s Main Event was shown on the ESPN broadcast. During the 2000s, he regularly cashed in mixed game tournaments, including finishing 10th and 14th in the $10,000 8-Game Championships at the 2008 and 2009 WSOP respectively. He followed that up with a third-place finish in the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E in 2011 before winning his first bracelet in 2012. He defeated Todd Brunson heads-up to win Event #15: $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo for $269,037. A regular attendee of the WSOP, Friedman narrowly missed out on a second bracelet in 2016 after finishing second in the $1,500 Seven Card Stud.

• 5
• 949

poker-players

Johan Guilbert

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Johan Guilbert, who is also known under his ‘YoH ViraL’ moniker, is a French poker player and vlogger with over $4 million in live tournament earnings. He is also a regular in high-stakes cash games, and regularly makes appearances on poker live streams such as Hustler Casino Live and Live at the Bike. Guilbert can be seen on the first season of GGPoker’sGame of Gold, a poker reality competition on the GGPoker YouTube channel. Guilbert has captured titles under the World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour umbrella and also recorded a second-place finish in the 2021 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event. The 789,031 ($892,811) payout from the WSOPE Main Event is the largest of his career. Guilbert began playing poker full-time around 2010, mainly focusing on cash games. In recent years, he has joined the tournament high roller scene and picked up his first win on the circuit in 2021. He topped a $25,000 buy-in event at the Super High Roller Bowl Europe and then captured a WPT another $25K title at the 2021 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic a few months later. In February 2022, at the third annual Global Poker Awards, he was named as the GPI Breakout Player. Following his GPI award, Guilbert was selected to be one of the first season’s contestants on on Game Of Gold, a spin-off from the Poker After Dark brand produced by GGPoker.

• 4
• 693

poker-players

Johan Guilbert

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Johan Guilbert, who is also known under his ‘YoH ViraL’ moniker, is a French poker player and vlogger with over $4 million in live tournament earnings. He is also a regular in high-stakes cash games, and regularly makes appearances on poker live streams such as Hustler Casino Live and Live at the Bike. Guilbert can be seen on the first season of GGPoker’sGame of Gold, a poker reality competition on the GGPoker YouTube channel. Guilbert has captured titles under the World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour umbrella and also recorded a second-place finish in the 2021 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event. The 789,031 ($892,811) payout from the WSOPE Main Event is the largest of his career. Guilbert began playing poker full-time around 2010, mainly focusing on cash games. In recent years, he has joined the tournament high roller scene and picked up his first win on the circuit in 2021. He topped a $25,000 buy-in event at the Super High Roller Bowl Europe and then captured a WPT another $25K title at the 2021 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic a few months later. In February 2022, at the third annual Global Poker Awards, he was named as the GPI Breakout Player. Following his GPI award, Guilbert was selected to be one of the first season’s contestants on on Game Of Gold, a spin-off from the Poker After Dark brand produced by GGPoker.

• 4
• 693

poker-players

Koray Aldemir

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Koray Aldemir is a German poker player. He won the 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event for $8,000,000 and has amassed over $20 million in lifetime earnings. Biography Aldemir discovered poker in 2006 before playing online. He eventually moved to Vienna and picked up his first recorded cash in 2012. He spent most of the 2010s traveling around Europe to play, while also visiting the WSOP in Las Vegas. The best result of his early career was a 16th place finish in the 2015 EPT Malta Main event for 35,800, but the following year he would smash that with the first six-figure cash of his career. He finished second in Event #33: $1,500 No Limit Hold’em Summer Solstice for $252,805 before notching his first-ever seven-figure score of $2,154,265, finishing third in Event #67: $111,111 No Limit Hold’em High Roller for One Drop. Aldemir would continue to travel and play, winning a Triton Poker Main Event title in the Philippines for $1.29 million, and narrowly missing out on the 2018 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event title, finishing third. Now a regular on the High Roller scene, Aldemir would cash at the 2018 Poker Masters and the 2019 US Poker Open, winning Event #9: $50K NLH for $738,000. Aldemir had already cashed eight times at the 2021 WSOP before he made the final table and had a comfortable run to make the final nine players. He entered the final table as the chip leader and remained as such for most of the action, eventually defeating George Holmes heads-up to be crowned world champion. In 2022, Aldemir made another deep run in the Main Event in his quest for the first title defense since Johnny Chan in ‘87 and ‘88. He made it to Day 5 as of the time of writing.

