Poker Champ Mike 'Timex' McDonald Wins National Chess Championship
Mike "Timex" McDonald, once a top young superstar in poker, doesn't seem to ever lose at anything. You can add chess tournaments to his list of games he dominates.
The Canadian poker player, almost 18 years to the day after he famously won a European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event at age 18, was crowned national champion at the Cayman Islands National Chess Championship. He was among two winners, the second being Zara Majid, the Female Championship winner.
Another Title for a Poker Legend
The chess event brought out the top competitors in the country for a 10-player round robin tournament. "Timex," McDonald's former online poker screen name, played "fighting chess with great determination and skill," the Chess Federation's Facebook account wrote. He scored 7.5/9, the highest score. Ryan Blackwood, who also received a medal, had the second-highest score (7/9).
McDonald, on X, said he "needed a few upsets to get the win" and that his FIDE chess rating is now "just under 1900."
Timex, who stepped away from the poker grind years ago but resurfaces once in a while, has a long history of winning, and it all started with the EPT Dortmond Main Event in 2008 for over $1.3 million in USD. He has over $13.3 million in live tournament cashes, The Hendon Mob database shows, although none since an 11th place World Poker Tour (WPT) High Roller cash in 2022.
McDonald is also known for his prop bet prowess. If you've bet against Timex, chances are you've been on the losing end of the stick more often than not. He most famously won a $200,000 basketball free-throw shooting prop bet in 2020 when he made 90 free-throws out of 100 attempts, a challenge that took him about four months to complete, three months before he would have run out of time.
Prop bets and poker tournaments aren't the only games McDonald wins. You can go ahead and add a chess title to his resume.
