Nik Airball has apologized to Matt Berkey for calling him a scammer after losing a staggering $1,029,700 in their Heads-up Grudge Match that he was “out of line” and said some things he shouldn’t have said.
My Statement on the HU Match with @berkey11:
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…
— Nik Airball (@nikairball) May 9, 2023
The Airball-Berkey battle, which included a Bobby’s Room stand-off, saw the pair fight out a heads-up match that ended this week, Berkey taking $1,029,700 from his rival in just 9 sessions/59 hours of $200/$400 ($400) NLH play.
Though bad-mouthing the Solve For Why founder throughout, it was a different Airball who tweeted out his apology yesterday:
“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.”
Then came the apology for the incident that sparked the feud:
“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.”
Nik Airball then goes on to admit he “didn’t have any experience in heads up” and although he “learned a lot while studying for and playing this match”, Berkey showed he is a “true professional”.
The HCL highstakes reg, full name Nikhil Arcot but known popularly in the poker community as “Nik Airball” also confessed to enjoying the fact that he is seen as “an exuberant polarizing character.
However, he admitted that “sometimes I go too far with it”, and although he is “never going to change how I really am – fun, loud, social, sometimes obnoxious” he plans to “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,” says Arcot, describing the Berkey battle as “a fun journey, even though I fell short.”
He finished, “Even to the haters, I appreciate all of you as well.”
Berkey was one of those haters, but says he was won over by Airball and accepts the apology…
I honestly think this statement is closer to the real person Nik is at his core than all of the antics reflect. 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 🤝 https://t.co/Kjht30eS9d
— Matt Berkey (@berkey11) May 9, 2023
Meanwhile, Garrett Adelstein is still waiting to hear back from Airball after he accepted the challenge made by the trust fund kid/investment banker.
King of LA @nikairball,
As I have yet to hear back, figured I’d jog your memory. Here is the video where you graciously challenged me to HU. Again, I accept this offer and look forward to you proving to everyone you aren’t completely full of shit every time you open your mouth. pic.twitter.com/lzuIR2lUYl— Garrett Adelstein (@GmanPoker) May 7, 2023
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