• 7
• 1315

poker-players

Jake Schwartz

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Jake Schwartz is an American poker player from New York with $3.8 million in live tournament earnings. The biggest score of Schwartz’ career came in December 2015 when he finished fourth in the $10,000 World Poker Tour (WPT) Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $412,187. Many of Schwartz’ biggest scores have been earned on the WPT trail, including a second-place finish in the WPT bestbet Bounty Scramble for $228,590 and another runner-up finish in the 2020 WPT Rolling Thunder Main Event for $177,680. Schwartz has also had success at the World Series of Poker (WSOP). In 2013, he finished second in Event #36: $1,500 Shootout for $202,035 to be denied his first bracelet. Eight years later, Schwartz finished second in Event #31: No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw at the 2021 WSOP for $52,502, once again being denied his maiden bracelet. In addition to WPT and WSOP events, Schwartz has found results overseas, including a 12th-place finish in the $25,000 2019 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Players Championship for $261,750, as well as a 33rd-place finish in the 2018 $25,000 partypoker Caribbean Poker Party for $60,000.

• 8
• 1621

poker-players

Dan Cates

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Dan Cates, better known by his nickname “Jungleman” is an American poker player. In 2021, he won his first WSOP bracelet. Cates can be seen on the first season of GGPoker’sGame of Gold, a poker reality competition on the GGPoker YouTube channel. Cates is known for playing at the very highest stakes both online and live, and was a regular feature in the PokerNews Railbird Report during the mid-2010s. In 2015, he admitted that he lost $5,000,000 while playing in Manila.

• 3
• 574

poker-players

Dan Cates

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Dan Cates, better known by his nickname “Jungleman” is an American poker player. In 2021, he won his first WSOP bracelet. Cates can be seen on the first season of GGPoker’sGame of Gold, a poker reality competition on the GGPoker YouTube channel. Cates is known for playing at the very highest stakes both online and live, and was a regular feature in the PokerNews Railbird Report during the mid-2010s. In 2015, he admitted that he lost $5,000,000 while playing in Manila.

• 3
• 574

poker-players

Ole Schemion

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Ole Schemion is a German poker player. He has won both World Poker Tour and World Series of Poker titles in a career during which he has amassed over $16 million in earnings. Schemion is a former Global Poker Index #1, having held the title for 18 weeks straight between December 2014 and April 2015. Poker Achievements Schemion shot to prominence in late 2012 after winning the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event for over 1.1 million. He followed that up with victory in the 2012 Master Classics of Poker Main Event. His success continued into 2013, with three side event wins at EPT Monte Carlo, another final table in the Master Classics of Poker and a final-table appearance at the EPT Prague Main Event. Schemion was tipped for success at 2014 WSOP after winning the EPT San Remo 10,300 High Roller and cashing in the the EPT Monte Carlo Super High Roller, but he didn’t cash at that year’s WSOP. He did however win an Aria $100k Super High Roller for over $1 million. Other standout performances from Schemion include a second-place finish in the 2015 Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge, and a final table in the EPT Monte Carlo Main Event in 2015. He followed that up with victory in the 2016 EPT Monte Carlo Super High Roller, narrowly missing out on the High Roller title having to settle for second place. Monte Carlo has continually been a place where Schemion has enjoyed success including at the 2017 PokerStars Championship. That year also saw him record his first WSOP cash in the Monster Stack. His 2018 begun with more success, winning the World Poker Tour European Championship on home soil. Schemion would make the final table of the EPT Monte Carlo Super High Roller yet again, before making his second EPT final table, finishing eighth. In 2019, Schemion enjoyed more success. He won the $1,100 PCA National as well as the Baccarat Crystal WPT Tournament of Champions, before cashin gin the WSOP Europe Diamond High Roller and final-tabling the Master Classics of Poker Main Event again. When live poker resumed in 2021, Schemion finally grabbed his first WSOP bracelet in Event #79: $1,979 No Limit Hold’em - Poker Hall of Fame Bounty for $172,499. Its not too often in live tournaments that you come in first place, said Schemion after his win. Its what we all try to do but it feels very good to run through a good field and win one. Event 12: 2,000 8-Game Mix at the 2021 WSOP Europe. ## Online Poker Achievements Away from the live felt, Schemion has amassed four SCOOP titles over the course of his career, with the first two in 2018 along with his first WCOOP title. His second two SCOOP titles came in 2020.

