Ludovic Lacay Leaves Team Winamax for a New "Scary And Exciting Adventure"
Ludovic Lacay, the winner of the 2012 European Poker Tour in Sanremo and runner-up at the Event #5: Pot Limit Omaha Mixed Max at the 2013 World Series of Poker Europe, announced his decision to leave Winamax to begin a new "scary and exciting adventure" after eight years with the poker room.
"My motivation has been down for several months now, and I wasn't sure I would take a good decision," Lacay wrote in a blog post titled "Forgive my sins" (in French) that appeared on Winamax on Monday.
"But I have played poker for nine years, and I travel from one tournament to the other, from a country to the other for eight years," Lacay continued. "It's time for me to turn the page and do something else."
"I have an opportunity that I can��t miss. It's as scary and exciting as poker was at the very beginning - and that��s what I want to do."
The main regret: "I will never be a world champion"
The 29-year-old player originally from Tarbes, France, explained that his choice comes with the awareness that it will leave some dark spots in his poker career.
Considered to be one of France's top poker players since the time he finished second in the 2007 World Poker Tour Spanish Championship in Barcelona, Lacay managed to put together live tournament earnings of over $3 million and sits sixth on his country's all-time money list, according to The Hendon Mob.
Based in London after France decided to regulate the online poker industry with the launch of the ring-fenced 'dot fr' market, Lacay belongs to a group of players who managed to accomplish a successful transition from the world of video games to poker, as he moved from one of France's most successful Counter Strike teams, right to the heart of one of the country's top poker teams.
Yet, despite his remarkable financial success, Lacay has never managed to bring home any top trophy besides the one he sweated at the 2012 EPT Sanremo after a thrilling heads-up played against Canada��s Jason Lavallee. "I will obviously have some regrets. I will never be a world champion and I will never manage to finish a high roller event in the money," Lacay admitted.
"I want to thank Winamax for the decision to hire a law student that nobody knew and who didn��t know anyone back in 2007. They have helped him to grow and they have made him live some incredible experiences."
Even after Lacay's unexpected decision to quit Winamax and go for what sounds like a long break from poker, the French poker room can still count on a series of top names like Davidi Kitai, Sylvain Loosli Ga?lle Baumann and Patrick Bruel as members of its popular Team Winamax.
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