The World Poker Tour celebrates and awards the player of the year and the annual WPT Tournament of Champions and some would say it’s the WPT’s highest honor for a player. During the decade of 2010-2019, the WPT has seen the tour continue to lead the poker industry through many turbulent times for poker and has been one of the few constants to not only to survive but also to thrive.

Here is a list of the last 10 WPT Players of the Year:

Season IX: Andy Frankenberger
Season X: Joe Serock
Season XI: Matthew Salsberg
Season XII: Mukul Pahuja
Season XIII: Anthony Zinno
Season XIV: Mike Shariati
Season XV: Benjamin Zamani
Season XVI: Art Papazyan
Season XVII: Erkut Yilmaz

As you can see it is extremely difficult to win WPT Player of the Year in any one season but to be a consistent winner over a decade is an incredible achievement. Darren Elias not only holds the record for most WPT wins with four but also holds the record for most Final Tables (12) and Cashes (38). He is a model of consistency.

When I asked him what he attributes is WPT consistency and success to Darren answered in his typical humble fashion and said, “I’d attribute my success to a good understanding of my opponents and attention to detail over the years. I’ve always put a lot of effort into bringing my best every time I sit down and things have always seemed to work out on the WPT.”

Although Darren seemed to dominate there were also many others that crushed the competition over the last 10 years and here are the top-10 rankings compiled by earnings, cashes, and final tables.

1. Darren Elias – $3,869,957, 4 titles, 5 third-place finishes, 38 cashes, 12 final tables, 2 WPT Tournament of Champions final tables

2. Anthony Zinno – $3,064,897, 3 titles, 1 third-place finish, 33 cashes, 7 final tables

3. Mohsin Charania –  $2,803,574, 2 titles, 1 second-place finish, 28 cashes, 5 final tables

“WPT has such loyal casino partners I feel very at home with some of the WPT stops which allows me to be more consistent. Playing a WPT for the 10th year in a row at LAPC makes me feel like I’m in a routine at the end of February every year and that kind of familiarity probably helps my success in the tournament for example.” – Mohsin Charania 

4. Eric Afriat – $2,766,197, 2 titles, 1 second-place finish, 1 third-place finish, 17 cashes, 6 final tables

5. Noah Schwartz –  $2,699,272, 1 Main Tour title, 1 WPT Alpha8 title, 18 cashes, 5 Main Tour final tables, 2 WPT Alpha8 final tables, 1 WPT Tournament of Champions final table

“I truly believe inevitably my consistency on the World Poker Tour has been derived from my ability to adjust to the ever-changing landscape of tournament play and some just sheer luck. It’s really an honor to be nominated with some of the top names in the game and shows my dedication is a staple of my consistency.” – Noah Schwartz

6. Sam Panzica – $2,448,643, 2 titles, 1 second-place finish,  19 cashes, 5 final tables, 4th place in the WPT Rock Star Energy High Roller, 1 WPT Tournament of Champions cash.

How have you remained so consistent on the World Poker Tour and is there something different about the WPT that has factored into your success?  “I would say the answer to both would be similar. Great structures, big prize pools and I always try to bring my A-game for WPTs because I want to catch Darren.” – Sam Panzica 

7. Marvin Rettenmaier – $2,034,735, 2 titles, 20 cashes, 5 final tables, first player in WPT history to win back-to-back events.

8. Chino Rheem –  $2,549,264, 2 titles, 1 third-place finish, 9 cashes, 4 final tables, 1 WPT World Championship title

9. Darryll Fish – $1,772,063, 1 title, 2 second-place finishes, 1 third-place finish, 17 cashes, 6 final tables

10a. Alex Foxen – $3,423,857, 1 Main Tour title, 1 WPT Rockstar Energy High Roller title, 1 second-place finish, 12 cashes, 3 final tables

10b. Ryan Tosoc – $3,266,066, 1 title, 1 second-place finish, 1 third-place finish 4 cashes, 3 final tables, 1 WPT Tournament of Champions final table

Honorable mentions are numerous and include Antonio Esfandiari (3 consecutive WPT Five Diamond final tables, and 1 title), former WPT commentator Mike Sexton (1 title and 4 final tables), Ema Zajmovic (1 win, 2 second-place finishes, 4 final tables), and James Carroll (2 titles and 5 top-10 finishes among 7 cashes).

