‘Baltic Blonde’ Daiva Byrne’s Stepping Stone For The Ladies

6 years ago
‘Baltic Blonde’ Daiva Byrne’s Stepping Stone For The Ladies
11:33
15 Feb

The Aussie Millions may have finished, but for Unibet Poker ambassador Daiva Byrne, the Down Under experience will last much longer - the self-styled ‘Baltic Blonde’ touring the island for a full month indulging her passion for travel as well as her love – and work – for poker.

The Lithuanian may not have taken down the Main Event in Melbourne, despite her best efforts, but she still has an impressive $126,912 to her name in tournament earnings, cashing in last year’s WSOP Main Event for $16,024, with London and Bucharest on the itinerary prior to her Aussie adventure.


Promoting the women’s game is high up on her agenda, Byrne recently telling PokerNews.com’s Will Shillibier:

"I run a group for female pokers online. It's got 1,200 members which is amazing considering I started it from scratch six months ago. I'm very proud of what I've accomplished. We have weekly freerolls for members, and we then all meet up at live poker stops.”

She added: "I'm currently planning the meet-up for the WSOP Ladies Event later this year. It's all about sharing women's successes and both encouraging and supporting one another," a thought reflected in the indepth interview with Jennifer Tilly which graces her own ‘BalticBlonde’ website.

Despite the Aussie Million series not hosting a women-only event –“maybe in the future!” she says optimistically – Byrne echoes Tilly’s view that:

“Ladies tournaments serve a purpose, in that it is very intimidating sometimes to sit down in such a male environment”.

Stating that: “it can definitely be a good stepping stone for ladies, and the feedback from ladies is that the majority prefer ladies only events”, Byrne – currently 35th in Lithuania’s all-time money-winners list which is topped by Antanas ‘Tony G’ Guoga – adds:

“And if that works, then it works and we should do whatever we can to keep doing that."

Her travels for poker and leisure are clearly a huge part of Byrne’s life-ethic, and her travelogues are a blend of humour, poker and personal history, her Brighton trip last year offering an unusual insight into the background of the England-based Baltic woman.



The Australian experience, and a side-step across to New Zealand, may be the perfect way to spend a ‘British winter’…


…but it’s back to a different reality this month as Byrne prepares for the Unibet Open, her bosses happy to see her go, and happy to see her return…


 ...and perhaps another stepping stone for the women of the poker world.


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Andrew from Edinburgh, Scotland, is a professional journalist, international-titled chess master, and avid poker player.Read more

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