Global Poker x PokerNews Cup Trophy Winner Loves "The Social Aspect"
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From June 17 to July 7, Global Poker and PokerNews teamed up to present the Global Poker x PokerNews Cup.
The Global Poker x PokerNews Cup series is just one of Global Poker's flagship series (others include the upcoming GOAT festival, the Rattlesnake Open, and the Grizzly Games). It featured all events, including mystery bounties, progressive knock-outs, turbos, and deep stack events. One of the schedule's highlights was the multiday Global Poker X PokerNews Cup Sweep Coins 100,000 Freeroll Finale.
There were seven qualifying tournaments and a 100,000 Sweeps Coins prize pool up for grabs.
Forty-three players qualified for the event, and although nine players received an SC prize, only one walked away with a trophy.
The winner was Tennesseean Global Poker regular Ryan "MrGoldenPair" Smoot, who PokerNews sat down with to chat about his poker history, his Global Poker victory, and what he hoped to achieve next.
That Winning Feeling
The Freeroll Finale was Smoot's first PokerNews Cup trophy, but he is an old hand when it comes to Global Poker gold. He has ten Global Poker trophies in his cabinet and puts in plenty of time at the tables, working on his game as he plays.
"I try to play as many of the trophy events as I can on Global Poker," he said. "I won my entry into the Finale by finishing in the final nine out of 883 players in a Participant Qualifier."
Even with ten trophies on the shelf, Smoot still feels each one. "After I won the Finale, I shouted a few times and just kind of sat there in shock," he said. "I hugged my son who came in right after I had won."
"I got a little emotional. Giving the news to my friends and family who supported me over the years was a great feeling."
The Global Experience
Although Smoot plays a lot on Global Poker, he hasn't played at brick-and-mortar venues yet. "I don't play live poker, but I'm going to give it a shot soon," he said. I've been playing online for around 20 years and have plenty of scores, but this was my largest."
Part of what keeps him in the online realm is his enthusiasm for Global Poker and its community. "I just think it's incredible that they send out actual physical trophies and merch to players," Smoot explained. "I don't know of any other site that does that."
"The community of players and streamers on the GlobalPokerLive Twitch channel is the best, and I've made quite a few good friends there. They stream the Global Poker Home Game 365 days a year, which is fun and very competitive. Plus, there's a leaderboard and every month they award more special merch to the winners."
"I definitely enjoy the social aspect of playing on Global Poker," he added. You can even find me in the GlobalPokerLive Twitch chat almost every night. The Home Game that runs every night at 9:10 PM EST is streamed live on Twitch, and you can get the tournament password in chat!"
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"Head Down, Graph Up!"
Like many players, Smoot first picked up poker after seeing the game played on TV. "I got my start in 2003 after watching Chris Moneymaker win the WSOP Main Event on ESPN," he explained. "Shortly after that I saw the movie Rounders and I was hooked."
After that, his obsession with the game grew.
"I started out playing limit hold'em, bought every poker book and joined every poker training site in existence. I quickly moved on to SNGs and MTTs. I must have played in tens of thousands of them. My favorite format is the 45-man SNGs, so I was very prepared and comfortable during the Finale."
With this latest trophy weighing down his cabinet shelves, PokerNews asked what was next for Smoot.
Turns out, his goals are pretty straightforward. He just wants to "study more, play more, get my average buy-in up, and get my ROI up! Head down, graph up. GL, GL!"
