"No Big Return" for Fabian Quoss Despite Crushing Early Stages of Aussie Millions
Poker players rarely truly give up the game. They may walk away from poker as a profession, and even step away altogether for a lengthy period of time, but the game usually has a way of drawing them back in, even just for an odd tournament here or a home game with friends there.
So, while it was a bit of a surprise to see Fabian Quoss in the 2020 Aussie Millions Main Event, it wasn't a massive shock on the order of Allen Kessler winning three straight pots when he got in bad.
Once one of the top tournament players in the world, racking up millions of dollars in earnings and competing in six-figure buy-ins, Quoss announced his retirement as a pro in the summer of 2018.
"Nothing Exciting"
Apparently, running up huge chip stacks is like riding a bike though, because Quoss slipped into old patterns here at Crown Melbourne when he rang up 187,100 to lead Day 1a. He hasn't slowed down at all on Day 2, sitting behind a little shy of 400,000 as the final level of the night looms.
So, is this Aussie Millions run Quoss' way of announcing his presence once more, storming back to reclaim the mantle he once held?
Not so fast.
"It's more that I happened to be around," he said. "But, I have a lot of friends here, I used to live here for a little bit and it's the first time for my girlfriend in Australia. So, I showed her around a little bit since Christmas, traveling down the coast. The Germans like to play basketball every day here and I really enjoy that as well.
"So, a couple of small factors made me decide to have a vacation."
Quoss couldn't exactly recall his last tournament, but believed it to be during the 2018 World Series of Poker.
Since then, he's spent some time on a few different pursuits. He said immediately following poker he had a phase where he got into crypto. He embarked on some meditations. Nowadays, he focuses mainly on exercising, reading and enjoying his relationship.
"I couldn't tell you anything exciting about my life at the moment," he said.
No Plans for More
Here at Aussie Millions, Quoss skipped what used to be his old stomping ground high rollers. Instead, he warmed up with a couple of small side events just to reacquaint himself with the feeling of live poker and then hopped in the Main.
He may be happy with his quiet existence, but he admitted getting back to the felt has been enjoyable. Time away from the game can sometimes relight that fire, recharge that excitement that makes poker so addicting in the first place.
"I must say, it's fun," Quoss said. "Not only because I have chips but even in the $1K side event that I played, it was just fun to think about spots again."
Quoss has certainly played some fun hands on Day 2, coming at old high roller foe Timothy Adams with a creative line that ended with a river shove and flopping a straight flush to bust Phil Hui.
However, he said it's "very likely a one-off."
"As of now, I'm not planning on playing more poker," he said. "You might see me in Vegas for two or three weeks this summer, but no big return."
If his performance at Crown so far is any indication, prospective opponents will certainly be hoping that's the case as Quoss doesn't look to have lost a step at all.