Considered one of the best short-handed cash game players in the world with lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $2 million
Patrik Antonius was an up-and-coming tennis star in his native Finland, but a back injury forced him to hang up his racket. But the real trouble was that even though he could no longer compete at the top of his game, his ambition and drive were very active. He needed another outlet. Modeling agencies sought him out and paid him well, but an important element was missing – competition. But finding a pursuit that was as physically and mentally challenging as world-class tennis turned out to be a hard prospect.
In 1998, Patrik walked into a casino for the first time in his life. He paid $25 to play in a poker tournament and went home with $260. He thought that was pretty sweet, and developed a poker workout to get his game in shape. Patrik had no interest in reading about poker in books. He believed that real learning happened on your feet. He played all the time. And after every session he methodically broke down each hand to see how he could've played it better. In the beginning, poker ate up a lot of his modeling money, but that soon changed.
The turning point came in 2005. He finished third at the Barcelona Open, second at the WPT's Five Diamond Poker Classic, and first at the European Poker Tour's Baden Classic. By the time the dust settled on his whirlwind year, he was named Rookie of the Year at the European Poker Awards and had won more than $1.6 million.
The following year, Patrik had his most meaningful win. He made the final table at the WSOP's $50,000 HORSE event. Because this tournament was billed by many as the real test for “World Champion,” the field consisted of 143 of the toughest pros in the world. And, with his ninth place finish, Patrik proved he could stand toe-to-toe with any of them.
