Young Filippo Candio is following the footsteps of his countryman Dario Minieri, and not just because he favors striped sweaters. The 25-year-old stems from Cagliari, Italy, and his main strength is in tournament play – both online and live – since it is the only form of poker that is legally accepted in the European nation. He finished fourth in the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and boosted the GDP of his home country by $3,092,545. He received a one-round penalty for excessive celebration early on in the tournament.
Candio was until recently a sponsored PokerStars pro and last year, he won the Italian Pro Championship in San Remo for €140,000. Many assembled in the wee hours of July 18th in the Amazon Room at the Rio had predicted that Candio would be the 2010 WSOP November Nine Final Table Bubble Boy. However, he found a timely spot to double up at the expense of John “$JMONEY$” Racener. Candio 4bet all-in pre-flop with pocket aces and received a call from Racener, who showed A-K of clubs. Racener hit a king on the flop to give Candio a sweat, but the turn and river were blanks and Candio doubled up. He’ll own the fifth largest stack when play resumes in November at 16.40 million, nearly even with Matthew Jarvis.
Just before the second break of the Main Event play down day, Candio cracked Joseph “subiime” Cheong’s pocket aces with 7-5 of spades. After a 6-6-5 flop, Candio hit an eight on the turn and four on the river for a runner-runner straight. Needless to say, the hand helped fuel his final table run. He was responsible for ending the tournament life of Matthew Berkey, among others.
His most impressive tournament series to date is the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP), where he cashed in the massive Event #11, one of the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em events that gathered huge fields because of their low buy-ins. Candio finished in 157th place and doubled his investment.
According to the HendonMob database, Candio’s lifetime earnings came up to $250,000 before the 2010 WSOP Main Event, meaning that he will double them at the very least depending on where he finishes.
Candio has been sponsored by PokerStars for a few years, but changed his colors before the Main Event and was seen sporting Full Tilt patches during his deep run.
The young Candio has other interests besides poker, which include a love of cinema. On his Facebook page, Candio declares himself a fan of Disney Films and of Dreamworks Studio’s feature film “Kung Fu Panda.” He is also fond of music; his favorites range from the massively popular Lady Gaga to Italian songbirds like Lucio Battisti and Fabrizio de Andre. Also, don’t forget about his adoration for the music from the beloved Australian children’s show “Bananas in Pyjamas.”
*** Poker News Daily caught up with Filippo Candio right after the 2010 November Nine were set for an exclusive video interview. ***