• 7
• 1309

poker-players

Kyna England

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Kyna England is an American poker player with over $800,000 in career earnings who was named the 2021 Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Player of the Year. She can be seen on the first season of GGPoker’sGame of Gold, a poker reality competition on the GGPoker YouTube channel. England, originally from Illinois, enjoyed a breakout year in 2021 after leaving her job in the insurance industry to pursue a professional poker career. England finished third in the MSPT Riverside Main Event for $73,782 and later finished third in the WPT Venetian Main Event for $448,755. She followed that up later that year with victory in the MSPT Canterbury Park Main Event for $186,709. The Minnesota victory helped her secure the MSPT Season 12 Player of the Year, making her the first female player to earn the POY distinction. “It was a great year,” England told PokerNews in an interview. “It was my first full year playing poker, traveling around a little bit playing poker. I was fortunate enough early on in the year to get a big score.” In September 2022, England landed a partnership with GGPoker’s ClubGG, becoming the first ambassador for the app that lets members win seats into live events around the world. Here’s England’s advice for anyone who wants to leave their full-time job to play poker professionally: “I think you just really have to love it. You have to love what you do, you have to get out there and have fun with it every day. There are days where I’m just like, ‘what am I doing?’ You lose enough and you have to just get used to losing.” England’s upbeat attitude and relationship with GGPoker landed her a spot on the company’s 2023 reality TV poker show, Game of Gold.

• 4
• 704

poker-players

Kyna England

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Kyna England is an American poker player with over $800,000 in career earnings who was named the 2021 Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Player of the Year. She can be seen on the first season of GGPoker’sGame of Gold, a poker reality competition on the GGPoker YouTube channel. England, originally from Illinois, enjoyed a breakout year in 2021 after leaving her job in the insurance industry to pursue a professional poker career. England finished third in the MSPT Riverside Main Event for $73,782 and later finished third in the WPT Venetian Main Event for $448,755. She followed that up later that year with victory in the MSPT Canterbury Park Main Event for $186,709. The Minnesota victory helped her secure the MSPT Season 12 Player of the Year, making her the first female player to earn the POY distinction. “It was a great year,” England told PokerNews in an interview. “It was my first full year playing poker, traveling around a little bit playing poker. I was fortunate enough early on in the year to get a big score.” In September 2022, England landed a partnership with GGPoker’s ClubGG, becoming the first ambassador for the app that lets members win seats into live events around the world. Here’s England’s advice for anyone who wants to leave their full-time job to play poker professionally: “I think you just really have to love it. You have to love what you do, you have to get out there and have fun with it every day. There are days where I’m just like, ‘what am I doing?’ You lose enough and you have to just get used to losing.” England’s upbeat attitude and relationship with GGPoker landed her a spot on the company’s 2023 reality TV poker show, Game of Gold.