As Executive Tour Director I’m excited to see what the longest-running tour in poker has to bring not only in 2020 but also over the next decade.

A reality television star won $1 million in a daily fantasy sports contest on DraftKings over the weekend.

The first round of the NFL playoffs wrapped up on Sunday evening when the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Philadelphia Eagles. The Minnesota Vikings defeated the New Orleans Saints earlier in the day and DraftKings ran an event that awarded seven figures to the eventual winner of the two-game slate.

Former Bachelor contestant Jade Roper Tolbert bested the field and earned the massive payday. In her winning lineup, Roper Tolbert rostered Seattle wide receiver DK Metcalf, who scored 32 points for her squad thanks to 160 yards and a touchdown. It was the most of any player from either game that day.

After being recognized by other competitors at the top of the leaderboard, she took to Twitter to joke that her husband, Tanner Tolbert, who she met on the reality television show, told her to leave Metcalf off the roster.

But some in the daily fantasy sports world are accusing the couple of foul play. Both Roper Tolbert and her husband entered the maximum amount of entries into the contest. Each player was allowed up to 150 entries.

Throughout the 300 combined entries, there was very little overlap between players taken, which is leading other contestants to believe the couple colluded with one another in order to give themselves a better shot of taking home the massive first-place money at stake.

This practice is strictly against the rules in DraftKings contests.

In a contest that only features two games, there are fewer possible combinations of players on each roster. Collusion to this extent would give them a bigger advantage in this format than if it was during the regular season with a full schedule of games.

DFS legend Peter Jennings was initially psyched that the reality star won the event, tweeting that “anyone who is salty on twitter should stop being jealous.” Jennings, who has won millions playing fantasy sports, was initially pumped that the publicity around the winner would bring some positive hype to the industry.

After seeing how little overlap there was between rosters and the increased likelihood of collusion, Jennings changed his tune.

Others on Twitter have noted that neither person, before Sunday, had any sports posts on any of their respective social media platforms.

DraftKings has yet to issue a statement about the situation.

The Boston-based company has a history creating controversy at the start of the New Year. Nearly a year ago to the day, Randy Lee won $1 million at the DraftKings Sports Betting National Championship in New Jersey when thanks to a software glitch, some players were not able to place a bet on the final game of the weekend.

A jam-packed month with big money poker tournaments on three separate continents kicks off the new decade. But the month of January might feel a bit various to some without the preferred PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA).

PokerStars ended on the PCA following the 2019 series. The event, held at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, began in 2004. After 16 winters months of enjoyable in the sun, the series involved an end to make sure that PokerStars could focus on its $25,000 buy-in Players Championship (PSPC), which will certainly happen at the EPT Barcelona in August.

David “Chino” Rheem won the final PCA Main Event last year for $1,567,100. The three-time World Poker Tour champion can now focus on adding some more WPT titles to his resume this January instead.

World Poker Tournaments Highlight Big Month of January

The WPT’s $10,000 buy-in Gardens poker Champion on January 9 begins the start of a mad rush of high-stakes poker competitions around the world. Lower stakes events are currently underway at Gardens Gambling establishment in Los Angeles leading up to the WPT Main Event.

For the second straight year, the final table will shift to Las Vegas at the Luxor’s HyperX ESports Arena on March 31. Players who make the final table will receive money for transportation and lodging.

The WPT has three other Main Tour poker tournaments on its January schedule, including the $3,500 buy-in Lucky Hearts Poker Open in South Florida on the 17th. Then, it’s off to Russia for the WPT Russia and then back to North America for the January 26th Borgata Winter Poker Open in Atlantic City.

