Schaefers & Belland Win $12K Main Event Packages in FPN Royal Court National Championship
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There were two Free Poker Network (FPN) champions at the Royal Court National Championship Main Event final table, but it was two new winners who emerged at the Golden Nugget Las Vegas as South Dakota's Glenn Schaefers and Minnesota's Steve Belland both won trophies and $12,000 packages to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.
The pair navigated a final table that included champion Wendy Adamczyk D'Andrea (4th - $1,200) and two-time FPN winner Joel Smith (7th - $800), as well as third-place finisher Larry Sundberg ($2,500) looking to bring Billy's Bar & Grill a fifth title.
There were 333 qualifiers who made their way to Las Vegas for the $50 buy-in Royal Court National Championship Main Event, which had a prize pool of $50,700 and $10,000 in mystery bounties.
Royal Court National Championship Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glenn Schaefers | $12,000 Main Event Package |
| 1 | Steve Belland | $12,000 Main Event Package |
| 3 | Larry Sundberg | $2,500 |
| 4 | Wendy Adamczyk D'Andrea | $1,200 |
| 5 | Sam Romero | $800 |
| 6 | Aaron Miller | $800 |
| 7 | Joel Smith | $800 |
| 8 | Bonnie Bona | $800 |
| 9 | Suzzanne Barsaloux | $800 |
"20 Years of Hard Work"
Schaefers, who PokerNews profiled earlier in the tournament, was the only player in the field who has played FPN since its inception 20 years ago.
“In 2009, it was at Harrah’s," he told PokerNews. "There was only 25 players at the National. It’s like three tables. And now look at it."
It was a sweet, sweet victory for Schaefers, who recalled nights walking miles to The Thirsty Duck in Sioux Falls to play 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. tournaments.
"This is 20 years of hard work!" Schaefers cheered after the victory.
Belland, who told PokerNews he plays at bars throughout Fargo, was also sentimental after the victory, postponing a winner's photo until someone could bring his dog.
Royal Court Action
Despite the fast structure, the money bubble took its time to burst and only did when Darren Weise open-jammed with a suited ace-king to be flipping against the pocket threes of D'Andrea. Weise flopped two cards of his suit and picked up Broadway outs on the turn, but he whiffed it all to be sent home outside of the money.
Action picked up quickly after that among the 27 remaining players and before long the event was down to its last two tables. Carole Dole was the first to go out at the last two tables at the hands of Smith, who followed the knockout by eliminating Vince Holloway.
The elimination of Garth Courtney in 10th place brought on the final table, which took nearly an hour to lose a single player. But the eliminations eventually picked up, starting with Suzzanne Barsaloux and Bonnie Bona.
Two-time champ Smith was next to go as he fell in seventh place at the hands of Schaefers to be denied a third title. The last remaining champion, D'Andrea, bowed out in fourth and was quickly followed by Sundberg, who jammed queen-nine only to be dominated by Belland's ace-nine to deny back-to-back titles for Billy's Bar & Grill.
That wraps up PokerNews' coverage of Royal Court National Championship Main Event. We will be back tomorrow with more coverage of the FPN festivities in Las Vegas.
2026 FPN Vegas National Championship Schedule
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Jan 09, 2026 | Royal Court Nat'l Championship Main Event |
| Jan 10, 2026 | Tag Team Championship |
| Jan 11, 2026 | Clash of Kings & Queens Nat'l Championship Main Event |
*Photos courtesy Free Poker Network (FPN)
