Mike Watson is the Canadian poker player that won the 2016 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event. He became only the third person to win two EPT live event titles, after winning the 2020 PokerStars European Poker Tour at Monte Carlo Casino.
Come from the Dead
Watson was able to win the 2023 EPT Monte Carlo main event title, beating a field of 1,098, and bagging EUR749 425 ($824,368) from the prize pool total of EUR5,325,300. However, his journey to the top wasn’t easy. He was just about to be eliminated on Day 4, when he hit a pair of outers.
Watson told reporters from PokerStars that he was very happy with the result and that he will continue to work hard to improve on it.
He said that winning two main events in the same tour was “really hard to do.” He considered this accomplishment as “definitely up there with the best, and maybe the greatest achievement” of his career, and felt “really satisfied” about it.
Watson won the PokerStars PCA Main Event 2016 by beating 928 competitors to take home $728,325 and the title of EPT. Watson also owns a World Poker Tour Main Event (WPT Main Event) bracelet, which was won at the 2008 WPT bellagio cup. This bracelet increased his bankroll by almost $1.7 million.
Watson’s win places him in the company of Vicky Coren Mitchell, the first person to win two EPT live titles in 2014. Mikalai Pobai joined the club of two-time EPT live champions in 2019. Watson believes the second EPT is “a little more special.”
Sweden’s “WhatIfGod”, who won two consecutive EPT Online main events in 2020 and 2021, also achieved a similar feat.
Big Stack at the Final Table
Watson’s journey to the title wasn’t easy. He had to rely on luck to beat the odds and avoid elimination in the Day 6 Main Event. From then on, Watson picked up the pace and entered into the final table as second in chips and with a large stack.
I was fortunate to have a large stack at the final table. I used that to build up a decent stack.
Mike Watson
Watson and Leonard Maue, the German opponent at the final table, reached a deal based on their chip counts and had around $36,000 left to play for.
Watson was supported by his wife, a fellow Canadian Sam Greenwood. Greenwood, along with his wife, were present at Watson’s previous EPT victory in 2016.
