Gavin Flynn, The Guy Who Left the Cold
From 2010 to 2014, Gavin Flynn used to play small tournaments in Ireland. His subsequent results came anywhere but in Ireland. Looking at the portfolio of his Hendon Mob cashes, one doesn't have to be a detective to figure out that Flynn relocated from his home country.
"In Ireland, it's raining and cold a lot. I like nice weather."
For the last two years, Flynn has been living in Thailand, enjoying the warm climate. To his advantage, Flynn didn't need to worry about his occupation, or about looking for a new one. Being online poker pro widens the atlas for anybody who seeks to change the culture—or the weather—they live in.
"It's me and few of my English friends," Flynn said about his new home. They're mostly online grinders whose names haven't been circulating through poker media outlets. Sam Welbourne may be the only exception; the British pro travels around live poker circuit relatively frequently.
"We stay in separate houses, but we have our office. Just to keep the mood better," Flynn said.
With online tournaments being Flynn's bread and butter, the Irish pro had to adjust his daily routine to be able to continue to play the online slate.
"But I don't play on the major sites," Flynn revealed.
The move to Thailand hasn't brought the only change related to his profession. Along with it, Flynn decided that he would travel more and play at more live events.
"I haven't played much live in Europe, really," Flynn said.
It didn't take him too long to adapt to the live scene. Flynn has proved he is no stranger to closing things out. He won two tournaments during his trip to Ho Chi Minh City in July 2018 and, only a few months later, added another victory in a small event in the Philippines. He also took down a daily event in Las Vegas last summer.
But his largest cash came here in the land down under. Last year, Flynn made a solid deep run in the Aussie Millions Main Event, finishing 20th for A$44,200.
Flynn doesn't seem to miss Ireland much. Does he come back often? "Only if I'm going to Vegas and at Christmas, that's it. That's literally it," he laughed. His presence in Europe may increase in the coming months, however, as he plans to push more volume when it comes to live tournaments. He hinted that he might show up in Barcelona in August.
The Aussie Millions provide a good test for the Irishman, and he's been succeeding in it so far. "Barcelona will be even bigger, but it will be a massive crowd. I'm not going to get one beast at each table like here," Flynn forecasted.
Here in the Main Event, Flynn survived the bubble again, locking up a back-to-back in-the-money finish in the largest tournament in the Southern Hemisphere. He has the work cut out for him, though, should he aim to top his last year's result. Flynn was left with 13 big blinds on dinner break.
"I'm short. I'll just try to build my stack now, but it's hard because there are three massive stacks to my left and all the shorts are to my right," Flynn observed, noting that Tomas Ribeiro, Jordan Tentori, and Nino Ullmann were in the next three seats behind him.
Flynn said he feels the field getting tougher every year with more international players joining the action at Crown Melbourne. "You're looking at every table, and there is a big name," Flynn gave credit to the competition.
Having called the Asia-Pacific region his home for the last two years, Flynn and his companions have a reasonable action radius. He plans to get back to the online realm following his appearance here in Melbourne, but there are more trips already lined up in his itinerary.
"We're going for poker events to Taiwan and Manila. But Manila had a volcano erupt so it might not be the best option," Flynn concluded.