• 4
• 704

poker-players

Kyna England

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Kyna England is an American poker player with over $800,000 in career earnings who was named the 2021 Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Player of the Year. She can be seen on the first season of GGPoker’sGame of Gold, a poker reality competition on the GGPoker YouTube channel. England, originally from Illinois, enjoyed a breakout year in 2021 after leaving her job in the insurance industry to pursue a professional poker career. England finished third in the MSPT Riverside Main Event for $73,782 and later finished third in the WPT Venetian Main Event for $448,755. She followed that up later that year with victory in the MSPT Canterbury Park Main Event for $186,709. The Minnesota victory helped her secure the MSPT Season 12 Player of the Year, making her the first female player to earn the POY distinction. “It was a great year,” England told PokerNews in an interview. “It was my first full year playing poker, traveling around a little bit playing poker. I was fortunate enough early on in the year to get a big score.” In September 2022, England landed a partnership with GGPoker’s ClubGG, becoming the first ambassador for the app that lets members win seats into live events around the world. Here’s England’s advice for anyone who wants to leave their full-time job to play poker professionally: “I think you just really have to love it. You have to love what you do, you have to get out there and have fun with it every day. There are days where I’m just like, ‘what am I doing?’ You lose enough and you have to just get used to losing.” England’s upbeat attitude and relationship with GGPoker landed her a spot on the company’s 2023 reality TV poker show, Game of Gold.

• 4
• 704

poker-players

Kyna England

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Kyna England is an American poker player with over $800,000 in career earnings who was named the 2021 Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Player of the Year. She can be seen on the first season of GGPoker’sGame of Gold, a poker reality competition on the GGPoker YouTube channel. England, originally from Illinois, enjoyed a breakout year in 2021 after leaving her job in the insurance industry to pursue a professional poker career. England finished third in the MSPT Riverside Main Event for $73,782 and later finished third in the WPT Venetian Main Event for $448,755. She followed that up later that year with victory in the MSPT Canterbury Park Main Event for $186,709. The Minnesota victory helped her secure the MSPT Season 12 Player of the Year, making her the first female player to earn the POY distinction. “It was a great year,” England told PokerNews in an interview. “It was my first full year playing poker, traveling around a little bit playing poker. I was fortunate enough early on in the year to get a big score.” In September 2022, England landed a partnership with GGPoker’s ClubGG, becoming the first ambassador for the app that lets members win seats into live events around the world. Here’s England’s advice for anyone who wants to leave their full-time job to play poker professionally: “I think you just really have to love it. You have to love what you do, you have to get out there and have fun with it every day. There are days where I’m just like, ‘what am I doing?’ You lose enough and you have to just get used to losing.” England’s upbeat attitude and relationship with GGPoker landed her a spot on the company’s 2023 reality TV poker show, Game of Gold.

• 4
• 704

poker-players

Mike Matusow

@Popular Players @Michael Addamo

Biography Never one to crawl into a shell at the table, Mike The Mouth Matusow got his nickname for his reputation of talking trash at the poker table. Of these well-known rants, Matusows most famous incident might be when he berated eventual champion Greg Raymer in the 2004 Main Event. Matusow took up poker at a young age when a friend introduced him to the game just before the 1990s. The game would soon become more and more serious for him. He took up a job as a poker dealer where he was able to pick up on various strategies and watch others play hand after hand, which helped him greatly. Following dealing, Mike took up the game professionally and never looked back. Everyone may remember that Scotty Nguyen won the 1998 WSOP Main Event for a cool $1 million. If you watch the footage of the event, youll see Mike Matusow rooting Scotty on from the rail. The Mouth paid one-third of Scottys satellite buy-in, which he ended up parlaying into an overall victory in the Main Event. For this, Matusow was given a third of Nguyens winnings. One year later, Matusow would win his first bracelet. He followed that up the next year with some more WSOP cashes before making a very deep run at the 2001 Main Event. He placed sixth and earned almost $240,000. In 2002, Matusow won his second bracelet and in 2005 he made another deep run in the Main Event. This time around, he finish was slightly worse when he placed ninth, but it was worth more than four times what he earned in his previous Main Event final table. He took home $1 million. Later that same year, the WSOP Tournament of Champions was held and Matusow won the event for another $1 million. He would eventually win his third bracelet in 2008, cashing multiple other times along the way. The Mouth also has made a few WPT final tables. Hes cashed in many other events, some of which include the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, the Aruba Classic, and the Wynn Classic. Matusow has also been featured on High Stakes Poker and is a regular fixture on Poker After Dark, which he won once. You can also regularly find Matusow playing a wide range of games and tournaments on Full Tilt Poker where he is a member of Team Full Tilt.

• 8
• 1505