Tyler Payne of Fayetteville, North Carolina beat Raymond Leone heads-up to win the $2,000 Main Event in the 2022 Winter Open at bestbet Jacksonville. The culminating event of the popular winter series attracted 387 runners to generate a $692,730 prize pool, from which Payne claimed $140,058 for the win.
It was the biggest score of Payne’s poker career and the win brought his career earnings to just shy of $400,000. Leone finished in second for $96,369, and Adam Wells was the bronze medalist after staying out of the way for most of the afternoon to ladder up to a $68,574 payday.
2022 Winter Open $2,000 Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyler Payne | Fayetteville, North Carolina | $140,058 |
| 2 | Raymond Leone | Charleston, South Carolina | $96,369 |
| 3 | Adam Wells | Tallahassee, Florida | $68,574 |
| 4 | Ryan Hohner | South Plainfield, New Jersey | $50,986 |
| 5 | Gavin Munroe | Montgomery, Alabama | $38,383 |
| 6 | David Dibernardi | Youngstown, Ohio | $29,292 |
| 7 | Matt Mauldin | Columbia, South Carolina | $22,595 |
| 8 | Warren Sheaves | Asheville, North Carolina | $17,673 |
Winner’s Reaction
Payne began playing poker around the age of 18, and he quickly discovered the range of skills required to be successful. He studied early and often, looking for ways to master the game.
But the lion’s share of credit, he says, goes to his wife and young son. Payne’s son turns two years old in just a few days, and he’s excited to get home and share the win with his family.
“If support won these tournaments, I would have a lot more,” Payne said in his post-win interview. “They’re my biggest fans.”
The champ will spend some time enjoying the win, but he’s just as excited to get back to the felt with his newly minted bankroll.
“I’ll be at the WSOP this Summer,” he says about his near-future.
As for the WSOP Main Event?
“It’s more than likely at this point.”
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Final Table Highlights
Payne fell behind early, but quickly chipped back into the lead when he spiked the river for a full house and left Gavin Munroe with crumbs. Munroe turned it around right away with a double through Warren Sheaves that left Sheaves on the ropes.
It wasn’t long before Sheaves hit the rail in eighth place after he ran his king-ten into the pocket queens of Payne.
The eliminations picked up at a brisk pace, and Matt Mauldin was out next when he couldn’t improve his suited queen-nine against Payne’s ace-queen. David Dibernardi was happy to see two players eliminated before him, and he quickly found a double through Munroe before Wells left him on the ropes. Dibernardi was finally eliminated in sixth place when he shoved with king-six and got called by Well’s ace-seven.
Munroe found his spot with ace-jack, but he was out in fifth place when Payne woke up with pocket nines and Munroe couldn’t hit his overcards. Payne continued his torrid streak of eliminated with Ryan Hohner, who hit the rail in fourth when his king-jack couldn’t catch up to pocket sixes.
Wells was the remaining short stack, and it wasn’t long before he found a chance to shove with ace-queen. Unfortunately, Payne had ace-king, and the champ’s streak of successful run outs continued as Wells hit the payout window in third place.
It was down to Leone and Payne, and Payne held the lead thanks to his string of knockouts. Heads-up play continued for nearly a level, but the big moment came when Leone bluff-shoved with king-jack and sent Payne into the tank. After several minutes, Payne looked up Leone with a pair of aces and sealed the tournament victory. It was a fast final table that wrapped up play in just three hours.
The conclusion of the Main Event officially wraps up a very successful 2022 Winter Open at bestbet Jacksonville. Here are the results from the other 10 events:
2022 Winter Open Results
| Event | Entries | Winner | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $560 NLH | 740 | Daniel Kusnerak | Newton, North Carolina | $62,223 |
| Event #2: $260 H.O.R.S.E. | 80 | Neill McNeill | Charlotte, North Carolina | $1,127* |
| Event #3: $360 NLH w/ $100 Bounties | 228 | Lisa Buck | Orange Park, Florida | $6,794* |
| Event #4: $160 NLH | 179 | Mark Marcellus | Jacksonville, Florida | $5,338 |
| Event #5: $360 Monster Stack | 238 | Casey Jarzabek | Thorold, Ontario, Canada | $13,324 |
| Event #6: $260 NLH Turbo w/ $50 Bounties | 94 | Jarrod Stokes | Lake City, Florida | $3,146* |
| Event #7: $320 NLH Ladies Event | 64 | Aja Owens | St. Augustine, Florida | $3,009* |
| Event #8: $1,000 NLH | 163 | Tony Boas | Jacksonville, Florida | $34,304 |
| Event #9: $360 Pot-Limit Omaha | 63 | Daquon Wilson | Charleston, South Carolina | $5,150* |
| Event #10: The bestbet 500 | 200 | Michael Jagroo | Orlando, Florida | $20,035 |
| *- Denotes chop deal |
Congratulations to Tyler Payne for his victory in the $2,000 Main Event of the 2022 Winter Open at bestbet Jacksonville!
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Live Reporting Executive
Las Vegas-based PokerNews Live Reporting Executive, originally from Chicago, IL