One month ago, PocketFives caught up with England’s Liquid_Eyes(pictured) after he took down a Triple Crown. He told us when we approached him recently, “It’s only one month since my last interview… I feel like a celebrity now!” A celebrity indeed. This time around, Liquid_Eyes won the most recent PocketFives Openon 888 Poker, a tournament that happened on the 10th of this month.

“I’m thrilled about winning the PocketFives Open,” Liquid_Eyes told us in an exclusive interview. “The tournament was superb, with an insane amount of added value on top of the standard prize pool, but I really wanted the sexy badge on my PocketFives profile!” The tournament featured added prizes from SitNGo Wizardand PocketFives Training as well as a closet-full of PocketFives gear. 888 Poker was generous enough to add $2,500 in cash to the prize pool.

“I think it’s the third PocketFives Open I’ve played,” he added. “I cashed the last time and won one of the free SitNGo Wizard licenses, so this time it was all about the badge and the bragging rights.”

How does he approach tournaments like the Open given the overall stress of poker? The event had an $11 buy-in and serves as our quarterly community-building event, so it’s not meant to be pressure-packed. “After five years of playing full-time, I haven’t lost one ounce of my love for poker,” our PocketFives Open winner explained. “It’s great to do something challenging and fun as your day job, which easily makes up for all of the inevitable downswings. I take low-stakes games every bit as seriously as high-stakes games, although the optimal play is, of course, different. All poker games present unique challenges. I’ll never be too big to play a donkament.”

He added that there are plenty of other factors in play besides money: “Poker isn’t all about the money. Accolades like Triple Crowns and the other PocketFives badges add a bit of spice to a tournament grinder’s life. My girlfriend also plays poker – she’s my finest student – and when I play a ‘fun’ game, I tell her I’ll try to take it down so I can dedicate the win to her. That can provide as much motivation as mere prize money.”

He originally found PocketFives courtesy of Scotland’s THEKID_88, a PartyPokerregular with whom he became friends several years ago before he started grinding full-time. Liquid_Eyes relayed, “I’m not as much of a ‘forumite’ as many others, but I have seen lots of interesting hand discussions in the poker forums and I’ve received feedback on some of my own questions over the years. The player profiles are great too; it’s highly motivating seeing the success of other poker players from around the world in black and white.”

When asked who a player as talented as Liquid_Eyes looks up to, he told us, “There are some obvious examples like fellow Brit moorman1(pictured), who puts in incredible volume and churns out consistent results. I’ve mentioned bigal37before. We’re always railing one another and talking strategy. He’s a very talented player and has nailed some great scores. One of the most inspiring players I personally know is BWFCLEE. His track record on PokerStars is just ridiculous and we run into each other a lot at live events around the U.K. and in Las Vegas.”

He summarized of his support group, “We all root for each other. That support network is priceless when you have downswings or if you ever second-guess your abilities.”

Finally, we wanted to touch on the actual PocketFives Open, which he said went rather smoothly: He narrated, “I ran well in pre-flop all-in showdowns, which, as all grinders know, can be the make-or-break of a tournament. My timing was good, as I 3bet a lot of overly aggressive players and was able to play on my own image by baiting quite a few opponents into jamming when I had the goods.”

We’ll let you know when the next PocketFives Open occurs. In the meantime, we’d like to thank everyone who showed up for our most recent running. Congrats to Liquid_Eyes on his brand new PocketFives profile badge!

Want the latest poker headlines and interviews? Follow PocketFives on Twitterand Like PocketFives on Facebook. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed.