When the 2013 poker awards are dished out there is one young man from the UK who will be on the receiving end of more than most. To say that 2013 was a breakthrough year for Matthew Ashton is the understatement of the year.
The boy killed it.
Four World Series of Poker (WSOP) final tables, victory in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship and over $2m in live tournament earnings turned Ashton from ‘who’ to ‘oh…him’.
And to think, live tournaments aren’t even his favorite game!
“You can never plan for tournament success but I did prepare for the WSOP a little differently. I came into the start of the year focusing on heads-up and trying to take some shots at nose bleed games. But the games got a little harder and I had to have second thoughts after I lost a little bit of money.
“So coming into the WSOP I changed tact and started focusing on 6 to 8 handed ring games and that practice put me into better stead for the WSOP.”
All of Ashton’s final tables came in mixed-game action. There’s a lot of talk that the fields are smaller, and the players knowledge and understanding of the game is weaker, so was it a specific goal of Ashton’s to focus on these games in order to win a WSOP bracelet?
“I play mixed games all of the time. Not only do I enjoy them the most, but I derive the most interest out of them. The games that I choose to play in offer me the most value online, so it’s just a bonus that they are also the games I am most interested in.
“The fact that they are smaller fields, and are played less, is a coincidence. I wasn’t bracelet hunting when I chose my schedule.
After that astounding WSOP, in the summer, he waltzed into Paris as the man to catch in the WSOP Player of the Year (POY) race. How did he approach the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) – an event he probably would never had played in had he not had the POY lead.
“I just had to play every tournament I could in order to pick up as many points as I could. The fact that I had the lead means you could argue that I could have been a little more defensive in order to pick up smaller points totals, but the bigger points are at the final tables and winning things. I got some points but nothing substantial enough to improve my lead.”
Was Ashton and Negreanu in contact during the final stages of the race?
“We had a little chat and some banter. I was actually flying back to Vancouver and as soon as I arrived for my connecting flight I checked PokerNews and realized he had won it.”
What were Ashton’s goals coming into 2013?
“My main focus is always online and my goal is always to be the best online player I could be. I could have made more advances. I could have focused on certain parts of my game more; obviously in live poker I had a very lucky year. Whoever comes second in the POY race must have had a great year so I can’t complain about that.”
Is his success going to change his game?
“Not too much I don’t think. The money makes me that little bit more comfortable, so it allows me to take some shots, but I’m not going to do that unless I believe I have an edge.
“The games online are getting harder all the time and there are not that many games that I wouldn’t have played before. So I am going to focus my efforts on playing online and playing against as many people as I can.”
What goals did Ashton set for himself outside of poker?
“This year is the first year that poker was my number one clear priority. In others years I was focusing on things like relationships, traveling and life experiences so I wanted this year to be focused on poker.
“I have returned from a trip to Borneo and enjoyed the nature and getting away from cities. See some of the real world, the less untouched parts of the world that are not man made. I enjoyed that.
“In July I went around Europe with three friends and that was all about having a good time. The last trip was by myself and I loved them both. With the latter I have that freedom to do my own thing and I love that. Just waking up exploring a new place and doing anything you want. There is no feeling like that.”
If you bumped into him during his travels, who would you find?
“It depends on my mood. Sometimes I want to be on my own and I won’t seem very approachable. Other times I am very sociable and like to talk to everyone.”
So what next for Ashton?
“ I will be heading off to Dubai, and then onto Melbourne where I will be based to play online for the next couple of months.
“My main focus will be playing online. I want to keep battling some strong players and keep improving. I will then play the Aussie Millions and have a bit of fun – and you never know might get lucky again? I’ll be at WSOP and will play the first couple of weeks, bit of cash, and then Brazil for a few weeks – got a few tickets – then back for the main event and the $50k.”
His priority for 2014?
“Poker is the number one priority. I will have the urge to travel while I am young and have no commitments, but it’s poker for me. That being said, I never like to plan too far ahead.”
