PokerNews CUP Australia 2008

Even a bullet fears the brave...

It is always a pleasure to welcome returning Team PokerNews Members to the PokerNews Cup (PNC) Australia – and Benedetto “DaMatrix” Passantino is no exception. The Mathematics and Statistics Graduate first represented our team at the inaugural PokerNews Cup Australia in 2007 and will this year be returning to further showcase his talent. Ben originally got his nickname “DaMatrix” after busting Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott in his first major tournament – the 2004 VC Poker Cup. The native of Sicily has been playing poker for four years, initially starting because he had made a New Year’s resolution to learn the game. Now he plays poker both live and online having huge successes in online tournaments. Ben has experience in every variant of poker and is confident playing H.O.R.S.E. He considers his biggest poker success to be “going to Las Vegas for three weeks and not coming back broke.” Ben is undeniably happy about his $5,000 PokerNews Cup Australia Package win. “I’m excited, of course, and relieved as I had come third in one the previous week… I had a feeling I would qualify again.” He celebrated by continuing to play poker as he was “multi-tabling a couple of tournaments!” Away from poker, Ben enjoys chess, football, music, partying, photography, reading and websites. Ben is no stranger to major poker tournaments having played in the VC Poker Cup, the World Heads Up Poker Championship, the Great British Poker Tour Grand Final, and of course, the inaugural PNC Australia. We look forward to his return appearance at this coveted tournament. As always, stay tuned to PokerNews.com to find out how the story will unfold for Ben and the rest of Team PokerNews.