The April 22nd running of the Ongame $100K was monumental for Finland’s Mikael Andersson (pictured), who goes by tohveli here on PocketFives. Not only did he record his largest tracked cash on PocketFives (although he won the same tournament for nearly $30,000 before PocketFives tracked Ongame), but it also meant the first time in a while we can remember interviewing a Finnish online poker player.

The Scandinavian nation is home to about 150 registered PocketFives members, all of whom were likely rejoicing that Andersson walked away with a five-figure score in a Sunday Major. We caught up with him to get his take. By the way, if you’re from Finland, check out our Finland poker community page to connect with poker players in your area.

PocketFives: Thanks for joining us. You’ve done a standup job representing Finland and placing second in the Ongame $100K. Tell us about your run through the tournament.

Mikael Andersson: I ran pretty well, as you have to in order to bink something big in a Sunday Major. The final table was kind of simple because I busted three players holding pocket aces in two pots. Three-handed, it was a little bit tougher, with one player who was in position playing every hand, but didn’t get any cards at all, and AnteSvanteS, who was a very tough opponent.

I busted AnteSvanteS and played heads-up for a very long time, almost two hours. Every time we got all-in, the shorter stack won. I was pretty tilted when I lost heads-up, but after a good night’s sleep, the score felt good.

PocketFives: What plans do you have for the money?

Mikael Andersson: I just want to add to my bankroll. It will give me confidence for what I am doing. I won the same tournament last year for $27,000, but that was before PocketFives started tracking the Ongame Network.

PocketFives: Great job on that untracked score as well. You’re the first Finnish player we’ve interviewed in a while. Why aren’t there more Finnish success stories?

Mikael Andersson: There aren’t that many high-stakes MTT online grinders in Finland, and many of those who do grind online don’t have PocketFives accounts. I don’t know why that is, really. Many players prefer cash games. We have many Omaha and No Limit Hold’em players, but many of them go to live tournaments and play on Sundays. These guys don’t have PocketFives accounts, though, so when they do bink a score, it doesn’t show up anywhere.

PocketFives: How did you get started in poker? Do you play full-time now?

Mikael Andersson: I play full-time. How I got started in poker is the usual story. I started in home games with friends and then played in freerolls. I won one of those and then grinded something like $15 into thousands of dollars. I played cash games for a couple of years and have been playing only tournaments for the last two years.

PocketFives: What do your friends and family think about your poker career?

Mikael Andersson: At first they didn’t think it was a good idea, but now my parents are pretty supportive. Many of my friends play poker too, so they know what it is.

PocketFives: What brought your parents around?

Mikael Andersson: I’ve explained to them many times that it’s not just playing a game and gambling it up. It feels a little stupid to say, but when I binked my first big cash in a live tournament last summer in Finland, they thought I knew what I was doing even if it was really just the upside of variance.

PocketFives: What’s next for you?

Mikael Andersson: Grinding it up online with big volume through the PokerStars SCOOP. Hopefully, I’ll bink something big and then enjoy the summer. I’ll also try to keep grinding to keep up my PocketFives ranking, which is currently #305 worldwide.

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