According to reports, things aren’t moving quite as quickly as they have in previous years, but that didn’t stop the money bubble from bursting today at the European Poker Tour Grand Final in Madrid. 104 players remain from a 686 player, two heat starting field in the 10,000 Euro buy-in Main Event, with top Canadian Players Will Molson and Ben “NeverScaredB” Wilinofsky still in the mix. While Montreal’s Will Molson, (who many will remember from his million dollar win in the PCA $25,000 high-roller event earlier this year), is going to need to get something going soon, Wilinofsky is ahead of the pack, sitting with 8th highest chip count of those remaining. With a first prize of $1.5 Million Euros, as well as the bragging rights up for grabs of being the first player to win 2 EPT Main Events, “NeverScaredB” certainly has more than enough to motivate him. Good Luck to all the remaining players, a new winner will be crowned over the next 3 days of play.
We’ll leave you with a quick look at Ben “NeverScaredB” Wilinofsky….
Sometimes the first times a charm they say, though Ben “NeverScaredB” Wilinofsky, really has set the bar on the expression. Before defeating a starting field of over 770 entrants from across the globe in EPT Berlin’s Main Event a few weeks back for the equivalent of around 1,200,000 dollars, Wilinofsky’s “official” live tournament profile pages around the web were non-existent or blank. While one might be inclined to think that every dog has his day, the opposite is true. Chalk it up as long overdue, as since picking up the game in 2007, Ben has already accumulated over $2.2 million in online tournament winnings. The twenty-two year old from Vancouver Canada, “NeverScaredB” has won over $1.2 million of his impressive total on PokerStars, where he not only qualified to play in Berlin; it’s also home to the virtual felts where his largest online cash to date last occurred last May, worth over $95,000.
During his winning run at EPT Berlin, Wilinofsky was characterized as one who loved to stay in the heads of his opponents, summed up best by his good natured greeting of his heads-up opponent in Berlin with a handshake, smile and the words “Your dead!”
“NeverScaredB” will now have at least one more entry to add to his live tournament cash pages, already in the money for at least 15,000 Euros and a top chip count capable of taking him much deeper. Also part of his Berlin win, Wilinofsky gained entry to the Grand Final in Madrid and a shot at being the EPT Season 7 Champion of Champions, which starts on May 13th after the Main Event wraps up this Thursday.
Before taking up poker, Wilinofsky studied Entrepreneurship and Philosophy in College. Ben tributes some of his success and attitude to those lessons. Also a strategy game player, Ben enjoyed playing chess and Magic the Gathering before getting into poker. Many of today’s top players have much of the same education and interests, so it’s no surprise that Ben has joined their ranks.
