diff --git a/klafirc/bot.py b/klafirc/bot.py
index 94b5feb..e5679c8 100644
--- a/klafirc/bot.py
+++ b/klafirc/bot.py
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ class Bot:
         self.pings = []
         self.on_join = None
         self.tg_user_match = re.compile('^<\x03..\x02\x02(?P<username>.+)\x03>')
-        self.ping_match = re.compile('^(<.+> )?\@?{name}'.format(name=nickname))
+        self.ping_match = re.compile('(<.+> )?\@?{name}'.format(name=nickname))
         self.min_time = 0
         self.last_time = datetime.datetime(1,1,1)