Heads Up Grand Slam interview: james666

Danski: James, you’ve been drawn against Phil Laak in Round One of the televised PKR Heads Up Grand Slam. You could have been up against a host of tougher names. What’s your feeling?

James: I have been thinking about the draw a lot recently, and I am happy with it. As you say, there are a lot of tougher opponents in the field, but I have the utmost respect for Phil. He has accomplished a lot, but I just feel that I will have the edge, him never having seen my playing style, while I can research his...

D: Have you ever played with Phil before? What do you expect from him, and how will you approach the match?

J: He has never played me before and I very much doubt he has been researching too much into my style of play! I have a general overview of his play, without researching too much (although I will do nearer the time). I see him as quite a solid, tight aggressive player, with not too many moves in his arsenal. I believe I can take advantage of this with my aggressive play.

D: If we wanted to put a bet on you, what odds should we be getting? Do you feel like a small favourite, or a small dog?

J: I think any bookie would be under the impression that I would be a small dog to Phil, purely because of his name and status, but I think the smart money would be on me. Without sounding overly egotistical, I feel I have a decent edge, purely on knowledge of his play that has been recorded so widely, and [the fact that there is] very little of me [recorded]. Be assured, as a good friend of Phil Laak, Neil Channing will surely offer me great odds on the match if I asked him, so I'll be putting a nice sized bet on myself to win the match. Hopefully Neil's bookie/staking heater will end with my bet!

D: Is anyone greater than a 2/1 dog in these one-match rounds?

J: It's possible that one of the qualifiers may be bigger than 2/1, if they don't have much live experience with this much at stake. Especially if they're drawn against someone with lots of heads-up live experience like John Duthie, or an aggressive nosebleed cash gamer like 'durrrr'. But in general I think anything can happen, and very few of the players are going to be huge dogs!

D: If you beat Phil, you’ll line up against the winner of the Demidov-PKR qualifier match. Who would you rather face?

J: I would have to say the PKR qualifier, not only because hopefully they will be slightly weaker than Demidov, but because it would be great fun - a PKR vs PKR death match!

D: If you reach the final, you could have played the following players, along the way: Nam Le, Full Flush, Beyne, Dwan, JC Tran, Tony G, Esfandiari, Ziigmund, Annette, Devilfish, Eastgate. Who would your dream match be against?

J: Two answers for this are fitting. Who would I most rate myself against in the final to win, and who would I have the most fun with... There is no one there I would say was an easy match in the slightest, but I think it would have to be Beyne (no offence) as I have experience with him, and believe after the months that we have played (and I've railed him), I know what it takes to take him down. As for the most fun, that would probably also be Beyne, for comical value and general drunken antics, or Tony G as I am sure fireworks would be ignited with our verbal jousting!

D: Where would you place yourself in this field, and what are your expectations overall?

J: I always have high expectations, possibly too high for this field, but that's how I've been successful. You have to think you're good enough to beat everyone else when put to the test. I would place myself somewhere in the middle of the field. There are some players here with tons more live heads-up experience than me but then again, there are quite a few pros and qualifiers who I would rate myself against any time of the year.

D: Will you be training hard to get sharp for the Grand Slam, or will you live off your wits on the day?

J: I think it would be reckless not to do some research on my potential match-ups when there are so many clips and bits of analysis available on each of the big named pros' styles. I usually just make sure I'm feeling in the mood on the day, and if I'm feeling good about my game, then nothing can stop me!

D: James, many thanks for talking to us, and best of luck! We hope you'll prefer a noisy atmosphere, as we'll be railing you hard on the day...

Qualify for the Heads Up Grand Slam on PKR.com!