Poker Champ Mike ‘Timex’ McDonald Wins National Chess Championship

Mike “Timex” McDonald, as soon as a prime younger celebrity in poker, would not appear to ever lose at something. You may add chess tournaments to his checklist of video games he dominates.

The Canadian poker participant, nearly 18 years to the day after he famously gained a European Poker Tour (EPT) Most important Occasion at age 18, was topped nationwide champion on the Cayman Islands Nationwide Chess Championship. He was amongst two winners, the second being Zara Majid, the Feminine Championship winner.

One other Title for a Poker Legend

The chess occasion introduced out the highest opponents within the nation for a 10-player spherical robin event. “Timex,” McDonald’s former on-line poker display title, performed “combating chess with nice willpower and talent,” the Chess Federation’s Fb account wrote. He scored 7.5/9, the best rating. Ryan Blackwood, who additionally obtained a medal, had the second-highest rating (7/9).

McDonald, on X, stated he “wanted just a few upsets to get the win” and that his FIDE chess ranking is now “just below 1900.”

Timex, who stepped away from the poker grind years in the past however resurfaces every now and then, has an extended historical past of successful, and it began with the EPT Dortmond Most important Occasion in 2008 for over $1.3 million in USD. He has over $13.3 million in dwell event cashes, The Hendon Mob database reveals, though none since an eleventh place World Poker Tour (WPT) Excessive Curler money in 2022.

McDonald can be identified for his prop wager prowess. In the event you’ve wager in opposition to Timex, likelihood is you’ve got been on the dropping finish of the stick most of the time. He most famously gained a $200,000 basketball free-throw capturing prop wager in 2020 when he made 90 free-throws out of 100 makes an attempt, a problem that took him about 4 months to finish, three months earlier than he would have run out of time.

Prop bets and poker tournaments aren’t the one video games McDonald wins. You may go forward and add a chess title to his resume.