After securing a $1 million prize at the PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC) in January, Niclas Thumm, known in the Twitch community as “flushiisback,” took a year off to ponder his future. This break followed his notable success in 2021 during the PokerStars Dare2Stream competition, where he was the runner-up, earning a $25k Platinum Pass. Although he didn’t win the top prize—a PokerStars Ambassadorship which went to Seb “peace&loove” Huber—Thumm leveraged his pass into a sixth-place finish at the PSPC in the Bahamas, transforming his low-stakes playing career.
At 31, Thumm explained his year-long hiatus by noting, "There are so many opportunities I have now, so I wanted to choose the right ones." Ultimately, he discovered that his joy comes from traveling to poker events, engaging with friends, and positively impacting his community. With this realization, he returned to the poker scene, entering online satellites for the EPT Monte Carlo and qualifying for just €500.
This week, Thumm has been applying new strategies and executing bluffs that he wouldn’t have dared at the PSPC, indicating a growth in his gameplay. “I’ve made several bluffs throughout this tournament that I wouldn’t have at the PSPC. So it feels different,” he shared. Now on the verge of another seven-figure score, Thumm is ecstatic and reflective: “I’m over the moon. I’m just doing what I’m doing, improving every day, and it’s working out so far.” This blend of introspection and strategic evolution marks Thumm's enthusiastic return to competitive poker.
