Brandon Mitchell Wins Arizona State Poker Championship for $525,700
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Brandon Mitchell beat a record-setting field to win life-changing money in the 2025 Arizona State Poker Championship, and those who bought some of the champ's action on StakeKings also won big.
The $1,100 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, an upscale Phoenix suburb, attracted 3,546 players. A former police officer took it down for $525,700 by effectively protecting and defending his chip stack.
Mitchell for the Win
Mitchell, competing in his home state, overcame a deep deficit to secure a career-best score. He was one of six players who booked a six-figure win in Arizona's biggest poker tournament of the year.
Mark Evangelista was first out the door at the final table (ninth place for ($52,600). James Pausch was next to go (eighth place for $65,800), followed by Senh Cong (seventh place for $78,900). All remaining players were guaranteed a six-figure score.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandon Mitchell | $525,700 |
| 2 | David Levy | $310,000 |
| 3 | Nicholas Rogers | $210,500 |
| 4 | Hayley Hanna | $157,900 |
| 5 | Zachary Powers | $131,600 |
| 6 | Christopher Collins | $105,300 |
| 7 | Senh Cong | $78,900 |
| 8 | James Pausch | $65,800 |
| 9 | Mark Evangelista | $52,600 |
David Levy had entered the final table with a massive chip lead, more than twice the chip stack of his closest competitor, Hayley Hanna. The biggest stack would continue to lead the way throughout much of the final table. Christopher Collins went out in sixth place for $105,300, and Zachary Powers busted in fifth place for $131,600.
Hanna, who is engaged to high-stakes legend David Peters, had all of poker X rooting her on. The opinionated poker player didn't win the tournament, but she did finish in fourth place for $157,900, quadrupling her previous live tournament cashes, according to The Hendon Mob.
Nicholas Rogers took third place for $210,500, setting up a match for the title between Mitchell and the chip leader, Levy. That lead didn't last as Mitchell won a monster pot to move into the lead. The new chip leader would soon finish his opponent off when Kx5x held up against Kx2x, He celebrated the life-changing score.
Mitchell, a former highway patrol officer, now has nearly $1.5 million in live tournament cashes. His largest score came in June 2023 when he took down a $1,100 buy-in event at Wynn Las Vegas for $327,817. The Arizona champ finished fifth place this summer at the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Event #14: $25,000 No-LImit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller for $303,773.
Mitchell also represented Team Mitchell for StakeKings about as well as anyone could. Team Mitchell defeated Team Jones, led by Steven Jones, in the Arizona State Poker Championship Team Battle. Those who bought action on Mitchell on StakeKings won are glad they did.
