This young man has come a long way over the last couple of months. I first met Michael 'Timex' McDonald at the WPT in Turks and Caicos. He had been up all night sitting by the pool while his friend Matt Gianetti had been in the pool since midnight as part of a prop bet with David Williams. 'Timex' had a side bet on whether or not Matt could stay in the pool from midnight to noon the next day. But he seems like the type of person that wold have stayed up with his friend regardless of the side action.
McDonald leapt into the live poker scene the day he turned 18, playing in the World Series of Poker Europe in London. His birthday coincided with day 1b of the event and he turned up, paid his $10,000 to play and was eliminated by 2006 World Champion Jamie Gold. McDonald took few negatives from this experience, playing live more and more and recording his first cash in the EPT Prague back in December. He then took a 1st and a 2nd at the Aussie Millions, which seems to have ignited his confidence as he seemed unstoppable at the EPT Dortmund as he became the youngest EPT winner ever.
Congratulations Mike McDonald. You Deserve it.