Frank Frigo

I won the main event, eight matches undefeated.

I entered the super jackpot, which is the big separate event, and I went undefeated in that as well.

That was 1994.

In 1994, I had more physical stamina, but I don't think I was as seasoned as a player to handle the emotional swings of the game, which are a big component of it.

In 94, I was fortunate that I won a lot of matches by very clean scores, so I didn't have a lot of...

those more difficult emotional tests.

In 2023, I had a lot of close matches.

I had some crazy turnarounds and some late swings, but I was much better conditioned as a player to weather that, to be able to sort of turn the page and not let it get under my skin and say, what do I do now?

New circumstance, new set of conditions.

Regardless of what transpired last game, I've got to focus on what's going on in front of me and give myself the best chance.

In 94, it was a blur.

In 23, I really embraced it and enjoyed every step of the way and got to celebrate it with a lot of friends, which was really fun, too.

A lot of people think you've got to be like a mathematician.

You really don't.

There are very analytical aspects of the game where you're grinding numbers, like what we call match equities, where you've got to weigh a bunch of information and come up with the highest probability outcome.

I feel like I'm pretty good at that.

But there's also a big pattern recognition component.

Because once you're a few moves into the game, maybe you've got some reference positions in your mind that you've seen before.

But it's just a combinatorial explosion when you get a few moves into a game, and you haven't seen it before.

And something that I think a lot of players underestimate is the execution part.