If you started watching The Sopranos at the first episode of the opening series and continued to watch through to the final scene, it would take you approximately 78 hours of your life. In less time than it would take to reach the penultimate series, the self-proclaimed ‘King of L.A.’ Nikhil ‘Airball’ Arcot managed to lose $1 million to Matt Berkey.
AS the cash game drama concluded, the $1 million ‘stop/loss’ rule came into play, leaving Airball to lick his wounds and Berkey to celebrate. So, who was the real winner after this war of words escalated into one of the fiercest poker fights in recent memory?
How the War Was Won
It’s easy to forget just how easily this rivalry reared its head, despite it happening a short time ago. Airball and Barkey have clashed on a number of occasions, but once the pair squared up and agreed to a ‘Heads-Up for ‘Rolls’ situation, there was never going to be any backing down. Heads-up poker has become the way to settle many grievances in poker since the COVID-19 pandemic, and this had all the hallmarks of that age – two men clashing in a scrap that were it to have happened under different circumstances and in another industry may well have gone unseen.
Many poker fans are very glad it took the spotlight instead.
Over the course of the cash game sessions, hilariously brought to life by the impartial observations of a certain Landon Tice, Airball was ‘aired’, to the tune of seven figures. A million-dollar loss is a damaging one, as Daniel Negreanu will testify, his online clash with Doug Polk having cost him roughly the same amount.
The difference there is that Negreanu obviously got some great lessons to hone his heads-up game over the course of days of action. He put them to good use, too, winning last year’s Super High Roller Bowl in Las Vegas, for example, for $3.3 million.
Almost immediately behind in the bout, Airball never recovered and Berkey played his heart out, determined to show the poker world that the on-felt clash was a complete mismatch. Berkey succeeded in that effort in spectacular fashion.
Airball’s Concession Speech in Full
While Arcot might be considered by some to be arrogant and egotistical to an extreme degree, there’s no doubting his heart. Airball could have shrunk back into the shadows a la that Homer Simpson meme but instead, he took to Twitter immediately upon defeat to congratulate his opponent.
Conciliatory, concise, and the promise of more to come. Following through on that pledge, Airball was back two days later to deliver the following:
“First of all, I want to congratulate Matt Berkey on his victory.
There was a lot of shit talking, most of it for fun and to add excitement to the match, but in the end I have to give credit where credit is due. He played well, and he played better than I expected he would. He won fair and square, and he deserves to celebrate his win.
I want to apologize for the comments I made about Matt being a scammer and the negative comments I made about his business. That was out of line, and I regret making those comments. I got caught up emotionally in the heat of the moment and said some things I shouldn’t have said, and for that I apologize. Matt showed during this match that he is a true professional.
I have a lot to learn as a poker player. I have a newfound respect for heads up poker. I didn’t have any experience in heads up, but I learned a lot while studying for and playing this match, and I have a lot more to learn. My experience is in live ring games, and that’s where I feel most comfortable and have the most fun.
I also have a lot to learn as a person and a public figure in the poker world. My close friends know the type of person I really am and the character I have. But in poker, I enjoy being an exuberant polarizing character. I believe that poker needs characters, but sometimes I go too far with it, and that’s something I need to work on. I’m never going to change how I really am – fun, loud, social, sometimes obnoxious. But I can work on being better at not making comments that can be hurtful. In the end, I just want to have fun and play some poker.
Thanks to everyone who supported me throughout this match. It was a fun journey, even though I fell short. Even to the haters, I appreciate all of you as well.”
Will There Be a Rematch?
While we’d rule nothing out – this is live poker, after all – the answer at present would be a resounding “no”. Airball will definitely be taking part in several live-streamed poker games, including the forthcoming Million Dollar Game which forms part of the award-winning Hustler Casino Live output for May. Those are likely to form the bulk of his poker involvement in the ensuing weeks. With a tongue-in-cheek reference to his defeat to Berkey, Airball put out a joking request for any leads of employment.
Berkey’s reaction to the statement was equally free of any bitterness or anger.
“I honestly think this statement is closer to the real person Nik is at his core than all of the antics reflect,” he said. “[I] saw plenty of very small examples of him going out of his way to be kind both with his words and actions. Thank you for the apology.”
Airball is sure to take someone else on at the felt, but far more likely than a one-on-one battle for clicks is the Heads-Up Championship that takes place as part of the 54th Annual World Series of Poker. The WSOP kicks off on May 30th, with the $25,000 Heads-Up Championship starting on June 2nd. The winner of that event is always a big name, or if not, they are catapulted into a spotlight that is bigger than most WSOP final tables.
Nik Airball might have been comprehensibly beaten by Matt Berkey, but you can’t keep a personality such as his contained for very long.
Matt Berkey, meanwhile, has put a pre-WSOP bracelet bet out there.
Just how much would Airball be prepared to wager in order to get even?
This article originally appeared on PokerStake.com
