Ilari Sahamies, known to most of the poker world as "Ziigmund" is a professional poker player from Helsinki, Finland. As a young child growing up in Finland, Ilari was active in many sports such as soccer and diving. As Zigmund hit his teenage years, he became interested in billiards and was a two-time Finnish Junior Champion. He first saw Texas Hold'em on television and was immediately interested in the game.
After he did some research on the game, he found himself invited to a home game. The local game he was invited to was none other than famous Finnish poker pro, Patrik Antonius who at the time was an aspiring young tennis pro. That must have been one hell of a tough game for the other players! Antonius and Zigmund remain friends today.
Sahamies quickly got the poker bug. He barely finished high school as he often skipped school to go to the casino. He opted not to further his education and immediately began playing at local casinos. He was a profitable regular in Pot Limit Omaha games almost immediately and was one of the best players in the game a year later.
After taking out much of the competition at local casinos, Zigmund started playing online poker in 2002. Playing a number of sites, Sahamies would grind up his bankroll at lower stakes, and move up to higher limits without an adequate bankroll. He went broke many times due to his aggressive play style and his propensity to move up too quickly. But, that did not last forever. Soon he became a force to be reckoned with on the sites he played at and was raking in the profits.
Sahamies is famous for his aggressive style and trash talking, with some likening him to a Finnish Phil Hellmuth. Unlike many poker professionals, he has made most of his money playing mostly online cash games. His game of choice is also not Texas Hold'Em as he is an expert in Pot Limit Omaha. Zigmund has a phenomenal poker work ethic but has been prone to tilt and substance abuse. He once lost $700,000 in one day while playing drunk. On PokerStars and Full Tilt, he has won at least $3.7 million in online cash games since 2006.
Ilari Sahamies currently resides in Helsinki, Finland.
