Last weekend, a field of nearly 1,300 players assembled for the Ongame Network’s ChampionChip, which doled out cash to the top 220 finishers. Taking second place in the tournament was a familiar face to the PocketFives community, Steve Illini213Barshak, who banked $26,000. Now hailing from Costa Rica, Barshak has won the PokerStars Sunday Kickoffand Big $109 in the last three months for a combined haul of $44,000. He can be found at #19 worldwide in the prestigious PocketFives Online Poker Rankings.

PocketFives: The last time we talked, you were in Illinois. Now, you’re in sunny Costa Rica living in Playas del Coco. We assume you made the move to play online poker?

Steve Barshak: Yeah, it was to play poker. The move was pretty smooth. We had a family friend that hooked us up with a place and Gettin Daize, Big Huni, mtstackin88, nutserrytime, and crew were already down here for a bit. It’s a really nice town and everyone is super nice. It’s a lot different than the U.S. It’s cool to experience a new environment.

PocketFives: For those members of PocketFives who haven’t been there or are thinking of relocating using a service like Poker Refugees, give us your take on Costa Rica.

Steve Barshak: Costa Rica is pretty damn awesome. I live literally two minutes down the street from the beach. There’s a lot to do and everyone is super nice. You see some really interesting things and some really exotic animals. Playas del Coco is an amazing town. It seems like more poker players are starting to move out here. It’s a great place to be, it’s very safe, and the locals are super friendly. There are also a lot of dogs everywhere.

PocketFives: It sounds like the whole experience has been really positive. It had to feel good to get back to the poker grind, right?

Steve Barshak: It definitely felt great. I moved here about eight or nine weeks ago and was in Canada for some time in August and September, but had trouble getting on PokerStars for a while and also had trouble getting back into Canada because of some silly issues at the border. I definitely like Costa Rica more.

PocketFives: Since Black Friday, you’ve been anything but absent in the online poker world, winning the Sunday Kickoff for $27,000 and the Big $109 for $16,000 in addition to your healthy Ongame haul. It seems like nothing has changed, right?

Steve Barshak: It’s tough at times, but you just have to stay focused. Until the last few days, I had probably the worst downswing I’ve ever been on, and it lasted three-and-a-half weeks. You just have to play through it, make sure to cover any leaks you have, and always be adjusting.

PocketFives: Can you tell us about the ChampionChipitself? It’s a tournament that a lot of our readers should be interested in since they can play it on sites like bwinand Betfair.

Steve Barshak: It’s a really nice tournament. I only have been on Ongame for a month or so, but the structure is good. You get 5,000-chip starting stacks. They have no time banks, but they give you much more time in this tournament than in any average MTT. The field is quite weak, probably one of the weakest $215 fields you can find on a Sunday. It’s a much more attainable final table to make than the Sunday Million or Warm-Up also.

I was pretty much cruising in this one until heads-up, when I had a tough opponent who owned me hard in one insane hand that turned the match. I ended up losing with A-9 to K-8 suited to get second place.

PocketFives: Are the fields of other Ongame Network tournaments softer in general?

Steve Barshak: I think fields are weaker on there than on PokerStars. There are a lot fewer regulars, or at least high-stakes regulars, I guess. The slightly profitable mid-stakes regular who makes your life a lot tougher could just be playing on PokerStars, while he may not be on Ongame. I could be making that up too, but I think the fields are definitely weaker.

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