Off to the Land Down Under

A third continent – Australia – also plays host to some exciting poker tournaments this month. The 2020 Aussie Millions is already underway with some low to mid-stakes events. But some big tournaments are on the horizon at the Crown Casino in Melbourne.

On January 13, the first high roller of the series – a $25,000 PLO event – gets underway. Three additional high rollers with buy-ins ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 are among the highlights of this annual Australian poker series.

But the biggest event each year is the $10,600 buy-in Main Event, which begins January 17 with the first of three Day One flights. The final table, also the final day of the series, is set for the 24th.

In 2015’s champion, Bryn Kenney, is poker’s all-time winningest tournament player with $56 million in cashes. Just over $900,000 of that was gained at the 2019 Aussie Many Millions Main Event.

Twitch pioneer Jason Somerville has announced his departure from PokerStars, citing a change of priorities and a absence of opportunities in the US.

Making the news public on January 2, Somerville recorded a brief but insightful review of his reasons for leaving. For those that tune right into his popular Twitch streams, the American confirmed that diversification will be the order of the day in 2020.

PokerStars Deal Limits Somerville

In 2019, a move toward sports betting resulted in a working relationship between Somerville and the NFL. For five weeks during the fall, Somerville hosted Thursday Night Football on RunItUp.tv. Off of this, he’s been inspired to do more of the same, and promised fans sports, poker, and streaming innovations in 2020.

Somerville’s decision to part ways with PokerStars also highlighted an ongoing, but often ignored, issue within the community. As a New Jersey resident, Somerville’s online poker options are limited.

Those with an eye on New Jersey’s online poker economy will know that revenue has been struggling. In November 2019, year-on-year revenue was down 4.4 percent. That drop mirrored similar losses in September, October, and throughout much of 2019.

By leaving PokerStars, Somerville will be able to stream games from WSOP.com, Partypoker NJ, and his former sponsor. It will also give him an opportunity to take advantage of New Jersey’s burgeoning casino and sports betting economies.

As poker revenue has fallen, other areas of the industry have thrived. In November 2019, online casino takings were up were 87.7 percent year-on-year, while monthly sports betting revenue improved by 54.8 percent.

Twitch King to Reign On

When Somerville became a PokerStars ambassador in February 2015, the New Jersey online poker economy was buoyant. The poker pro used the hype to build his Twitch following and blaze a trail.

In fact, it was Somerville’s efforts that inspired others to follow suit and make poker streams commonplace in poker. However, with the industry now in a different place than it once was, it’s time to evolve. For Somerville, that means innovating like he did back in 2015.

Although his announcement didn’t provide any details of what’s to come, Somerville reassured fans that his poker career isn’t over. Along with promising more online content, Run It Up Reno is scheduled for April.

Now in its fifth season, the live festival will take place between April 3 and 13 at Peppermill Resort, and feature its usual mix of affordable tournaments.

After that, Somerville will be a free agent. He may use that status to follow former PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu and join an emerging platform, such as GGPoker, or he may move further into the sports betting world.

Either way, he will remain an active streamer and a favorite among pros and amateurs alike.

Mike Postle was an unknown, low-stakes casino poker pro out of Northern California prior to late September. He is now a well known gamer that apparently cheated his opponents out of thousands of thousands of dollars on live-stream, and additionally the subject of the leading texas hold’em tale of 2019.

On Sept. 28, Vernoica Brill rocked the texas hold’em world with a wild tweet storm. She alleged on Twitter that a gamer at Stones Gaming Hall– we would certainly later on come to know his name as Mike Postle– had been cheating for months in Stoves Live live-streamed money games.

A lot good happened in texas hold’em this previous year. The WSOP Main Event, casino poker’s most prestigious tournament, had 8,569 entrances– the second most in its 50-year history.

Phil Galfond presented the #GalfondChallenge, a heads-up difficulty that will delight casino poker followers when it begins following year. And Chris Moneymaker, the 2003 world champion as well as among casino poker’s top ambassadors, ultimately made the Poker Hall of Fame. Several others, nonetheless, will certainly remember 2019 as the year a low-stakes texas hold’em gamer apparently carried out a fancy scam.

