In recent weeks, London’s Billy BillyChatChattaway (pictured) hit $3 million in career online tournament winnings. He was one of six PocketFivers to accomplish the feat in September and told us, “I feel good. It wasn’t too long ago that I got to $2 million. I will keep pressing on. It’s a shame it isn’t $3 million in profit, though.”

He has $1.6 million in winnings on PokerStars, $263,000 of which came via a fourth place finish in a WCOOP $10,000 NLHE Eight-Max event this year. “It was unexpected,” the Brit told us. “I spent $400 on satellites to get into it. I played two $109 Hyper Cubed tournaments, didn’t rebuy or add on, and made two final tables. I won the seat on my first attempt.”

The $10K attracted 340 players and had a prize pool of $3.4 million, one of the richest of the 2015 WCOOP. He said of the similar events, “I’ve done okay in $10K online tournaments.I have cashed in three of four of them I’ve played. I had a top 20 finish in one a few years back. I like them because the structures are good and also I like Eight-Max. The field was tough as expected in a game like this, but I think I can hold my own against anybody.”

Soon after his big WCOOP score, he jet-setted to Amsterdam(pictured) for three nights for a holiday. “I took a break,” he explained. “It was strange timing perhaps, but it was already booked and I could celebrate winning a life-changing amount. Poker tournaments come and go all the time and I’ve often struggled to find a balance, so skipping the WCOOP Main Event to do non-poker stuff was a big thing for me and I have no regrets.”

In 2014, Chattaway was in the top three in profit on three different European-facing poker networks. This year, he has shifted a lot of his time and energy over to PokerStars. He surmised, “That shift in focus may have contributed to having such a good year on Stars, playing less elsewhere and maximizing my focus there. I decided to do it for the bigger prize pools, as Euro traffic has gotten worse over time. Sunday games on Euro sites used to have a $50K+ top prize and nowadays they don’t.”

He added, “There was a running joke in Vegas this year between my friends that I was #1 on Ongame. It was not much of a chat-up line, but we found it amusing. Less traffic means fewer downswings and more regular profits.”

He used his money from a career as a “fruit and veg man” to play cards every Saturday above a snooker hall. Chattaway relayed, “I’ve been gambling with my dad as bookmaker since I was eight and poker was a game that naturally grabbed my attention. When I was 19, I became a professional when I got a sponsorship from a company called Pokerisk, now PokerWinners.

Chattaway has 3,192 tracked in the money finishes in online MTTs and is averaging nearly $1,000 each. He plays as b8chatz on PokerStars and b8crapz on BetFred. In the live world, he has $203,000 in tournament scores, according to the Hendon Mob, and is still looking for that signature finish.

Speaking of live poker, Chattaway is looking forward to the conclusion of this year’s WSOP Main Event, which finishes November 8 to 10 at the Rio in Las Vegas. He evaluated, “I can’t see anyone getting past the chip leader [Joe dude904 McKeehen, pictured], as he has a huge advantage with his stack taking ICM considerations into account.”

The $3 million man closed by saying, “For the people who think $3 million in cashes means you are rich, if you are a business and turn over $3 million a year, it means nothing if you spend $4 million a year. All it means is that I’ve put a lot of hours into my craft.”

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