When you win the WSOP main event as a relative unknown, like Jonathan Duhamel did in 2010 then that puts a certain kind of pressure on you. You have to prove you’re not a one tricky pony, not some luckbox who ran hot and won millions of dollars. Well the French-Canadian from Montreal has done just that, just three months after his win he took down a $5,000 event, he’s also won a €10,000 event and made final tables in tournaments with price tags or $25,000 and $100,000 respectively. “I love to play against the best, I love the challenge that brings,” says Duhamel to me on the eve on the Premier League VI.
Yes $125,000 is a large buy-in…
Given the buy-in, at $125,000, is large and the line-up tough then it seems a match made in heaven for Duhamel. “The line-up is packed, it’s going to be super tough. That’s always good you get better playing with better players.”
Love the game
Spend just a few minutes in Duhamel’s company and his infectious love for poker is evident. “Poker’s fun it’s a big mental challenge and it’s great to get out there and compete against other players. I love to play.”
And he can wait to play in the Premier League, “I’ve played a lot of online, I’ve played a lot live I can play super deep or with 20 big blinds, I feel like I’m a pretty complete player when it comes to no-limit hold’em so I’m feeling pretty confident.”
“I’d love to play against Daniel…”
There’s one player he really wants to play against though, “I’d love to play against Daniel, just get out there and battle it out. Back in the days I used to watch him on TV now I’m playing against him. The first few times I played against him I was like “Whoa you’re playing against Daniel he’s the best. Now he’s became a good friend of mine so it’s always fun to go out there and compete because he’s a pretty good player. It’s tough to play against him. I’m going to get out there, play my game and see what happens.”
