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Former footballer who retired aged 21 to become poker player wins nearly £1m in tournament

Home> Football> Football News

Published 19:14 16 Mar 2024 GMT

Former footballer who retired aged 21 to become poker player wins nearly £1m in tournament

The player didn't regret his decision to quit football - and it seems for good reason.

Ryan Smart

Ryan Smart

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A former footballer who retired aged 21 has won nearly £1 million in a poker tournament.

Austrian forward Mario Mosbock played for the youth teams of St Polten, who currently play in the second division of Austria but played in the Europa League qualifying rounds in 2014/15.

Mosbock went on to play 18 games for St Polten's senior team, before moving to SC Magna Wiener Neustadt.

However, he only made two appearances for his new club, and decided to hang up his boots aged just 21.

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Fortunately for the forward, he did have another career to fall back on - and it has proven to be a very lucrative one.

According to The Sun, Mosbock had racked up prize money totalling over £1 million from online poker as of October 2023, having played for the first time when he was 12 years old.

The now 27-year-old also reportedly earned £220,000 from a single tournament.

But if you thought those numbers were impressive, Mosbock went far better than that and almost doubled his career earnings during a recent tournament.

The Daily Star report that Mosbock entered the Triton High Roller Series event - and earned big bucks.

He went home with a prize of $1,191,196 (around £930,000) for winning the $25K GG Million$ title, and agreed a heads-up deal with the chip leader Sergio Aido - who took home around £966,600.

Speaking after his achievement, Mosbock commented: "It feels amazing. I ran really good today... I was never really over 20 big blinds from around the bubble.

"I was always short. But there's still a lot of room for manoeuvre."

Mosbock's World Series of Poker profile contains details of games that the Austrian has played in since 2017.

His highest earnings from a single WSOP-organised tournament came back in 2018, when he picked up $108,675 for finishing in 67th place.

Judging by his earnings, it has clearly been a good decision for Mosbock to give up football and take up a new sport instead - but why exactly did he do it?

Speaking to Poker Code in 2017, Mosbock explained: "I stopped enjoying daily training, and no longer felt that football is what I want to do.

"I increasingly asked myself, 'Is this exactly what you want to devote the next 15 years to?'

"To sort out my feelings, I decided to give up football altogether for a while and see how much I would miss it. Since then, I have not regretted my decision for a second."

Featured Image Credit: Getty

Topics: Football, Austria

Ryan Smart
Ryan Smart

Live in constant hope of the top flight as a Preston North End fan. Written in the past for SPORF, GiveMeSport and more.

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