Patrik Antonius is a professional poker player from Helsinki, Finland. He is well-known for his aggressive playing style and regularly features in online and live poker events worldwide.
Before committing to a career in professional poker, Antonius was a promising tennis player in Finland, but a serious back injury prevented him from reaching a professional level in the sport. Following his early retirement from tennis, Antonius spent some time as both a tennis coach and a professional model before giving up the catwalks and courts to focus on poker in 2005.
From a young age, Antonius displayed a passion for poker. He started playing the game casually with a group of childhood friends and often played poker at his local tennis club. At age 18, Antonius started to enter online poker tournaments and also played live poker in Helsinki. Antonius was successful at both and soon realized there was money to be made from a career in poker.
Some of Antonius’ early success can be attributed to two high-profile poker stars. The first was a veteran Dutch poker player, Marcel Luske, who met Antonius in the early 2000s. Luske inducted Antonius into his ‘Circle of Outlaws’ – a group of up and coming poker players who shared knowledge and who supported each other at big tournaments.
As the leader of the group, Luske’s role was to mentor each individual player and to offer guidance on how to develop a unique playing style. For Antonius, this experience helped him to craft an aggressive approach to poker, which he then put into practice at both online and live events.
Antonius’ second mentor was a two-time WSOP bracelet winner, Jennifer Harman, who advised him during his early stages as a professional.
Major Tournament Wins
Antonius has never won a World Series of Poker event. He has cashed at 26 WSOP events during his career and reached the final table three times. A third-place finisher in the 2007 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship in Las Vegas remains his highest ranking in a WSOP tournament to date.
The 39-year old has reached the final table of a World Poker Tour event once, finishing second at the 2005 Five Diamond World Poker Classic. Antonius received just over $1 million from this event and lost to the eventual winner, Darrell Dicken.
Anotnius has had more success at European Poker Tour events throughout his career. He has reached the final table on three separate occasions and cashed at eight EPT events. In 2005, just a few months after his first professional tournament, Antonius won the Baden Classic European Poker Tour Championship, receiving $350,000 in prize money from a $4,000 buy-in. His most recent win came at his own No-Limit Hold ‘em event – the Patrik Antonius Challenge – in 2019.
Antonius is renowned for splitting his playing time between online and live poker tournaments. He made history in 2009 by winning the largest pot ever in online poker, taking $1.3 million for a first-place finish in the Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom event.
Total Poker Winnings
According to the poker database, The Hendon Mob, Antonius has won $12,013, 263 in prize money since 2005. He is currently 66th on the All-Time Poker Money list and first on Finland’s All-Time Money List.
However, due to his impressive performances in online poker events, the High Stakes database shows that Antonius has also won an additional $11,315, 548 from online events over the past 13 years.
Antonius’ largest career winnings have come from second-place rankings. At the 2018 Super High Roller Bowl in China, Antonius finished runner up to American poker star, Justin Bonomo, and won over $3 million – his largest pot from a single event.