Interview with PokerStrategist Viki007 after the FA Cup Final

May 5th was a very special day for PokerStrategist Viki007. After winning the 888poker VIP Package for the FA Cup Final, he got to watch the game from his very own VIP box. In this interview, he tells us about winning the package and what it was like at Wembley Stadium.

888poker gave a PokerStrategist the chance to see the FA Cup Final live on May 5th, 2012 at Wembley Stadium in London. Those who qualified in the exclusive $1 Qualifying Tournament were able to take part in the $1,050 Corp Box for FA Cup Final.

The winner of the tournament won a VIP package worth $50,000. At the end of the event, viki007 from the German PokerStrategy.com community emerged victorious.

Our PokerStrategist travelled to London to watch the final between Chelsea and Liverpool - accompanied by nine friends in his very own VIP box.

Interview with Viki007

VIP box at Wembley Stadium

PokerStrategy.com: viki007, you won the 888poker VIP Package for the FA Cup Final. But first, let's talk about the $1 Qualifying Tournament: How did it go from your perspective?

viki007: The tournament started off with a fail, in that I arrived a good 20 minutes too late and was immediately under pressure because my stack was of course not the biggest at that moment. I played the tournament without rebuys because I had only registered at 888 Poker a week before, meaning my bankroll was relatively small.

Somehow I made it to the Final Table - I didn't have many good hands here and so I had to steal to keep myself afloat. I waited for my opponents to eliminate each other. Once the player count at the Final Table was quite low I started to play more aggressively and got into heads-up. Here I was able to keep my opponent under control and finish him off without any real trouble.

PokerStrategy.com: After that you had to come through the $1,050 Corp Box for FA Cup Final-Event. What expectations did you have coming into this tournament?

viki007: I decided to bring my best game, since you don't get too many opportunities to play in a tournament at this level. I have played quite a few majors before, but such a $1,050 Event is definitely a few levels above a $215 MTT.

"After the victory I couldn't sleep, it was about three o'clock"

PokerStrategy.com: In the end you made it to the Final Table. At what point did you realise that you could achieve something really special?

viki007: To be honest I didn't at all - with three players left I had 25,000 chips, the other player had 22,000 and the chipleader was at 150,000. There was one glimmer of hope when I was able to double up against the chipleader and bust the shorty, after that the stacks were more even.

While heads-up I changed up my game quite frequently: I would raise with hands like 7-4 or J-8, and occasionally just call with hands like A-J or A-K. I was constantly changing my bet sizes and I tried to keep my opponent under pressure. In the last hand I raised J-10 and my adversary called. The flop came A-K-Q and I called his bets up to the river, where the board was then A-K-Q-2-4. He pushed and I called, he showed me K-Q and it was over.

PokerStrategy.com: What thoughts went through your mind directly after the victory? You had just won a $50,000 VIP Package!

viki007: After the victory I couldn't sleep, it was about three o'clock in the morning. I kept thinking about who to take with me, because there were more than nine people who could've come and who wanted to.

PokerStrategy.com: You were finally able to make up your mind, and then travelled to London on May 5th and got your very own VIP box in Wembley stadium. How were you greeted, and what happened on that afternoon?

viki007: We were greeted very pleasantly, albeit with an hour's delay, because (as we later discovered) they had written my name wrong - Wiktor instead of Viktor. The rest of the afternoon went well, and we even had our own kitchen in a back room where people cooked for us.

The legendary Wembley Stadium

"I had never before seen or experienced something like this"

PokerStrategy.com: What was the atmosphere like at Wembley?

viki007: It gives you goose bumps! I had never before seen or experienced something like this - there were about 90,000 football fans in the stadium.

PokerStrategy.com: FC Chelsea beat FC Liverpool 2-1. Were you rooting for the Champions League finalists personally?

viki007: No, unfortunately not - I was supporting Liverpool.

PokerStrategy.com: viki007, thank you very much for the interview!

by Tobias tooobi123 Frey