Postle Forever on Santa’s Naughty List

Last week, we placed Mike Postle atop Santa’s online poker rowdy list– a listing he could belong on annually from currently up until completion of infinity, particularly if the disloyalty claims are proven true. We’ll stick to “alleged” till the courts establish otherwise, yet many in the casino poker neighborhood have already made up their mind that Postle is a cheater.

Postle made Santa’s naughty checklist due to the fact that he potentially cheated his Stones Gaming Hall challengers out of numerous countless bucks from July 2018 to September 2019. His accusers assert he made use of some type of tool, potentially with the help of an individual or people benefiting Stones Live, to access to opponent’s hole cards.

Having access to a challenger’s hole cards makes the game of online poker simple. If you had that details, you ‘d constantly understand the right play to make, and would hardly ever lose.

Postle constantly made the correct choice on the river during the Stones Live streams. The likelihood of the very best texas hold’em player on the planet almost never ever making the wrong choice on the river over lots of cash money game sessions is improbable, let alone a low-stakes grinder who is unidentified to the majority of the online poker neighborhood.

Turning a Bad Situation into a Positive

Postle’s dishonesty rumor is definitely a black mark on the video game, yet there is a favorable aspect to this unfortunate situation.

We wish to offer a hat tip to Veronica Brill, that fearlessly outed Postle on Twitter. Otherwise for Brill coming forward, despite understanding she would certainly deal with some backlash, Postle may have escaped it for much longer.

Joey Ingram also deserves some credit score for leading the public’s examination into the unfaithful rumor. The YouTube podcaster shared plenty of hours of Stones Live video footage with his followers. His hard work also drew the attention of Scott Van Pelt, an ESPN SportsCenter host.

Postle purportedly ripped off other gamers out of a boat-load of money. There’s no question a detraction of this magnitude is bad for the video game, but the usually controversial texas hold’em neighborhood integrated to guarantee he didn’t escape it– as well as to possibly prevent one more major unfaithful scandal in the future.

Allow’s hope when we write a write-up on the top texas hold’em tale of 2020, we can compose it regarding something extra favorable. Possibly, the United States legislates on the internet texas hold’em nationwide? We can dream, can’t we?

Please let me encourage you to reach out to me with article ideas and questions for future columns. You can tweet to me at @FossilMan, or send me a message at info@fossilmanpoker.com.

Whenever someone asks about poker strategy, they are used to hearing the answer, “it depends.” And while that might sound like a cop out answer, it really is quite true.
There are almost no poker strategy questions where the best answer is the same, every time, no matter how we tweak the details. Because ESPN played and replayed their World Series of Poker broadcasts hundreds of times back in 2004 and 2005, I get recognized often in public. And many of those people approach me; sometimes for a picture or autograph, sometimes with a poker question.

Many of these people are not serious players, and only play occasionally with friends. Usually they do not recall some of the important details of the hand, such as stack sizes, remaining field size, who raised preflop, how many players were in the hand on each street, etc. In many cases they do not remember the cards on the board, or even their exact two cards. Despite telling them that these details are all potentially very important to determining the correct decision they should have made, they still want to get back a specific answer.

I find it amusing when they press me for an answer, should they have called or folded their medium pair when the opponent went all-in on the river, when they can’t tell me the size of the pot, the size of the bet, the exact cards on the board, nor even which pair they held.

As a reader of this magazine, however, you are much more sophisticated in your understanding of the game than that. That being said, I suspect many of you still want specific answers to many questions. You want to know whether you should fold, call, or raise in early position when holding A-10 suited. The truth is, all three options are potentially correct. Which one you should choose depends upon a variety of other details.

This is why I am not a fan of teaching students by use of charts that tell them what to do. It is too likely the student will only memorize the chart, and then NOT put in the effort to learn how to weigh all the other variables. You need to consider stack sizes, the general nature of the table (loose or tight, passive or aggressive, sticky, tricky, straightforward, etc.), the specific nature of the big blind, small blind, and button, any tells you have spotted from players who have already looked at their cards, what stage (if you’re in a tournament), and much, much more.

