Mark Boon has been playing poker for a short six months but has found a number of reasons to like the game. “I played poker with my friends a couple of times and the game intrigued me”, clarifies Mark, “I started playing online sit-n-go tournaments as a distraction from studying for my exams”. Currently studying for his PhD in Innovation Management, “the skill factor in poker also plays an important role in my PhD research”. Mark enjoys playing Texas Holdem online and with friends and usually plays exclusively in online tournaments. Winning a $5000 PokerNews Cup Freeroll is “definitely my biggest poker success so far”. Mark was “very happy” to have emerged victorious, “especially since it wasn’t only that I got the right cards but also that I read my opponents very well. Mark smiles, “only the final hand was luck”. Mark celebrated with “a few beers” with friends. Apart from poker, Mark likes to keep fit by playing squash, tennis and jogging four times a week. Mark never thought he would manage to get to Australia to simply play in a major tournament and “will probably be the only player in Australia that can use the experience for his PhD research”. We wish Mark and the rest of Team PokerNews the best of luck.