Jonathan Tamayo triumphed in the World Series of Poker’s (WSOP) Main Event on Wednesday, earning the $10 million cash prize, a gold bracelet, and endless bragging rights.
The 38-year-old poker professional from Humble, Texas defeated Jordan Griff — a 30-year-old amateur from Scottsdale, Arizona — following over three hours of heads-up competition at the Horseshoe Las Vegas.
Griff started the day as the chip leader, but in the final hand of 65, all the chips went in when Tamayo flopped two pair against Griff’s top pair, securing a Chris Moneymaker-level dream win from the data and analytics supply chain manager.
However, $6 million for the runner-up isn't too bad.
Prior to his victory, Tamayo had earned $2.3 million in live tournament winnings and slightly more than $1 million from online competitions. The nearest he had gotten to winning the Main Event before was in 2009, where he finished in 21st place and took home $352,832.
Sweden's Niklas Astedt — the online poker professional recognized as Lena900 — entered Day 10 with the highest stack and the least favorable odds of victory. However, due to the game's unpredictable nature, he was knocked out in under an hour, having top pair and a straight draw against Griff's set of nines.
He departed with $4 million.
The $10K WSOP Main Event drew a historic 10,112 participants, exceeding last year's record of 10,043.