Last year at this time, Nenad Medic was a respected online cash game player who'd managed to remain relatively anonymous despite logging a third-place finish at the 2006 Aussie Millions and a sixth-place finish at the 2005 PokerStars.com Caribbean Adventure. Then the soft-spoken Serbian-Canadian defeated E.G. Harvin heads-up at the final table at last year's World Poker Finals and suddenly the former college hoops star was a little more recognizable in the professional poker landscape.
Now a Full Tilt Poker pro, Medic has amassed over $2.3 million in tournament earnings (a large portion of that the $1,717,914 he won last year at Foxwoods) and enters the final table of the Season 6 WPF hungry for a repeat of last year's success. PokerListings.com talked to Medic shortly after the conclusion of play on Day 5.
How do you feel about making your second straight final table here at Foxwoods?
This one feels really good. This tournament has been such a roller-coaster for me and I came in with big expectations. The last couple of months have been rough for me in tournaments and I had a feeling that this would be the one.
It's been pretty sick - I've had a lot of opportunities where I probably should have been bust. I've made some folds, I've made some shoves when I was behind... it's been crazy. I've had like 20 lives this tournament and here I am.
You maybe used up one of those lives earlier today when you flopped quads while all-in against Mike White.
Yeah - well, that one I was actually ahead. The hand before that I made a silly raise with jack-five off. I raised it $175,000, leaving myself with $300,000 and the flop came A-3-3. The guy on my left smooth-called me pre-flop and when I checked to him he moved all-in. He had an ace; I was pretty sure of that, so that was a silly little play right there. But the very next hand I get rewarded with pocket tens against ace-five and I flop quads.
You're entering the final table as the short stack. Do you have a strategy in mind?
Yeah. It's obvious that I have to gamble to double-up. Once I double-up it's a different strategy but I can't wait around right now with $550,000. We'll see how it goes.
What's your assessment of this year's tournament as compared to last year's event?
The structure is a lot better this year. Last year it was a bit of a crapshoot, but [...] I ran really good. I was up there amongst the chip leaders most of the tournament. This year I've been short-stacked most of the tournament so this year the structure allowed me to play a short stack where last year it was a lot of shoving. The blinds [made] a lot of difference.
How did last year's win affect your career as a pro poker player?
It didn't affect it that much - I mean, sure it affected it; $1.7 million is a lot of money, but I was playing tournaments for two and a half years before I won so the money was the only difference.
Do you get recognized as the guy who won all that money on TV?
Yeah, the money and the recognition. The recognition has come in more since the final table aired on TV. Before it aired I was getting recognition but now since it's aired I get a lot more.
What does it mean to you personally making back-to-back final tables here?
It's pretty huge; it's pretty huge. The goal isn't accomplished yet but once I win it back to back it's going to be even bigger. The final table is a big deal but I'm going for the win.
Do you have friends and family coming down to watch the final table?
Not yet, but the phone is ringing as we speak. My girlfriend's going to be coming down tomorrow; my mom and dad are in Australia so they can't come, but they're following online. My brother, cousins, friends... I'm going to have everybody invited.
Awesome. Good luck going for the repeat tomorrow, Nenad.
Thank you.
With the shortest stack at the table going into the final day of play, Medic will have his work cut out for him as he fights for back-to-back titles. Ironically, he'll have to face down the 2005 winner of the World Poker Finals in Nick Schulman, who enters the final table second in chips with $4,395,000. Regardless of his success tomorrow, however, Medic's back-to-back final tables at Foxwoods are in themselves a significant accomplishment and symbolic of the immense talent the man they call "Serb" possesses.
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