Because of the endless variables, no two hands are ever completely the same. And if all the facts are not the same, then it is possible the best decision is not the same. Therefore, I prefer to teach concepts to my students, not charts. I want them to understand as many of the potential variables as possible, and to always pay attention at the table, so they can pick up as much information as possible. In this way, they can consider all this extra information, and only then determine their best choice.

None of this is ground-breaking advice. Yet there are many players who are always looking for the shortcuts, the quick and easy-to-apply advice, so they can play a winning game without putting in all the effort actually required. I could create a series of charts telling you what hands to play and how to play them for each position if it is folded to you preflop. I could then create a second series of charts telling you what to do when there is a raise in front, or a call, and so on. I could then provide you with some simplified advice as to how to play each type of flop, considering your relative position to opponents, who put in the last raise, stack sizes, etc. And if I do a decent job creating these charts, and you do a good job of memorizing them, you would be able to play a game that is, well, not bad.

While learning like this would guarantee that you never played horribly, it would also guarantee that you would never become a truly strong, winning player. You would be stuck at a very mediocre skill level. If this is all you want, then learn this way. However, if you want to eventually become a great player, then you need to dig into all the details of the game, study a lot, practice a lot, and put in the time and effort away from the table.

There is no shortcut to greatness. If there were, we would all be great. If you wish to play casually, just for fun, that is great. Poker is a fun hobby. If you want more, you can do so, but only by putting in the time and effort. It depends, for each decision you face. If you want to be great, it will always depend on you. ♠

This is the way we should all behave, and if we do, the games will be more profitable, and better yet, more fun for everyone. If you’re not having fun, why are you even playing? That should be reason number one for each of us. So, let’s get out there, be nice, win more money, and have more fun!

Greg Raymer is the 2004 World Series of Poker main event champion, winner of numerous major titles, and has more than $7 million in earnings. He recently authored FossilMan’s Winning Tournament Strategies, available from D&B Publishing, Amazon, and other retailers. He is sponsored by Blue Shark Optics, YouStake, and ShareMyPair. To contact Greg please tweet @FossilMan or visit his website.

Alex Foxen has won the 2019 World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic $10,400 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event at Bellagio. The 28-year-old poker pro from Cold Spring Harbor, NY earned $1,694,995 for defeating a record-setting field of 1,035 total entries in this event, which was up from a previous high of 1,001 entries in 2018. Incredibly, Foxen had finished as the runner-up in this same tournament in 2017. He managed to battle his way back to heads-up play just two years later, and this time around emerged victorious with his first WPT main event title.

“It’s surreal – it’s kind of hard to put into words,” Foxen told WPT reporters after coming out on top. “It feels amazing. The last time I got to this spot I was a little bit disappointed in how I played heads-up. It’s just incredible to get the opportunity again and be fortunate enough to pull out the win.”

“Winning the WPT trophy in this event particularly is definitely the biggest thing to me. It’s the most significant tournament win to me so far. It’s awesome,” Foxen continued. “[The] WPT is probably the most prestigious tour besides the WSOP, and it just feels amazing to win this one because it’s just one of the biggest, toughest ones.”

In addition to the title and the money, Foxen was also awarded 2,400 Card Player Player of the Year points for taking down this event. This was his second title and 19th final-table finish of 2019. The huge score, made with just over a week remaining in the year, was enough to see Foxen climb into second place in the 2019 POY race standings, which are sponsored by Global Poker. With 7,134 total points and $5,687,955 in year-to-date earnings, Foxen currently sits just 210 points behind the current leader Stephen Chidwick.

The final day of this event with Foxen sitting in second chip position behind Danny Park with just six players remaining. Foxen was able to win a big hand against Park early on to supplant him atop the leaderboard. He furthered his advantage by scoring the first knockout of the day, with his 9Spade Suit9Club Suit beating out the KClub SuitQSpade Suit of Jonathan Jaffe on a 10Diamond Suit10Club Suit2Spade Suit8Spade SuitJSpade Suit runout. The WPT champion was sent to the rail in sixth place, earning $355,125 for his deep run in this event.

