This past weekend, all eyes were focused on the finale of the 12th Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS), where over $3 million was up for grabs in two Main Events. However, the action was also brisk on PokerStars, where the site’s weekly Sunday 500 attracted 1,058 entrants and generated a total prize pool of $529,000. Coming out on top of the pack was a PocketFiver with a creative screen name, Carter Bdybldngpkrplyr Phillips. The poker player from Charlotte, North Carolina took down the event for $91,000, his largest online poker cash to date. The Sunday 500 win marked the second victory in a weekend major for Phillips, who sat down with PocketFives.com to discuss the prestigious tournament and his poker career in general.

In December, Phillips recorded his first Sunday major win, which came in the Second Chance on PokerStars for $48,000. Three weeks ago, he took down the site’s $100 rebuy for $22,000. Phillips told PocketFives.com how it felt to record his largest online poker cash to date of nearly $100,000: “About three weeks ago, I started coming off the biggest downswing I’ve ever had, which was about $85,000, and I have had a sick few weeks to pull out of it.” Phillips is even a former Triple Crown winner here on PocketFives.com, earning the accolade back in December.

He began the Sunday 500 on the right foot, hitting two sets early on, which helped vault him to the Top 5 in chips. He remained perched near the forefront of the leader board throughout the entire contest. Phillips explained, “Near the end, I picked up a ton of big hands and didn’t really have to do anything but play tight because with my normal image, my opponents were just stacking off to me whenever I opened.” At the final table, he continued to play tight, coasting to heads-up play against PokerStars member shane261966, whom he initially led by a two-to-one chip margin. Phillips promptly sucked out with pocket sevens against pocket tens, effectively sealing the victory. He recalled, “After that, he started to play pretty timidly and I just wore him down.”

Despite the $91,000 payday of the Sunday 500 registering as his largest all-time, Phillips still considers the Second Chance win to be his most memorable. The PocketFiver noted, “It was about a month after I told my parents that I was going to stop going to school and start playing full-time. Before the Second Chance win, I made money, but did not have a ton of success. That tournament helped solidify myself financially and got my parents to look at me playing poker full-time in a more favorable manner.” He banked $34,000 in tournaments that are tracked for the PocketFives.com Online Poker Rankings in April. To put his recent success in perspective, he’s pocketed $200,000 this month after just 17 days. Needless to say, he has no plans to head back to school anytime soon.

During the Moneymaker Boom, his brother (Tyler BdybldrJR Phillips) and he received a poker chipset from their parents. His dad even began playing on PartyPoker and upon leaving for college, Phillips found himself taking up the game. He recalled how his original nest egg took shape: “I put $100 on Full Tilt Poker and worked it up to about $150. Then, I put all of my bankroll into the $30,000 Guaranteed Six-Max on Full Tilt and came in third place for around $4,000 even though it was only the second or third tournament I ever played in.” Appropriately, he now lists his profession in his PocketFives.com profile as simply “Running Good.”

Phillips wanted to send a shout out to fellow PocketFiver Evan PURPLEPILS99 Parkes, who sits at 49th in the Rankings. As Phillips’ original backer, Parkes is credited with teaching the Sunday 500 winner the fundamentals of the game. Currently, Phillips is backed by Mark dipthrong Herm and Mike SowersUNCC Sowers (pictured at left), who recently finished third in the World Poker Tour’s L.A. Poker Classic for $654,000. Herm is ranked 41st on PocketFives.com and was the runner up in the Sunday Brawl in early February. Phillips also wanted to thank THE UTE and “everyone else I’m constantly talking to in order to improve my game.”

He still shares a special bond with his brother, whom he notes is “the best 180 man player on the internet.” Congratulations from all of us here at PocketFives.com to Carter Bdybldngpkrplyr Phillips for taking down the Sunday 500.