Mexican Pro Jacobo Montoya Seeking Another Score in WPT World Championship

Connor Richards Editor & Live Reporter U.S.

Dec 08, 2023 4 min read Last updated Dec 20, 2023

Q&A w/ Jacobo Montoya
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Mexico's Jacobo Montoya is no stranger to poker tournament success. In 2019, the poker pro took down the SCOOP Main Event for $688,588 to set a record for the biggest online score for a Mexican poker player.

Four years later, Montoya is ready for another big score after qualifying into the World Poker Tour (WPT) World Championship on ClubWPT. PokerNews caught up with Montoya to chat about his poker background and how he plans to get ready for the $40 million guaranteed event.

Here's a look as some other ClubWPT qualifiers we've profile:

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Q&A w/ Jacobo Montoya

Can you tell us a bit about yourself (i.e. age, location, family, education, work, etc.)?

My name is Jacobo Montoya from Celaya, Mexico. I am 34 years old and I have been playing poker professionally since around 2015 and semiprofessional since 2011. I currently live in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, where I grind online.

When and how did you learn to play poker?

I started playing home games recreationally in high school, from the beginning, I knew this game was something very interesting and I could make something really big out of it, what attracted me the most about poker was the psychological part of it and all the strategy involved around it, I was winning quite consistently in my home games so I wanted to take the next step.

Within a few months, I was introduced to online poker, a friend told me I could play from my computer and I got fascinated, I started playing freerolls and started to get more and more involved since I wanted to start taking it more seriously, I started doing some research, then thanks for the online forums and talking to other poker players I discovered the strategic part of the game.

How long have you been a member of WPT Global and what inspired you to join in the first place?

I started playing on WPT Global since it opened in Mexico earlier this year and I haven’t stopped since, what inspired me to join was the name of the WPT brand, I remember when I was just starting playing, watching all these WPT final tables on TV and always wanted to be part of that.

Have you had any other success of WPT Global? If so, when and where?

I have had a bit of success on the site, earlier this year I won a Fall Special tournament of the series, and I have won some of the daily tournaments.

"My proudest accomplishment in poker is no doubt winning the 2019 SCOOP Main Event on Pokerstars for $688,000, the biggest online score for Mexican poker."

Have you ever been to either a WPT event or Las Vegas before? Have you ever played in any other major poker tournaments?

I have played several live WPT events; I have played at the Seminole Hard Rock in Florida where I made a deep run in the Main Event, finishing 29th for $23,000 and on the same series I final tabled a tournament finishing sixth for $29,000.

What’s your proudest poker accomplishment to date?

My proudest accomplishment in poker is no doubt winning the 2019 SCOOP Main Event on Pokerstars for $688,000, the biggest online score for Mexican poker.

Aside from maybe winning, what are you most looking forward to about your upcoming WPT stop? Any poker pros you would like to meet? If so, why would you like to meet them?

What I’m looking forward to the most for this WPT event is to get to see friends that I haven’t seen in a very long time and these stops allow the poker community to get together and have amazing times.

Join WPT Global Today

With WPT Global, poker players around the world now have the chance to qualify for WPT events, win prizes and enjoy exciting games on one of the world's largest cash game poker networks. WPT Global is available in over 50 countries and territories around the world.

WPT Global offers a large deposit match bonus: 100% on deposits up to $1,200 (using any payment method). New players depositing a minimum of $20 automatically receive this match bonus which is unlocked in $5 increments (credited straight to the cashier) for every $20 of rake contribution.

Both tournaments and cash games count towards bonus unlocking; new players have 90 days from the date of first deposit to unlock and claim their full bonus amount.

Find out how to win a $12,400 WPT Passport to December's WPT World Championship

_{*Image courtesy of WPT.}

_{*Images courtesy of Jacobo Montoya.}

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Connor Richards Editor & Live Reporter U.S.

Connor Richards is an Editor & Live Reporter for PokerNews and host of the Life Outside Poker podcast. Connor has been nominated for two Global Poker Awards for his writing.

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