Despite starting the day with the largest stack, World Series of Poker bracelet winner Danny Park was the next to be eliminated. During five-handed action he lost a preflop race with pocket three’s against Toby Joyce’s ace-king to fall to the bottom of the chip counts. Not long after that he got all-in with 10Spade Suit10Club Suit against the AHeart SuitQDiamond Suit of Joyce. Park remainined ahead through the flop and turn, but the QHeart Suit on the river gave Joyce the superior pair and the pot. Park took home $465,780 as the fifth-place finisher.

Four-handed action continued for around ten orbits. Peter Neff had begun the day as the clear short stack, but had managed to stay afloat long enough to secure two pay jumps. Neff’s run came to an end when he shoved all-in from under-the-gun with KDiamond SuitQClub Suit and got looked up by Seth Davies, who had picked up AClub SuitJSpade Suit on the button. The board came down ADiamond Suit9Club Suit7Diamond Suit6Heart Suit8Diamond Suit and Davies hit a pair of aces to eliminate Neff in fourth place ($617,480).

With just three players remaining, Foxen had already begun to pull away from the pack. Following Neff’s elimination, he sat with over 25 million in chips for more than 120 big blinds, while Seth Davies and Toby each had around 35-40 big blinds.

Davies and Joyce managed to find a few double-ups through Foxen, but he still was the clear leader by the time the next knockout took place. Davies got his last chips in with AClub Suit5Club Suit, only to run into the AHeart SuitQHeart Suit of Foxen. Davies was unable to come from behind and was sent to the rail with $827,285. This was the second-largest score of Davies’ career, and it brought his lifetime earnings to $7,693,891.

With that Foxen took more than a 2.5:1 chip lead into heads-up play against Joyce, who was looking to become the first-ever Irish WPT main event champion. He quickly built that advantage to more than 4:1 by the time the final cards were dealt. On the ninth hand of heads-up play, Foxen limped in from the button with AClub SuitJSpade Suit and Joyce checked his option holding JHeart Suit9Club Suit. The flop came down JClub Suit5Spade Suit3Diamond Suit and Joyce checked. Foxen bet 400,000, only to have Joyce check-raise to 1,100,000. Foxen three-bet to 2,000,000 and Joyce made the call. The KClub Suit on the turn prompted Joyce to check. Foxen moved all-in, having Joyce well covered. Joyce made the call, only to find he was in rough shape. The 4Club Suit on the river secured the pot and the title for Foxen. Joyce earned $1,120,040 as the runner-up finisher.

Mikalai Pobal has made poker history on Tuesday in Prague by winning his second main event title. Earlier today, he won the 2019 PokerStars EPT Prague €5,300 EPT Main Event, topping a field of 1,154 entries, and cashing for €1,005,600 ($1,121,053).

In winning the €5,300/$5,895 main event at Casino Atrium Prague, the Belarusian equaled Victoria Coren Mitchell’s two titles.

Bumper Field Sets Up Sweet Victory for Pobal

Before thoughts of a history-making finish materialized, EPT Prague’s main event had to play down to a final table. With the first flight getting underway on Dec. 11, the registration desks collected 391 entries. When the betting stopped, Frenchman Pierre Calamusa led the way with 457,000 chips.

By the end of Day 5, familiar faces such as Bryn Kenney and Dario Sammartino had fallen. That left the path clear for Pobal to make a run at his second EPT main event title. Prior to the Dec. 17 finale, the 2012 EPT Barcelona winner had enjoyed mixed fortunes at the table. At the close of Day 2 he was among the largest stacks.

As the field thinned, however, he never mounted a serious challenge for the chip lead until the tournament’s end.

Pobal Says No Deal as He Makes EPT History

When Day 6 got underway, Pobal found himself fourth out of five players. Despite facing an uphill battle, the cards and past experience were on his side.

