The Arizona State Poker Championship celebrated its 20th Anniversary, and it did not disappoint. A massive field of 4,018 players made their way to the Talking Stick Resort over the past week to crown the newest poker champion of Arizona. After four starting flights and an additional three days of battle, a winner was finally been crowned.
Evan Sandberg stood alone with all the chips once the dust settled, taking home the first-place prize of $627,050 after beating Jared Rogers heads-up. It was a new career high score for the Bay Area-born, Vegas-based poker professional who let his emotions pour out once the last card was dealt in what was a deeply significant victory.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evan Sandberg | United States | $627,050 |
| 2 | Jared Rogers | United States | $369,937 |
| 3 | Brandon Conrad | United States | $224,804 |
| 4 | John Riordan | United States | $140,214 |
| 5 | Sergio Segura | United States | $91,498 |
| 6 | Moussa Haddad | United States | $63,495 |
| 7 | Jonathan Roeder | United States | $47,133 |
| 8 | Hill Kerby | United States | $37,143 |
| 9 | Ronnie Bardah | United States | $30,566 |
| 10 | John Phan | United States | $25,801 |
Winner’s Reaction
“I can’t believe it,” were the first words to come from Sandberg after the victory.
While at the table, Sandberg played with a focused intensity and never showed any emotions. However, it was clear just how much the victory meant to him after the reality of the title set in for him.
“I just love playing so much,” he added. “To be able to close out this big of a score, it feels amazing.
The champ explained how he never seemed to be able to close in the biggest spots. Despite having over $2.5 million in live tournament earnings and some notable titles under his belt, Sandberg still felt that he was missing a career-defining moment, until today.
“The times I’ve gone deep in tournaments that have this kind of money up top, I’ve fallen short in a lot of them.”
“It feels like getting a monkey off my back and I’m incredibly grateful.”
Sandberg was the chipleader to begin Day 4, but he endured a rocky start to the day but his years of experience allowed him to improve his mental game.
“If you’re not mentally prepared for these types of swings, it’s not gonna work,” Sandberg elaborated, “At a final table, anything can happen.”
“It’s important, especially in such a big spot, to keep a level head if things don’t go my way. It’s really important to me to be resilient. Something I value a lot is playing my best when things aren’t going well.”
During four-handed play, Sandberg was the shortest stack at one point. He found himself under ten big blinds and was all in with ace-deuce suited against pocket nines. The board ran out fours full of tens to chop the pot, and Sandberg began his rise up the counts riding the momentum of the fortunate runout.
The champ gave a shoutout to his friends and family back home, and explained how their constant support has allowed him grow into the player that he has become.
Day 4 Action
Ten players returned for the final table this morning with Sandberg holding a small chip lead. With significant pay jumps each elimination, the tension in the room was palpable from the first shuffle.
In the first hour of play, it was the two Los Angeles-based pros who were the first to hit the rail after John Phan and Ronnie Bardah were eliminated in tenth and ninth, respectively.
After a card-dead stretch for Hill Kerby, he become short stacked before ultimately exiting in eighth when his king-eight was bested on the river by Brandon Conrad’s jack-three. Jonathan Roeder followed Kerby to the rail shortly thereafter when he ran his ace-queen into pocket kings.
Local favorite Moussa Haddad had the support of a nearly 30-person rail, but they were unable to encourage him any further that sixth place after his ace-deuce lost against Brandon Conrad’s jack-deuce in what was a brutal exit.
Conrad continued his bounty hunting after taking out Sergio Segura in fifth. In a chip lead pot, Conrad rivered a set of tens against the pocket kings of Segura, giving him nearly half the chips in play to begin four-handed play.
The next to fall would be John Riordan. He was never able to get much momentum the entire day, but he successfully laddered to a six-figure result. He blinded down to a short stack before eventually being eliminated in fourth, once again at the hands of Conrad.
Three-handed play was an extremely cagey affair with over $400,000 separating first and third place. Sandberg, Rogers, and Brandon Conrad all took turns as the short stack and the chip lead before a massive flip broke the deadlock. Conrad held pocket fives against the ace-king of Sandberg in the most pivotal hand of the day, and Sandberg would river a broadway straight to eliminate Conrad in third and take a sizeable advantage into the heads-up match.
Rogers struggled to find any momentum during the match, and once the blinds increased again he found himself under ten big blinds. He finally drew a line in the sand and called off his stack with nine-six suited against the jack-eight suited of Sandberg, who made a full house to end Rogers’ run in second.
The two players shared a hug and a sporting handshake after both securing a life-changing score, and Sandberg was finally able to celebrate a job well done.
