Juan “Malaka” Pardo Dominguez rarely needs an introduction inside high buy-in tournament lobbies, but his name carries far less recognition outside of them than his results would suggest. In a recent interview, the Spanish grinder walked through the career arc that turned him into one of online poker’s most consistent tournament winners, along with the short list of titles that still elude him.
From Cardiff High Rollers to Online Dominance
Pardo’s rise toward the sport’s elite tournament level traces back to 2017 and 2018, when he relocated to Cardiff and began competing regularly in live High Rollers, the buy-in bracket reserved for players willing to commit five figures a shot against the toughest fields on the live circuit. That stretch put him in direct competition with the game’s established names and effectively served as his proving ground before he turned his focus more heavily toward online play.
By 2019, that shift had paid off in a big way. Pardo established himself as the top winner in GGNetwork’s daily $25,000 tournaments, a format that runs relentlessly and rewards players who can post consistent results day after day rather than relying on the occasional deep run. That period, competing under a screen name believed to be Picasso16, cemented his reputation as one of the most feared regulars in the daily high buy-in ecosystem.
A Claim to the Online Throne
Asked directly about where he stands historically, Pardo said he believes he is already the all-time leader in online tournament wins, though he was careful to note the margin over the next closest competitors is not especially large. It is the kind of claim that invites scrutiny in a sport where online results are harder to verify and compare than the officially tracked money lists of live tournament poker, but it reflects the scale of what Pardo has built across years of daily high buy-in grinding rather than a single headline score.
Routine as a Competitive Edge
Pardo was equally candid about the structure behind his results. His pre-session routine, as he described it, includes going to the gym on an empty stomach, a sauna session, cold water exposure, quality food and fifteen minutes of meditation before he sits down to play. For a player competing in tournaments that can run many hours and demand sustained focus across hundreds of decisions, that kind of physical and mental preparation functions less as a lifestyle indulgence and more as a competitive requirement.
He was also asked about the impact of solvers on the game he has spent most of his career mastering. Pardo’s view is that solver-based study has made poker “fairer and more meritocratic,” leveling the playing field for players willing to put in the study time regardless of their background. At the same time, he noted that creativity has actually increased at the highest levels of GTO-informed play, pushing back against the common assumption that solver poker produces robotic, interchangeable strategies among top players.
The Titles Still Missing
For all of his online success, Pardo was direct about the gaps in his resume. He has yet to win a WSOP bracelet, an EPT Main Event title, or a Triton Poker event, three of the most recognizable accomplishments available on the live tournament circuit. Those absences stand out precisely because of how complete his online record already looks, and Pardo framed closing that gap as a genuine ambition rather than an afterthought, saying he wants to add live titles to his resume while maintaining his elite online form over the next decade.
That dual ambition, staying dominant online while chasing the live hardware that has so far avoided him, puts Pardo in a similar position to several other online-first grinders who have used deep bankrolls built digitally to fund extended live campaigns. Whether he adds a bracelet or a Triton title in the coming years will likely depend on how much of his schedule he is willing to shift away from the daily online grind that built his reputation in the first place.
The Support Behind the Numbers
Pardo was also open about the personal cost behind a career built on daily grinding, crediting his wife Irene for the sacrifices that allowed him to commit fully to poker, and emphasizing that managing his mental health has been essential to sustaining performance over years rather than months. It is a detail that rarely makes it into pure results-based coverage of high buy-in tournament regulars, but one that Pardo clearly views as inseparable from the numbers that define his career.
Players interested in the fundamentals that underpin deep tournament runs, from hand selection to reading opponents, can find a starting point in Poker Pro Academy’s how to play poker guidewhich breaks down the basics that separate consistent winners like Pardo from the rest of the field.
