On October 14, U.K. PocketFiver WithoutAir(pictured) hit it big in the PokerStars Sunday Million, chopping the tournament heads-up and banking $164,000. There were just over 6,800 runners in the $215 event and he chopped with fellow PocketFives member bagoch, who calls Lithuania home and took away $196,000.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” WithoutAir said of the six-figure score, the largest of his poker career. “It’s a pretty surreal experience and is a lot more money than I’ve ever had before. The major thing I’m feeling at the moment is relief that I haven’t been wasting my time with this silly game.” He’s now at nearly $200,000 in tracked cashes in his PocketFives profile.

WithoutAir described the two-way chop as “quick and painless.” Why? “We both wanted it,” he told us. “My opponent had a 2:1 chip lead going in and I was actually a little surprised that the numbers were closer than I thought they’d be. There was no argument from either party; we just saw the numbers and agreed.” Second place was scheduled to make $153,000, so he earned an extra $11,000, or 7%, above the regular payout. The top 990 finishers made the money and over $1.3 million was doled out.

What is the Northern Ireland resident going to do with a cash infusion of $164,000? “As I said, it is a lot more money than I’ve ever had,” he admitted. “But to be honest, I’m a pretty conservative guy. I can’t see myself going on a spending spree. I’ll probably spend a chunk of it on small things like a 30-inch monitor or computer parts. The money also allows me to play a bit higher, but I’m not going to go wild. I’ll also give my parents something nice for putting up with me.”

He told us that he has been trying to crack 50nl Six-Max games for quite some time, but has been “failing miserably” thus far. He described what his bread-and-butter has been: “I’ve had deep runs in $11 to $22 buy-in tournaments, which have kept me above water. I actually play the Sunday Million quite a lot and usually play a handful of satellites every Sunday to get in. The week I chopped, I got in via a $39 satellite.”

We’re fans of the moniker WithoutAir. It’s catchy, contains poker lingo, and is quite unique all at the same time. We asked him where it came from: “I thought it sounded cool and that’s what it came down to. I had no idea that ‘air’ was a poker term when I made it up, so that was a happy coincidence. I was being much more literal than you’d expect.” As for what specifically provoked the idea of WithoutAir, he acknowledged, “I’m not exactly sure. Maybe I was watching ‘Total Recall’ or something.”

He only discovered poker two years ago and, consequently, is a relative newcomer to the game. He saw a television advertisement for a U.K.-only freeroll on PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, and took third in it for $300. Although he lost his bankroll over the ensuing days, he admitted, “That initial positive result got me hooked.”

Poker is likely to become his full-time career now. On his side income, WithoutAir told us, “I had a few temporary jobs out of university. That coupled with student loan leftovers kept me going. I was trying to become a solicitor for two years, but it didn’t work out. That was probably for the best, as my heart wasn’t really in it. I’ll probably stick to online poker for the rest of the year. Next year, I’d definitely like to play in some UKIPT tournaments and see where that goes.”

If you’re from Northern Ireland (pictured), celebrate WithoutAir’s achievement by posting in PocketFives’ all-new Northern Ireland poker community.