It took little over thirteen hours on the final day, but eventually Iman Alsaden emerged triumphant in the RunGood Poker Series $800 Main Event at Hollywood Casino in St. Louis, MO.
After four opening flights, the total field of 586 combined on Day 2 where just 71 players returned. Alsaden started the day with a sub-20 big blind stack but eventually came out on top, defeating Day 1b chip leader Michael Chilton heads-up and being crowned champion. They take home $77,192 and the coveted RGPS ring in the process, and making it their biggest career score.
RunGood Poker Series $800 Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iman Alsaden | Kansas City, MO | $77,192 |
| 2 | Michael Chilton | Paduca, MS | $51,548 |
| 3 | Phil Youngclaus | St. Louis, MO | $37,915 |
| 4 | Jeff Riebeling | Columbia, IL | $28,252 |
| 5 | Paul Fehlig | St. Louis, MO | $21,292 |
| 6 | Chris Audrain | St. Louis, MO | $16,233 |
| 7 | Mike Hurley | St. Louis, MO | $12,521 |
| 8 | Brian Jones | St. Louis, MO | $9,773 |
| 9 | Jesse Watson | Canton, IL | $7,719 |
The combination of RGPS and the month of May have been stellar for Alsaden, as their best cash prior to today’s was a sixth-place finish in the RGPS Kansas City Main Event, one year ago, where they pocketed $19k for the effort. Their victory here more than doubles their lifetime earnings, according to The Hendon Mob.
“It’s been a steady climb,” said Alsaden when talking about the trajectory of their poker tournament career up to this point. “I used to be a big cash game player, but then I went to Vegas for my birthday in 2022 during the World Series and I was like, I’m going to play some of these tournaments.” But things didn’t exactly go according to plan. “I did so bad!” Said Alsaden, but that would only fuel the fire. “I’m very averse to doing bad, so I said to myself, I’m going to learn tournaments.” And if you watched Alsaden’s performance at the final table this evening, it would be obvious to anyone it was that exact passion and determination that would power them through a grueling heads-up battle and overcome multiple big chip deficits to take the crown.
Alsaden’s plans for the summer include another stop at the WSOP where the goal is to simply have fun. “I’ll probably play the main and sell action to my friends for no mark-up, and just have a good time and hope for some more good luck.”
Final Day Action
Considering players were already in the money at the start of Day 2, tables broke down fast and often as the shorter stacks tried to make up ground. The field was nearly cut in half by the first break.
Falling throughout the day were last year’s champ, Keith Heine (50th-$1,619), former Day 1a big stacks Jason Aken (44th-$1,829), and Kenny Allen (24-$2,852), RGPS Black Chip Bounty Champ, Keith Murrell (18th-$3,394), and young guns Alvin Lewis (32nd-$2,428), and Jackson Turrentine (10th-$7,719). Turrentine would unfortunately be eliminated on the final table bubble when his pocket tens were out flopped by the K♥J♣ of chip leader Chilton.
Final Table Action
The nine-handed final table fell to eight almost immediately when Jesse Watsonlost a flip against Phil Youngclaus, but it then took another two levels before another player hit the rail.
Brian Jones was the first player to cross the 1m chip mark early on but would come into the final table in the middle of the pack. Eventually, after chipping down against Paul Fehlig he was eliminated in eighth place after his ace-king was outdrawn by the ace-queen of Jeff Riebeling.
Mike Hurley was another player that came in with average stack hoping to make a move sooner than later, but lost out against Chilteon straight over straight and would be the seventh-place finisher a few hands later when his kings were cracked by Alsaden. However, he would take home over $12k for the finish, his largest career cash.
It would be a frustrating final table for Chris Audrain, who bagged the overall chip lead heading into Day 2, but just couldn’t find his footing late in the day. He found himself with aggressive opponents on his left, and was forced to raise-fold to a number of three-bets and reshoves. Audrain’s day would end when he was pipped with ace-seven against the ace-nine of Alsaden.
With nearly $1m in career tournament earnings, Fehlig is no stranger to the pressure of final tables. He was able to apply it to the max to build a sizeable stack, and at one point, even doubling through Jones, but would give a lot of it back in a misfired bluff against Chilton. He would hit the rail in fifth-place when his pocket sevens failed to hold against Riebeling.
Riebling then hit the rail at the hands of Chilton, before Youngclaus — who had survived since the earlier elimination of Watson — was eliminated. It was yet another elimination for Alsaden, giving them a 2:1 chip lead over Chilton.
Despite the chip lead, heads-up was a grueling battle lasting over three hours and would see both players trade the lead. At one point, they even took half a level to discuss the, but when no deal could be reached, they played on.
Things would come to a head when Chilton called off a three-bet jam with queen-ten against the ace-five of Alsaden. Alsaden’s hand held and they were crowned champion.
This concludes the PokerNews coverage of the RGPS St. Louis Main Event. Check out our event hub for all of the action, and look out for coverage of major events elsewhere around the poker world.