The 20th Annual Arizona State Poker Championship Starts in August

A major poker tournament is heading to the Phoenix area in a couple of weeks.

The 20th annual Arizona State Poker Championship, the biggest event in the state each year, kicks off Aug. 13 at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale. This year’s $1,100 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament will have a $3,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.

Doing it Big for the 20th

Talking Stick, the top card room in Arizona, is doing it up for the milestone championship event. PokerNews will be on-site providing exclusive live reporting of the action from start until a winner is crowned on Aug. 19, along with digital media and social media posts.

We’ll keep you updated throughout the tournament with the biggest hands, eliminations, and action that takes place inside Talking Stick. Day 1a starts at 10:15 a.m. local time on Aug. 13, and additional opening flights will run once per day for the following three days. Day 2 is scheduled for Aug. 17, with Day 3 on Aug. 18 and the final table on Aug. 19.

Players will receive 20,000 chips to start, but can add on another 20,000 for $30, which goes to the tournament staff. There are already some $140 Milestone Satellites running inside the poker room, and plenty more opportunities to get into the Arizona State Poker Championship will be available in August leading up to the tournament.

The defending champion in this event is Brandon Mitchell, who took it down last summer for $525,700, beating out 3,546 runners to earn the largest cash of his poker career. Mitchell, a local pro, defeated David Levy heads-up for the title.

Mitchell closed out the victory with middle pair holding up on the flop against king-high. His celebration was priceless, and he expressed gratitude for his family being there on his rail to support him at the final table. His wife was on a trip in Oregon, but he immediately FaceTimed her during his postgame interview.

Mitchell will have an opportunity to defend his title in a couple weeks. Carl Carodenuto won this tournament in 2024 for $313,078, which like Mitchell is still the biggest win of his career.