Juan Carlos Mortensen (born 13 April 1972, in
Ambato,
Ecuador) is an
Ecuadorian professional
poker player of
Danish descent and the first
South American Main Event winner of the
World Series of Poker. Mortensen is known for his loose play, bluffing tactics, and interesting chip-stacking style.[1]
Poker career
World Series of Poker
Mortensen moved from Spain to the United States in the late 1990s to play poker.[citation needed] He won $1,500,000 at the
2001 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Mortensen defeated a then-record field of 613 players, including a very tough final table that included professional players
Mike Matusow (sixth),
1989 WSOP Main Event champion
Phil Hellmuth (fifth),
Phil Gordon (fourth), and
Dewey Tomko (second).[2] In the final hand, Mortensen's K♣Q♣ out-drew and defeated Tomko's A♠A♥, when Mortensen's hand improved to make a straight.[3]
Mortensen won his second career bracelet at the
2003 World Series of Poker in the $5,000 Limit Hold'em event, earning $251,680. He defeated professional player Mark Gregorich heads-up to win the title.[4]
At the
2006 World Series of Poker, Carlos made three final tables. He finished in ninth place in Event #2 (No Limit Hold'em) winning $71,617.[5] He once again finished in ninth place in Event #6 (NL Hold 'em), earning him $73,344.[6] Mortensen came up just short of winning his third bracelet in Event #33 (
Razz), where he finished runner-up to fellow professional
James Richburg, earning him $94,908.[7]
Mortensen finished in 10th place in the
2013 WSOP Main Event, being the "Final Table Bubble Boy."[8][9]
Mortensen was considered to be the last big-name poker professional to win the Main Event at the
World Series of Poker, until
Koray Aldemir in 2021.[by whom?] As a result of the
poker boom, which ignited itself
two years after his win, when
Chris Moneymaker won the Main Event, the fields in that tournament have increased exponentially, making it extraordinarily more difficult for individual players to maintain consistent success in it.[10][11][12]
In 2004, he won the
World Poker Tour (WPT)
Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship for $1,000,000.[13] Mortensen won the
Season FiveWorld Poker Tour championship event for a $3,970,415 first place prize, his largest tournament cash to date, and his second career WPT title, making him the first player in professional poker history to ever win the World Championship events at both the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour.[14]
In 2010, Mortensen won the
Season Eight WPT Hollywood Poker Open.[15]
In 2006, he and his wife, fellow poker player Cecilia Reyes Mortensen, divorced.[18][citation needed]
As of August 2017, his total live tournament winnings exceed $12,100,000.[19] His 21 cashes as the WSOP account for over $3,200,000 of those winnings.[20]