Cal42688 Wins SCOOP 2014 Player of the Series Title

American multi-table tournament specialist Calvin ‘cal42688’ Anderson has been hunting for the SCOOP Player of the Series title since the start of the series in 2009. Finally, he has succeeded.

Calvin ‘cal42688’ Anderson has won the Player of the Series title of the 2014 Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP). Since 2009, the introduction of the festival, the US pro playing from Mexico has been determined to grab the title. It has eluded him for years, but not anymore.

"I've always fallen short, mostly due to not being able to play all of the events, or simply not being good enough. But this year I was prepared," he stated in an interview with the PokerStars Blog.

"I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. I didn't make any bets. I didn't join a fantasy team. I just wanted to do it to show myself that I could," he added.

Throughout the championship, competition for the SCOOP Player of the Series leaderboard positions have been tough; eventually, though, Anderson did manage to best his rivals: in the 134 events he entered, he collected 20 ITM finishes, made it to 7 final tables and even won a tournament: for his victory in Event #38-H $2,100 HORSE, he got $47,065, as well as his fifth SCOOP title to set Shaun Deeb’s record.

Even before the start of the championship, Anderson had already prepared himself and his home in Playa del Carmen to establish the best possible environment for playing 10 to 16 hours per day for two weeks. He set up a more stable secondary internet connection, equipped himself so that he could play basically anytime anywhere, introduced a ban on alcohol and even on meat for these two weeks. He was sleeping a lot and did yoga to reduce stress whenever he had the time.

The pro also has a lot to thank his girlfriend, Kami Hudson for, who has been supporting him all along so that Anderson could focus on the game.

"She took care of all the basics, like keeping me fed throughout the day, making sure I always had what I needed, and many other miscellaneous things to help me out. Without her, I would have had a really hard time doing as well as I did. Her and the OneRepublic album, Native,” he says.

One of the best tournament players around, Anderson received a trophy and an EPT Grand Final package for taking down the Player of the Series title.

In the interview, he was also talking about his life in Mexico and future plans. He managed to adapt to the local way of life faster than he would have imagined; it did not take him long to find out that food is healthier, weather is better and prices are lower than in the US.

"I would say most people here are much more grateful for what they have than the people in the US are, and in my opinion being grateful is the key to happiness," he says.

Concerning his plans, Anderson told PokerStars that he had none. Not the type to plan for the long run, his only aim at the moment is to be happy.