Carl Masters Wins RGPS Grand Prix Tunica II $600 Main Event
Table Of Contents
It took just over 12 hours on Day 2 of the 2025 RunGood Poker Series Grand Prix Tunica II to wrap up but it was all worth it for Carl Masters who was able to breathe a sigh of relief and satisfaction when it was all over.
Masters put on a poker clinic at the final table en route to winning his third RGPS ring in the $600 Main Event at Horseshoe Casino Tunica.
It was one of the largest turnouts on tour as Masters overcame a field of 645 entries, which crushed the $200,000 guarantee, and ended up with a $328,950 prize pool.
For his victory, Masters pocketed $60,251 after overcoming a hard-fought heads-up battle with Rafael Lopez. In the last hand of the night, Masters found himself ahead the entire way and managed to fade the two live cards from Lopez to seal the deal.
It's been a long six months for Masters, who is a local favorite and fan among many on the small- to mid-stakes tour. There have been many final tables for the Tennessee native, but today he was finally able to get over the hump and claim one of the largest victories of his career. Masters celebrated with some friends still around the poker room and a round of tequila shots for everyone!
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carl Masters | United States | $60,251 |
| 2 | Rafael Lopez | United States | $40,172 |
| 3 | Eric Salazar | United States | $29,598 |
| 4 | BJ McBrayer | United States | $22,054 |
| 5 | Jason Maeroff | United States | $16,621 |
| 6 | Josh Butler | United States | $12,672 |
| 7 | Cody Stanford | United States | $9,775 |
| 8 | Brian Durr | United States | $7,629 |
| 9 | Marlon Hammond | United States | $6,026 |
Final Day Action
The day kicked off with 78 players returning to their seats, two of whom had already locked up a min-cash for bagging up chips on multiple flights. Kim Francisco and Bob Kellum each earned $954, plus brought their best bag into Day 2. Neither player was able to make a super deep run, but still impressive nonetheless.
A lot of the short stacks were willing to get their chips in the middle in the hopes of a spin-up, but many failed to do so. Some of the notables who's day finished earlier than they hoped included Nicholas Rigby, Matthew Higgins, and Chris Moneymaker. It was a streamline to the payout desk as nearly half of the field was eliminated in the opening two hours. The final three tables were set before the second break of the day, and soon enough, the final table was formed.
A strong final table it was, with multiple RGPS titles among them, along with many WSOP circuit rings as well. Marlon Hammond wasted little time getting his chips into the middle and became the first casualty of the final table. Soon after him was Brian Durr, who remained patient on the short stack for most of the day, but eventually just ran out of big blinds.
Cody Stanford looked poised to make another deep run but lost a couple of early pots on the final table and was unable to recover. Josh Butler was among the leaders for most of the day and once held the chip lead at the final table. However, Butler ran into pocket aces on one hand and became the short stack. A blind vs blind encounter left Butler on the short end of the stick with his suited connectors.
The final five players spent 90 minutes at the table together before Jason Maeroff was finally kicked off the island. Maeroff said earlier in the day that "everyone was playing for second," but calling his shot didn't work this time. Maeroff ran out of patience and ran out of cards when a failed bluff got picked off, leaving him in the danger zone.
Once Maeroff was eliminated, BJ McBrayer was coolered when his pocket kings got cracked by the two pair of Lopez. McBrayer folded his single big blind for an orbit until he forced all-in but was unable to connect with the board. That left just three players remaining, and they took one final break for the night. Upon returning, it only took one hand before Eric Salazar was eliminated in another confrontation with Lopez in the blinds.
That set the stage for the heads-up battle that would go on for less than 30 minutes after a clinical display of Masters using the chip lead to his advantage.
