It’s a testament of how much fun Lex Live is that many PokerStars employees chose to fly over from the Isle of Man for a vacation at Aspers Casino, London.
Brandon Nguyen isn’t one of them.
Oh, he works for PokerStars on the Isle of Man alright. But as our Twitch and Ambassadors Assistant, he’s been here slogging away all week, helping everything run smooth, liaising with the vast amount of streamers who are here, and even co-organising the Lex Live Adventure (with Robin Reckmann) which yesterday saw Tom “Predator410” Parsons book himself a Platinum Pass to the PokerStars Players Championship 2020.
But when you work hard, you can (occasionally) play hard. That’s exactly what Nguyen managed to do last night when he took down the Lex Live 2 £100 Saturday Super Side for £3,505 and a shiny trophy.
We caught up with Nguyen at Aspers this morning, where he’s so tired he can barely keep his eyes open. Bless ‘im.
PokerStars Blog: Congratulations Brandon. You told us right at the start of Lex Live 2 that you really wanted to win a trophy. Now you have one. Is it as cool as you’d hoped?
Brandon Nguyen: Cheers! And 100%. Anybody who knows me knows that I am incredibly competitive and just want to win, whether that be a poker tournament or beer pong or even Mario Kart.
I know you busted early and fired a second bullet. How did the tournament go for you overall?
Yeah, I got super unlucky in the Main Event [Nguyen busted in 59th for £569] and wasn’t sure whether to enter the Super Side tournament or not. I busted my first bullet early but had a really fun table with Henri “Buehlero” Buehler. I re-entered with 40 seconds left of late registration! The second entry was much smoother thankfully, I got lucky in a couple of important flips and also had hands hold when it mattered.
Brandon Nguyen
LEX LIVE 2: FULL SCHEDULE | ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW | GUIDE TO LONDON | ALL COVERAGE
INTERVIEW WITH “GJREGGIE” | TOM “PREDATOR410” PARSONS WINS PLATINUM PASS | PLATINUM PASS WINNER PATRICK WINTERBOTTOM | BEER PONG EVENING | STREAMER SHOWDOWN | SPRAGGY WINS THE FU FLIP | ‘DAMMO_23’ INTERVIEW | WELCOME PARTY PHOTO GALLERY | POKER IN THE EARS PODCAST | HIGH ROLLERS IN TOWN | LEX LIVE ADVENTURE | MEET THE QUALIFIERS
I heard there was also an ‘Isle of Man Last Longer’. Did you take that down too, and if so, is that money even sweeter than the winner’s prize because it came from your colleagues?
I wish I did! I didn’t realise I could re-enter it, sadly. But yes, it would have been much much sweeter than a trophy. I probably would have asked Scott Goodall to sign his £20 note and I wouldn’t ever spend it. [Goodall finished 9th for £345].
You and Robin were the brains behind the Lex Live Adventure. How do you think the whole thing went?
I think it went great. The community was really engaged and we had a good number of participants who completed the challenge without even knowing what the prize was. The flip-out for the Sit & Go seats was fun and exciting and everybody was genuinely happy for each other which was nice to see. You can really tell that everybody in the community is there for each other and the moment that Tom won the Platinum Pass was really touching. You can see how much it meant to him and everybody else knew it too.
What have been some of your Lex Live 2 highlights?
I have a few:
• The community Sit & Gos have to be up there in the highlights. They’re so much fun and you can see and (definitely) hear the joy from all the participants.
• Alongside that, the beer pong night was amazing! I went four for four in my first game with “DAMMO_23” as a partner, and it was all skill obviously.
• Tom winning the Platinum Pass
• Spending time with all the ambassadors together and watching them interact and socialise with their community face to face.
Finally, is there anyone you want to give a shout-out to?
I agreed with one of our regional ambassadors, Steve “Estyf” Enriquez, that I’d dedicate a trophy to him if I won one, so here it is. ¡Vamos! Also a quick shout-out to the boys back home Josh, Ben, Pete, Sam & Ryan!
I’d also like to give a big shout out to Sophie Kniveton.
All about that trophy
LEX LIVE 2 £100 SATURDAY SUPER SIDE
Buy-in: £100
Entries: 144
Date: October 5, 2019
1. Brandon Nguyen – £3,505
2. Callum Cotter – £2,500
3. Wai Kee Lung – £1,575
4. Rikard Johansen – £1,165
5. Trang Le Minh – £875
6. Hasan Gul – £700
7. Christopher Williamson – £580
8. Jacob Tunehag – £465
9. Scott Goodall – £345
CLICK HERE FOR MORE LEX LIVE 2 COVERAGE
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