Q: How was the overall experience in the Czech Republic for the semi-final event?
A: I had never been to the Czech Republic before, and had never been entertained by Team PokerRoom before, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed both firsts. I'm not hugely into motor racing, but that didn't matter too much as the hospitality PokerRoom put on was excellent. And despite not having too much of an interest in the races you can't help but be impressed when hundreds of cars go screaming past you at 150 mph!

Q: Were you nervous at all during the semi-final tournament?
A: This was my first time at a televised table, but I wasn't really very nervous. The lights and cameras didn't bother me at all, other than when we had to stop the poker game for adjustments to sound quality or interviews! I can't say it was stressful at all really. I knew what I had to do, and that was to win the tournament; second was worth nothing so every move I made I had in mind that I needed to get all the chips and that finishing second was essentially the same as finishing last.

Q: Have you kept in touch with any of the other qualifiers from the various trips you were on? Are any fans or supporters going to make the trip to Vienna with you to root you on at the finals?
A: I keep in touch with Marky_Crash from the Race Trophy and it will be a pleasure playing with him again in Vienna. I also keep in touch with a few others that I met in Vegas with Team PR who include: billybillard, Wieringen and gbpoker. At least one friend is coming with me to Vienna, and a few others have promised to come, but these promises all came after a few shandies so I won't hold them to their word!

Q: There's quite a lot of money up for grabs in the $500,000 guaranteed finals, with a big difference between $285,000 for 1st and $10,000 for 6th. Seeing that it's a freeroll of sorts for everyone, do you think the action at the finals will be fast-paced, with players going for broke, or much more careful and safe as players try to move up the pay scale?
A: I think the latter. It will definitely make for an interesting dynamic to the tournament. Players will play more cautiously, in an effort to move up the pay scale, but they will also be aware that with such a big jump from 2nd to 1st that they really need to be shooting for first place.

Q: Any special plans for what you'd do with the winnings? Obviously it depends on where you finish, but do you have your eye on anything special if you have a $100K+ payday?
A: No special plans, but some of it will go back into poker. Some for next year's WSOP, and some in staking a select group of players online.

Q: At the WSOP you mentioned possibly moving to New Zealand and taking up residence as a beach-side online tournament pro. Did that plan come to fruition?
A: Yes. I moved across here temporarily last month and am loving it so far. I get up at 7 am every day, play poker until 2 or 3 pm, and have the afternoons free to play golf, go to the gym or just laze around. It's proving to be a great lifestyle so far.

Q: Anything else you'd like to share?
A: I'd like to thank PokerRoom for this fantastic promotion, and to wish the other 5 finalists good luck - see you in Vienna!