League of Champions Playoffs: Interview with League Phase Winner arem

Hungarian PokerStrategist arem won the league phase of PokerStrategy.com League of Champions. In our interview, he revealed his thoughts on the league itself and spoke about his chances of winning.

By becoming the League of Champions league phase winner, arem found himself among the five finalists. Thanks to his first place finish, he has to face only one opponent in the playoff phase.

PokerStrategist arem will be facing the Round 3 winner, where twicet and maxippouce played. You can read more about that here.

He is in a great starting position, since he has already won $10,000. However, if he can win in the final, he will pocket a massive cash prize of $25,000. As he waits for his final opponent, he found some time to answer some of our questions.

For more information on the League of Champions, please go to our forum thread below:

PokerStrategy.com League of Champions: Info thread

"It is not money that is the most important"

PokerStrategy.com: Congratulations for winning the league phase! It was an extraordinary success. How do you feel now, before the final, with $10,000 already in your pocket?

arem: Of course I am very happy with the result, but it is not money what is the most important thing for me (though it is not so insignificant either), but the experience I gained during the play. It will probably bring a lot of money to me in future games.

PokerStrategy.com: How do you rate your performances during the league phase?

arem: Looking at the field, I thought first that it would already be a success if I got into the top 10. Then I won the first match, which helped to boost my self-confidence a lot. After the fifth-sixth round, I was confident that I would be among the top five players. Though I got some unfortunate hands, I managed to survive and then fortune was on my side after that.

PokerStrategy.com: Your win was indisputable; there were however, players and spectators who criticized your unorthodox play. How did you take those negative comments?

arem: I learnt a lot from both the positive and negative feedback. If I want to put it in a funny way, I would say that the winners are always lucky (At least the losers always say this). I read numerous strategy articles of course, and learnt a lot from these, but I did not apply them so rigidly during the matches. Each field is different, and sometimes a little bit of creativity can help a lot, particularly in such a strong field.

PokerStrategy.com: Was there anyone who was particularly difficult to play with during the 18 matches?

arem: I played against some superb players and learnt a lot from their play. I clashed with maxippouce in the first match, and twicet laid pressure on me all the way to the end – they are both extraordinary players. Overall, I think we had a very strong field of players. Regardless the points gained, everybody performed well.

"Nothing is impossible"

PokerStrategy.com: What did you learn from the matches?

arem: I learnt that nothing is impossible, you can do everything if you really want to. This is true for poker and everyday life as well. Always do what you believe in and what you consider to be true. If you do it well, it will bring success sooner or later.

PokerStrategy.com: You have secured a considerable sum of money thanks to winning the league phase and this probably boosted your confidence. Did this change your attitude towards poker compared to before the matches?

arem: It did. Of course what happened to me was beneficial for my confidence, which is very important in this game. But the most important thing is that I realized how many mistakes there are in my game.

PokerStrategy.com: The prize pool for the 16th league match was $2,000 and you won it, which gave you $1,000. Did you treat yourself to something from the prize, or you used the money for your poker career?

arem: I have amazing memories of Rome and my daughter also learnt Italian, so we will probably travel to Rome with this money.

PokerStrategy.com: There is only one opponent left you that have to face. If you win, you will get $25,000 instead of $10,000. What do you think of this challenge?

arem: When I sit down to play poker, I always want to win. This will also be the case in the final. I already have a strategy in my mind, but one thing is sure: it won't be an easy game.

PokerStrategy.com: Whether you win or lose, you will leave the table with a huge sum of money. What will you do with your winnings?

arem: I will use it to build my bankroll.

PokerStrategy.com: Do you have any plans for after the League of Champions?

arem: I do, I would like to enter tournaments with bigger prizes and I would also like to further develop my cash game play. Usually I play in tournaments on PartyPoker.com and cash games are not really my game. However, with this bigger bankroll, I will probably get myself into it and start learning.

PokerStrategy.com: Good luck for the final and we hope you will manage to realize your plans. Would you like to say something to the community?

arem: I am grateful to PokerStrategy.com for this fantastic opportunity. Thanks for everybody who supported me and I would like to ask them to keep their fingers crossed for me for one last time when I play in the decisive duel on Sunday.
I would also like to give a shout out to another member of the Hungarian community, bogec84, who performed well too. Great job! Finally, I would like to wish all the other finalists good luck.