Within the RunGood Poker Collection Tulsa $800 Fundamental Occasion, a complete of 517 entrants smashed the preliminary assure, making a $361,900 prize pool. Of these, 63 gamers cashed, every hoping to finish the day with a shiny black ring on their finger. After ten hours of play, just one participant’s dream turned actuality.
Kansas’ Brian Craig began the day in Fifteenth place, holding a modest chip stack. He stayed regular all through the match, step by step constructing his momentum. By the point the ultimate desk started, Craig had climbed to the highest of the leaderboard, setting himself up because the participant to beat. A few hours later, he stood alone because the final participant standing.
“The cash is nice,” Craig mentioned when requested what excited him most about his victory. The Kansas resident is not any stranger to the RGPS circuit, having final-tabled a $400 Deepstack occasion at Council Bluffs simply over a yr in the past. Coming into the match with $75,789 in lifetime earnings, this win practically doubled his complete, giving him a considerable enhance to his poker résumé.
“Persistence was key,” the brand new champion defined when reflecting on his method to the day. “I had stretches the place I received each hand for half-hour, and stretches the place I misplaced each hand for an hour. With all that forwards and backwards, staying affected person was so necessary.”
Craig watched as Mike Travis, the eventual runner-up, eradicated a lot of the closing desk’s gamers. By the point heads-up play started, Craig confronted a frightening 3:1 chip deficit. However over the following hour, he stayed composed and methodically turned the tide, finally claiming the title.
“I’m a match participant and circuit grinder,” Craig shared, describing his poker profession. “I solely play about 10-15 tournaments a yr, so I’m very a lot a semi-professional. Heavy emphasis on the ‘semi.’ However with this rating, I’ll most likely play extra tournaments now.”
Along with the $70,000+ payday, Craig additionally earned the primary free seat to the 2025 RGPS $300 Dream Seat Invitational, set to happen in November. Though that’s nonetheless months away, Craig plans to take a while to get pleasure from his victory earlier than deciding on his subsequent poker cease.
Last Desk Outcomes
Day 2 Motion
Six gamers who had received RGPS Fundamental Occasions got here into the day, 4 of them coming from this on line casino. 2022 Tulsa champion Pete Petree (61st-$1,303) was the primary to be eradicated of these six, and he was joined on the rail with important different regulars like Forrest Kollar (63rd-$1,303), Trevor Lewis (57th-$1,303), Hunter Cichy (Forty ninth-$1,448), St. Louis Champion Iman Al-Saden (Forty third-$1,629), and Kansas Metropolis Champion William McCracken (Forty first-$1,629). After just a few extra eliminations, it was down to only 26 gamers for the redraw.
Seth Wright (Twenty sixth-$2,171) and Chris Willis (Twenty fifth-$2,171) noticed their brief stacks unable to spin. Devin Arnone (Twenty fourth-$2,569) noticed his queens cracked by Greg Henry’s jacks, and RGPS Tulsa Deepstack champion Michael Perrone’s (Twenty third-$2,569) aces fell to Ryan Anderson’s ace-king. A flurry of eliminations noticed Jon Braker (Twenty second-$2,569), Andrew Todhunter (Twenty first-$2,569), and WSOPC Hammond Fundamental champion Brant Jolly (Twentieth-$3,076) all fall. After that it was Jeremy Radebaugh’s (Nineteenth-$3,076) ace-queen that couldn’t enhance towards Mike Travis’ kings.
With two tables left, Kiet Tran’s (18th-$3,076) day got here to a detailed, with Wesley Jones (Seventeenth-$3,076) following him out the door after shedding a flip to Tyler Barnes. RGPS Ambassador Bounty Champion Seth Hargrove (Sixteenth-$3,691) who couldn’t beat Ha Tran’s kings. Rachel Sawyer (Fifteenth-$3,691) would lose a flip to Josh Wyatt and be ousted the following hand, whereas on the different desk, 2018 Tulsa champion Byron Abernathy (14th-$4,524) bought in his brief stack towards Brian Craig. Ashley “PokerFaceAsh” Frank (13rd-$4,524) noticed her high pair get cracked by Travis’ set, however she walked over to register the ultimate match of the sequence and got here in third place for 2 scores in at some point. Kevin Elwood (Twelfth-$5,609) can be subsequent to go, adopted by 2024 RGPS Tulsa Fundamental Occasion champion Todd Tucker (Eleventh-$5,609) who’s king-jack wouldn’t beat Travis’ ace-queen.
The ultimate elimination earlier than the ultimate desk got here courtesy of a cooler between Rosmel Munoz, who flopped a set of fours towards James Stone’s (OK) high set of tens. Each gamers bought their cash in on the flip, and no assist can be delivered to Munoz, who collected $7,021 for his end.
Last Desk Motion
The primary two all in confrontations on the closing desk, noticed the brief stack double as Josh Wyatt’s ace-seven cracked stones kings with a flush and Michael Cantrelli’s set of sixes crammed up on Anderson’s flopped nut-straight. After that it appeared the eliminations can be gradual, however the floodgates opened shortly after.
First it was Greg Henry who moved in his final chips holding pocket queens, solely to seek out that Wyatt held a pair of aces. No assist got here on any road and Henry turned the primary casualty, ending in ninth place for $7,021.
Ha Tran started the ultimate desk because the second largest stack behind Craig, however an enormous cooler noticed Wyatt’s nut straight take virtually all of Tran’s chips as Wyatt overtook the chip lead. After that it was Tran’s ace-four that couldn’t enhance towards Craig’s ace-king and he ended his run in eighth place for $8,867.
After that it was Stone who would collide with Travis and the tone can be set for the remainder of the ultimate desk. Stone would four-bet jam his sizable stack with ace-five towards Travis’ aces and Travis ascended into a large lead whereas Stone collected $11,400 for his seventh place end.
Just one former Fundamental Occasion champion remained on the closing desk and Tyler Barnes’ second RGPS closing desk look got here to an finish in sixth place. He moved in with king-queen towards Travis’ ace-eight and the flop contained an ace and an eight to go away the 2023 RGPS Tulsa Fundamental Occasion champion to gather $14,766 for his deep run.
Anderson’s run would come to an finish in fifth place. After the massive pot originally of the ultimate desk towards Cantrelli, Anderson fell to the shortest stack and remained there for a lot of the closing desk. He would jam his final chips in with six-five which flopped the second pair. Travis would flop high pair with ace-seven in the identical hand and he would maintain so as to add to his chip lead as Anderson collected $19,362 for his efforts.
Travis can be the executioner once more when he would flop high pair with ace-seven and name Cantrelli when he moved all in with ace-jack and no pair. The board ran out with no assist and regardless of beginning the day because the third shortest stack, he would outlast virtually the entire gamers left and gather $25,695 for his fourth place end.
One other participant would fall to Travis’ domination as he would name within the small blind with ace-king towards Wyatt who would transfer all in for his final ace-two and Travis would name. No assist can be delivered to the ace-two and Travis would take a 3:1 lead into heads up play whereas Wyatt would end his match in third place for $34,453.
The lead in heads up between Craig and Travis would change when Craig would wager two streets after which transfer all in on the river in an enormous pot the place Travis held ace-king, unconnected from the eight-high board. After some tanking, Travis would fold and Craig would take over the lead.
Yet another hand would decide heads up play as Travis would elevate flop and jam flip with backside pair holding six-two, just for Craig to have flopped three fours with four-three and his name would lock up the match and go away Travis accumulating $46,757 for his runner-up end.