Turning things around with four left, Pobal went from 12 big blinds to chip leader in a single level. A successful all-in with Ace-King was followed by two more double ups in a matter of minutes. With that, Pobal was on top, and the big stack, Gaby Livshitz was sent to the rail.

Seemingly unstoppable at this point, Pobal continued to dominate as Brazil’s Ricardo Da Rocha fell by the wayside.

Almost as if he knew victory was inevitable, Pobal rejected a last-minute deal. After running the numbers, Norbert Szecsi wanted more than an ICM split. Not wanting to give up any equity, Pobal stood his ground and went on to take the title in dominant fashion. With Szecsi unable to catch a break, the tournament’s pivotal moment came when a busted straight draw prompted an ill-timed bluff.

After betting his way to the river with 8♦4♠, Szecsi went for broke with the board showing T♥7♦5♠2♥9♦. Without hesitation, Pobal called with T♦7♣, and that signaled the start of Szecsi’s downfall.

EPT Prague Main Event Results:

1. Mikalai Pobal – $1,118,277
2. Norbert Szecsi – $665,985
3. Ricardo Da Rocha – $468,673
4. Gaby Livshitz – $352,275
5. Tomas Paiva – $268,260
6. Luke Marsh – $197,300
7. Laurent Michot – $149,693
8. Dietrich Fast – $106,868
9. Gab Yong Kim – $83,148

In the end, Pobal would pick up pocket kings at the same time his opponent looked down at pocket eights.

The WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Cherokee $1,700 Main Event ended Sunday and Erik Gorman wins the top prize of $260,480. The 43-year-old glassblower from Matthews topped a field of a smooth 1,000 entries to win his first gold ring. He also earned himself a custom Circuit ring and a seat into the 2020 Global Casino Championship.

Gorman came into the final day at the bottom of the counts but quickly turned that around early in the day. He went from 750,000 to 3.2 million in chips in no time, with one of the notable hands being a big double with aces versus the pocket nines of eight-time Circuit champion Kyle Cartwright.

Gorman defeated a worthy heads-up opponent in Hannah Guthrie, who took home $160,978 after booking her first ever WSOP cash and just her fourth one overall. She came into Day 3 as the chip leader and dominated a tough final table with many WSOP champions on it. The hand that turned the tides in Gorman’s favor while heads up was when Guthrie made a flush on a paired board and the two players got their chips in the middle on the turn. Gorman held a pair of sevens, but the dealer completed the board with a third four to give him fours full of sevens to double up.

As it turned out, the very next hand after that ended up being the final one of the tournament. Gorman opened the pot and Guthrie jammed her stack in the middle with ace-three suited. Unfortunately for her, Gorman held ace-queen and flopped a pair of queens to take the lead and eventually lock up the pot.

This win more than doubles Gorman’s lifetime career earnings and brings him just over the $500,000 mark overall. “I’m just happy and excited,” said Gorman. When asked what he will do with the money, Gorman laughed and said, “It has to become a reality first.”

Everyone has a reason for getting into poker, and Gorman’s links back to his family. “Just playing with my grandma at the kitchen table,” he said with a big smile. Based on many of the comments from his loud and supportive rail, this was certainly a long time coming for Gorman. The newly crowned champion has results dating back to 2011, but this is his first six-figure score.

Now that Gorman has gotten the elusive monkey off his back after winning this ring, he would like to win something outside of the scope of No-Limit Hold’em. “I really want a H.O.R.S.E ring, or an Omaha ring. I’d really like to get a non-Hold’em bracelet for sure,” explained Gorman.

The WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Cherokee $1,700 Main Event Results:

Adrian Mateos took down the 2019 PokerStars EPT Prague Event #1: €10,300 No-Limit Hold’em to claim the first-place prize of €177,500. Adrian Mateos came out on top of a field of 61 entries in Event #1: €10,300 No-Limit Hold’em.

Final Table Results of 2019 EPT Prague €10,300 No-Limit Hold’em