Juan Carlos Mortensen, aka "El Matador", was born in Ambato, Ecuador on April 13th, 1972. His mother was Spanish and his father was Danish, and he grew up with three brothers and two sisters. When Carlos Mortensen was 15 years old, he moved with his family to Madrid, Spain. In Madrid Carlos finished high school and started going to university and study for a degree in physics and mathematics. While in school, Carlos Mortensen met Cecilia Reyes – another successful poker player in the present – whom he later married.
After the young couple got married, when they were both 19 years old, they left their parents' houses and tried to manage on their own. This meant working a lot, and working hard. Carlos Mortensen found himself working in three jobs in order to pay his bills, and in his spare time he played a little chess.
April 15th, 1997, was the day that changed his life forever. Carlos Mortensen was waiting for Cecilia at a club in which he bartended, when a bunch of people who were playing Texas Hold'em invited him to join in. The new game challenged him, and so Carlos Mortensen sat down, played with them, and… lost about $100 on his first game. In the following day he made up his mind to realize what was wrong in his performance and improve it. On the next night he returned to the club, played with the same people, and doubled his money in no time. Four more victorious days like this one got Carlos Mortensen to make up his mind – he's quitting his jobs and going to become a professional poker player.
It took Carlos Mortensen a few months of every-night-winnings to deplete the pockets of his local rivals, and since he had no one to play with, he decided it was time to hit the states. With most of his bankroll left at home, in Madrid, with a 3-months visa and barely any English at all, Carlos Mortensen arrived to the US in October 1997 and headed straight for Atlantic City. In three months Carlos Mortensen managed to get a hold of some English, observe many games and rivals and earn about $10,000.
Back in Madrid, Carlos Mortensen started playing poker against his friends again, and a few months later they offered to bankroll him in the 1999 WSOP, splitting his future profits between them. Unfortunately, Carlos Mortensen didn't cash in these WSOP tournaments, but he did stay in the US for several months, playing various side poker tournaments and made over $50,000 before his visa expired and he had to go back to Spain once more. A year later he returned to the US, to participate in the 31st Annual WSOP, with a nice bankroll of his own, and got out of there $22,575 richer.
Over the years, Carlos Mortensen won two WSOP Bracelets, in the years 2001 and 2003, as well as a few WPT titles and championships. His Largest winning ever yet was at the WPT Season 5 No Limit Hold'em Championship, on April 27th, 2007. In that tournament, Carlos Mortensen took the 1st place by storm, adding yet another $3,970,415 to his bankroll and earning himself another WPT title.
Today Carlos Mortensen lives with his wife, Cecilia Reyes-Mortensen, in Las Vegas, Nevada, and both of them have successful careers as professional poker players.
Carlos Mortensen Quick Facts
Cashes: 67
Total Winnings: $8,420,288
First Place Finishes: 12
WSOP Bracelets: 2