Eric Bunch has done it again at Hard Rock Tulsa as he outlasted a field of 341 entries to win the RunGood Poker Series Golden Expedition Hard Rock Tulsa $800 Main Event. Bunch earned $50,173 for his first-place finish as well as the coveted RunGood ring. He took the largest share of the $238,700 prize pool, becoming the newest RGPS champion.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Bunch | United States | $50,173 |
| 2 | Rachel Rodgers | United States | $33,442 |
| 3 | Jonathan Bennett | United States | $24,538 |
| 4 | Craig Leopard | United States | $18,237 |
| 5 | Joshua Brower | United States | $13,725 |
| 6 | Talon Voight | United States | $10,455 |
| 7 | Drew Gonzalez | United States | $8,092 |
| 8 | Hanunyah Fish | United States | $6,326 |
| 9 | Eldon Penn | United States | $5,013 |
Bunch has won a bunch in Tulsa, including an RGPS main event title in 2024. This is Bunch’s fifth RunGood ring of his career and pushes his total live career earnings at RunGood events just shy of $200,000.
The stoic Bunch shared with PokerNews his thoughts following his victory.
“It feels great. It was a really tough final table,” Bunch said. “Rachel (Rodgers) was tough heads-up, so I’m just happy to be able to finish it out.”
Despite Bunch’s pedigree, his title run was far from a foregone conclusion. Bunch entered the final table as the chip leader after dispatching Daniel “Donk” Hughes at the unofficial final table in 10th place.
But Bunch would encounter some stormy weather when Joshua Brower proved to be a turbulent opponent when Brower shoved on the river and folded out Bunch, winning a big pot off Bunch in the process.
Rachel Rodgers was the next to knock Brunch down the standings when she took a healthy pot off the future champion.
Rogers would go on a strong run that set her up to make a deep run following her win over Bunch when she knocked out Hanunyah Fish in eighth place and Drew “BetOnDrew” Gonzalez in seventh place.
Bunch would rejuvenate his stack when he eliminated Talon Voight in sixth place, but he hit a lull that saw Bunch enter the final four as third in chips.
Rogers scored her third knockout of the final table when she eliminated Craig Leopard, but Bunch was not far behind with three remaining in the tournament.
Bunch appeared on his way to ascending back up the chip counts, but he encountered more adversity when Jonathan Bennet doubled through Bunch, creating a logjam at the bottom with Rodgers perched atop the standings.
Bunch sank even lower when Rodgers had him out-pipped at showdown, but Bunch exhibited his champion resiliency when he battled back to close the gap between him and Rodgers just ten minutes later.
Bunch dispatched of Bennett in third place as Bunch positioned himself as the chip leader when he entered his battle with Rodgers for the title heads-up.
Rodgers, however, landed the first significant blow of the bout when she took just over a three-to-one chip lead just minutes into their heads-up match.
Bunch kept grinding as he slowly but surely battled back in a heads-up match. Bunch landed a significant pot when he won a bidding war against Rodgers. That proved to be a major schism in the match as Bunch leaned on Rodgers until he eliminated her in second place.
Bunch commented on enduring the ups and downs of a tough final table.
“Just tried to play my best poker in every spot I can,” Bunch said. “I told myself not to crumble, and it worked out.”
This concludes the PokerNews coverage of the RunGood Poker Series Golden Expedition Hard Rock Tulsa $800 Main Event. Check back with PokerNews for poker coverage all over the world.