Jamie Whyte - Travelling Man
Jamie Whyte may have busted in third place, but the amiable Scot told us that he was more than happy with his result in the Grand Prix UK Main Event, which saw him collect ￡70,750 and a seat to the UKPC Main Event worth ￡2,200.
"I'm exhausted!," Whyte told us in the immediate aftermath of his bust-out hand to poker pal Richard King. "I busted Day 2 at 3pm yesterday and was being driven back to Scotland by my friend. I live five hours away and played the $2.20 satellite to pass some time. I made the Day flight, then the Day 2 flight. I made it through to Day 3 at 2.00am. I got home, booked a flight back and flew at 6am into Birmingham, got a cab here and played Day 3. I need some sleep."
Whyte's spin-up story from a $2.20 satellite to ￡70,750 being in his bank account 36 hours later may sound miraculous, but he's not green. Whyte has some impressive online results, and in 2016, cashed in the $10,000 WSOP Main Event. This still represents his biggest live win.
"I came back with 15 big blinds, but already had ￡2,500 locked up, so that made the flight costing ￡200 well worth it, and it worked out really well, it's a great score, I'm really happy. I met Richard [King] when he came 12th in another million-pound guaranteed tournament here a couple of years ago. He's a really nice guy and the hand at the and was fine. I'm obviously gutted he has A-Q in that spot, but I've talked it through a little with my backers and it's fine. I have a decent percentage of myself and it's a really good amount, especially with how tough online has got in recent years."
Jamie is coached by two players right now, one from the high-stakes and another from mid-stakes. He told us that the blend of knowledge is something he loves to learn from.
"They're great and it's fun. I love the strategic side of the game, I don't really focus on results, just making better decisions and dealing with things well. I'm 28 now...when I was 23 I would have reacted way more emotionally. "
Unlike many of his peers, Whyte is not heading to Las Vegas to take on the Main Event this year. The reason is a good one. In fact, you might say it's the best one.
"I have a really good friend who's getting married while the Main Event is going on. I've not done any best man speech preparation yet, but that's what I'm supposed to be doing! The funny thing is that his wife's booked their honeymoon for Vegas on the final day of the World Series. So we all miss the Main to be at the wedding and they flight out to it as husband and wife on final day."