The RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) has built on a friendly, inviting atmosphere that makes for a great festival for casual and recreational players. But there are a handful of poker crushers who have made the award-winning tour their bread and butter.
That includes all-time tour ring and money leader Daniel Lowery, as well as Missouri crusher Blair Hinkle and Tennessee end-boss Preston McEwen.
As the RunGood team wraps up the $400 PokerNews Cup at Thunder Valley Casino Resort, take a look at five RGPS crushers who you should keep track of, and you can do so using the PokerNews MyPlayers feed.
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Daniel Lowery
If there is a player name that is synonymous with RunGood, it is Daniel Lowery. The Arkansas all-time money leader and sawmill owner has more than a dozen RGPS rings to his name, including several Main Event titles, and occupies the tour’s top money spot with $562,795 in tour earnings.
In April 2025, Lowery toppled a field of 496 players in the RGPS Joplin Main Event to win $71,398. A year later, he topped that by winning the RGPS Passport Season Dallas Main Event for $100,007.
This isn’t the only tour that Lowery dominates. He has 20 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit rings, sitting only behind Maurice Hawkins on the all-time ring list. All together, Lowery has just under $4.2 million in Hendon Mob earnings.
Daniel Lowery’s RunGood Victories
| Date | Event | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | $300 No Limit Hold’em – 40-40-40 (Trophy Event #8) | $12,466 |
| March 2026 | $1,200 No Limit Hold’em – RGPS Main Event | $100,007 |
| March 2026 | $400 Big O Ring Event | $8,076 |
| April 2025 | $800 No Limit Hold’em – Main Event Ring Event | $71,398 |
| October 2023 | $300 Big O – Five Card Pot Limit Omaha 8 or Better Ring Event | $4,250 |
| September 2023 | $300 + 100 No Limit Hold’em – Bounty Ring Event | $3,292 |
| November 2019 | $180 No Limit Hold’em – RG DeepStack | $15,492 |
| August 2019 | $135 No Limit Hold’em – RG Pro Bounty | $9,752 |
| November 2018 | $100 No Limit Hold’em – Jack and Jill | $605 |
| April 2018 | $100 Pot Limit Omaha | $3,791 |
| August 2017 | $135 No Limit Hold’em – RG Pro Bounty | $6,174 |
| May 2016 | $125 No Limit Hold’em | $3,584 |
| February 2015 | $330 No Limit Hold’em | $9,591 |
Preston McEwen
Another prolific ring collector is Preston McEwen. McEwen, who sits sixth on Tennessee’s all-time money list with $2.9 million in live earnings, has won 11 RGPS rings and $195,673 in tour earnings since 2018.
McEwen’s biggest RunGood victory came in November 2024 when he won the 2024 RGPS Rungood Resort Tunica Main Event for $57,206 as he defeated a stacked final table that included Jonathan Turner and runner-up John Holley.
The Memphis native also has 11 WSOP Circuit rings to his name, putting him in an elite class of players that includes Roland Israelashvili, Corey Paggeot and Michael Lavin.
Preston McEwen’s RunGood Victories
| Date | Event | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | $200 No Limit Hold’em – Opening Night Guest Bounty Ring Event | $6,791 |
| March 2025 | $300 + 100 No Limit Hold’em – Bounty | $5,708 |
| March 2025 | $300 No Limit Hold’em – One Day Ring Event | $9,347 |
| November 2024 | $300 Pot Limit Omaha – Ring Event | $5,085 |
| November 2024 | $600 No Limit Hold’em – RunGood Main Event | $58,143 |
| September 2024 | $100 No Limit Hold’em – Flip & Go Ring Event | $6,811 |
| March 2024 | $300 Pot Limit Omaha – Ring Event | $7,383 |
| April 2023 | $250 No Limit Hold’em – DeepStack Ring Event | $15,629 |
| March 2020 | $165 No Limit Hold’em – Series Closer | $3,359 |
| March 2019 | $100 No Limit Hold’em – RG Turbo | $1,756 |
| April 2018 | $150 No Limit Hold’em | $4,216 |
Tyler Patterson
Though Las Vegas poker pro Tyler Patterson only has two RunGood titles to his name, he made them count.
Patterson, who has $477,431 in tour earnings to sit second on the tour’s all-time money list, took down the 2023 $2,500 RGPS Checkpoint Season Finale for $200,422, which was the biggest RunGood prize to date. One year earlier, Patterson had finished runner-up in the same event for $156,845.
Patterson, who has $4.2 million in total live earnings, won his second RunGood title in 2025, and this victory again took place at Thunder Valley. He won the $1,100 RunGood to the Moon event for $60,185.
Tyler Patterson’s RunGood Victories
| Date | Event | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| November 2025 | $1,100 No Limit Hold’em – Rungood to the Moon (Ring Event #1) | $60,185 |
| July 2023 | $2,500 No Limit Hold’em – RunGood Poker Series Checkpoint Main Event (Event #15) | $200,422 |
Blair Hinkle
With four Main Event titles, Missouri’s Blair Hinkle is a force to be reckoned with on the RunGood circuit.
Hinkle sits third on the tour’s all-time money list with $439,842 in earnings, a bulk of which came in May 2024 when he took down the RGPS Kansas City $1,000 Main Event for $92,228.
Hinkle’s other Main Event victories include the 2019 RGPS Oklahoma City $575 Main Event for $35,985 and the $675 RGPS Showbound Tulsa Main Event the same year for $44,012.
Hinkle has also had success away from the RunGood tour, racking up $5.6 million in live earnings to sit second on the Missouri all-time money list.
Blair Hinkle’s RunGood Victories
| Date | Event | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | $400 No Limit Hold’em – PokerNews PowerStack Ring Event | $20,842 |
| May 2024 | $970 + 140 No Limit Hold’em – RunGood Main Event | $92,228 |
| November 2019 | $340 No Limit Hold’em – Allure of the Seas Main Event | $14,597 |
| August 2019 | $575 No Limit Hold’em – RG Main Event | $35,985 |
| May 2019 | $675 No Limit Hold’em – RG Main Event | $44,012 |
Brian Winter
A newer face on the RunGood circuit is Brian Winter. The poker pro with $251,229 in tour earnings won his first RunGood event in February 2022, and he went on a tear soon after that saw him winning 2023-24 RGPS Player of the Year.
Among Winter’s victories are a 2024 $660 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Max event for $16,228 and a 2023 $200 No-Limit Hold’em event for $16,760.
Also in 2023, Winter finished runner-up in the RGPS Tunica $600 Main Event for a career-best $41,894.
Brian Winter’s RunGood Victories
| Date | Event | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| March 2024 | $660 No Limit Hold’em – 6-Max (Event #7) | $16,228 |
| October 2023 | $300 Pot Limit Omaha Ring Event | $6,421 |
| October 2023 | $100 No Limit Hold’em – Flip and Go Ring Event | $3,576 |
| September 2023 | $300 No Limit Hold’em – One Day Ring Event | $10,684 |
| September 2023 | $160 No Limit Hold’em – Turbo Ring Event | $4,319 |
| August 2023 | $300 No Limit Hold’em – Ring Event | $11,175 |
| January 2023 | $200 + 50 No Limit Hold’em – Deepstack Ring Event | $16,760 |
| October 2022 | $200 No Limit Hold’em – Opening Night Guest Bounty Ring Event | $6,172 |
| February 2022 | $135 Opening Night Guest Bounty Event | $5,872 |
Connor Richards
Senior Editor U.S.