On any given day, Canadian poker player Mike Watson can be found in a medium or high stakes tournament anywhere on the planet. Whether his feet are planted in that particular country for poker or to just to enjoy the “fruits of his labors”, the player known as “SirWatts” certainly does get around. So far on Canadian soil in 2011, Watson came home long enough to play in the Fallsview Poker Classic, take second place in the $2500 for over $140,000, then catch a plane to the Aussie Millions to cash another four times for almost $30,000 more.
While a $170,000+ is not a bad month by any measure, it’s just a small chunk of what now amounts to over 2.8 million dollars in live winnings for the young poker instructor. Mike’s largest and most notable win would have to be his World Poker Tour Bellagio Cup IV Title back in 2008, worth almost $1,700,000. In earning the first place finish, Watson faced a very tough WPT television final table of six, with WSOP bracelet winners John Phan and David Benyamine occupying two of the seats. Even as one of the smaller stacks entering the six handed battle, Watson fought his way through the pack to eventually find himself Heads Up with super-pro Benyamine. David still remains one of today’s most well known high stakes and tournament players, but that didn’t stop Watson from getting through him. While that win could be considered to be his first in a “major tournament” it certainly set him down the road to one of the most promising poker careers displayed by a Canadian player so far. Not even six months later, Watson faced another talent packed table at the Pokerstars European Poker Championship Million Dollar Showdown. This final table of nine didn’t have any luck-boxes either; it included fellow Canadians Isabelle “No Mercy” Mercier and Petter Jettenadar well as EPT Champion Of Champion winner Jason “tresfull21” Mercier, Scotty Nguyen and John Juanda. Also, seeming almost as if fate wanted Mike to play against the best, David Benyamine was once again one of his final table opponents. This time, Watson went on to finish in third, a very respectable finish worth almost another half a million dollars. Michael then won another World Poker Tour Event No Limit Hold’em Event at the Bellagio Cup V for over $140,000, a year after his epic win at the previous Belagio WPT Series. far from a one trick pony, he followed it up at the start of 2010 by shipping a $3000 buy-in event at the Aussie Millions in 2010 for another $136,628 more. Mike’s three major tournament titles and total live winnings to date put him just outside the Top Ten on the “Canadian All Time Money List.”
Mike keeps a blog of his poker travels, a well written mix of poker talk and the adventures him and his crew partake. After the 2010 WSOP wrapped up, the friends travelled to Honolulu, Manila and Seoul before Michael wound up back in Ontario and their stories are definitely worth the read. Hanging with players like Tony “Bond18” Dunst, his “poker posse” ravages the felts of both the live world circuit and online, in any poker discipline offered, whether it’s multi table tournaments or cash games against some of the world’s toughest cash game players, the likes of Gus Hansen and friends, for example. “NITONTILT” or “SirWatts” is also known to play Pot Limit Omaha and No Limit Hold’em ring games from stakes ranging from $25/50 all the way up to $500/$1000, maybe even higher.
Mike’s track record playing tournaments online is as equally impressive as his live; already in the 2011 Spring Championships of Online Poker, “SirWatts” has had two Heads Up finishes in the larger buy-in events totaling more than $55,000. Added to another $1.8 million in cashes on the major sites and making for a combined lifetime total cashes of over four and a half million dollars, the under thirty player certainly has set the bar at mark few can, or ever will match, let alone beat.
“SirWatts” is a much respected member of our poker community at www.pokerforum.ca; now and then he still makes time in his busy schedule to come catch up and post. We are proud to have his as one of our members success story and equally honored he keeps us at the top of his blog’s links. Keep felting them all “Sir” and stop by soon!
