Last weekend, New South Wales, Australia’s John Shamon (pictured), known on PocketFives as Shamwoww, came away with the win in the 888 Poker Sunday Challenge, defeating a field of over 800 entrants for $22,000. He is the #10 ranked player in New South Wales and is undoubtedly zoned into the ongoing World Cup despite the Australian and English teams going a combined 0-4 so far. We managed to pull him away to talk about his groundbreaking win.

PocketFives: Congrats on your win in the 888 Poker Sunday Challenge. Tell us how you’re feeling about it

John Shamon: I’m stoked! It’s a pretty surreal feeling. I’m in the middle of my university exams and can only really play on the weekends, so to win one of the Majors is amazing.

PocketFives: Can you walk us through how the tournament went in general? Did you take your one rebuy?

John Shamon: No, luckily I didn’t need to. I got really short just before the rebuy period ended with about eight or so big blinds and was wondering if I’d take the rebuy at all if I busted. But, I got one double, then another, and all of a sudden I was back in the game. I never really had a big stack until late in the tournament where I just kept adapting to the situation and luckily with about five or six players left, my hands held and I ended up winning.

PocketFives: Do you have any plans for the money?

John Shamon: Nothing planned yet, but with university holidays starting, I’m sure I’ll find something to spend it on. I might even save it for an end-of-year trip to England.

PocketFives: Where do you go to school and what are you studying? Is there any potential to play poker after you graduate?

John Shamon: I am currently studying to get a Bachelor of Business and Commerce with a Major in Sports Management in Sydney. I’m not too sure about my poker future, but for now I’m happy trying to balance studying and playing. I hope to one day be part of a sports club in their management and boardroom. Whether that means I play poker in between or not we will see, but all I know is I’m loving the lifestyle of both worlds even if I have to grind at crazy hours.

PocketFives: Has it been easy to juggle poker and school?

John Shamon: It hasn’t been that easy. I usually start from around 11:00pm and just grind through the morning. I have to organize my university schedule so I can play on the weekends and get in some good volume. That means having long days at university with classes bunched together and then come home and play what I can.

PocketFives: What sports clubs would you want to be part of?

John Shamon: The ultimate dream is working for Liverpool FC, but right now I’ve got some work experience at my local Rugby League club, which I love just as much. A job at either club would be unreal.

PocketFives: So you’re in Australia, but root for Liverpool?

John Shamon: Yeah, I’ve loved sports my whole life and football is right at the top. I remember going out to family functions and they would carry on into the morning, so I would sit there and watch the Premier League. I didn’t care who was playing. I would just watch and I don’t know how, but I grew to love Liverpool. That was when I was around six or seven and now, 16 years later, I love them more than ever.

Luckily, I caught a game when I visited England in October and got to see Steven Gerrard, Daniel Sturridge, and Luis Suarez all score in front of me. That experience was only matched by when two mates and I drove from Sydney to Melbourne to see the preseason friendly. I’m gutted we lost the title, but onwards and upwards. No doubt we’ll be up there again next season and for a long time.

PocketFives: How did you get started in poker? How’d you find the game and why was it interesting?

John Shamon: My buddy invited me to a pub freeroll. Then, I found online poker and kept depositing $10 here and there on Full Tilt Poker. I was terrible for a long time until I found a great group to be around and watched videos and listened to good players. From the first moment, I loved the game, the mental side of it. Being able to out-think someone is a great feeling and almost as satisfying as the money that comes along with it.

I’ve only been playing properly for just over a year now and it has been so enjoyable. I have to thank Miguel kingmiguel3 King so much for playing a big part in that process of being a bad, losing player and now becoming a tougher opponent.

PocketFives: How did kingmiguel3(pictured) help you out?

John Shamon: We met on Skype and he kind of took me under his wing. He got me into a staking deal and helped me whenever and however he could, whether that be help with how to play a hand, how to think at the tables, how to manage yourself while playing, or generally being that person you know you can get support from no matter what situation you’re in. Some of the time it was by not even talking poker, but tennis. We both love tennis and talking about it for hours would put me in a better mood and forget any problems I was having.

PocketFives: Is there anyone you’d like to give a shout out to?

John Shamon: I wanted to give a shout out to Miguel obviously and also the other guys in our group like LostOstrich, Pietro, Greg, and Hannah, who are all different characters, but equally great people to have around me. Also, shout out to my friend Juan.

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