One of the premier events on the Lone Star Poker Series Champions Social schedule was Event #11: $600 PLO Championship II, which took place on Wednesday night.
The tournament attracted 91 runners and easily surpassed its $25K GTD by creating a $46,410 prize pool.
Among those to cash but fall short of making the final table were Curtis Cavasos (10th - $1,044), Henry Yu (11th - $1,044), Daniel Schmiech (12th - $1,044), and Kristopher Burchfield (13th - $600).
The final table, which was live-streamed, proved to be a lengthy affair that went into the early morning hours. In the end, it was John Samuelson of Westwego, Louisiana besting Houston's David Mzareulov in heads-up play to win the title and a hefty $13,028 first-place prize.
Event #11: $600 PLO Championship II Final Table Results
The Lone Star Poker Series Event #12: $250 NLH Nightly Turbo saw 25 runners take to the felt, which meant a $5,000 prize pool was up for grabs.
Only the top three finishers were slated to get paid, and once the money bubble burst the final three players opted to work a deal.
As a part of that deal, Catherine Young took third place for $1,407 while LSPS founder Kim Stone took second for $1,723. Claiming the title and money clip trophy, as well as $1,870 in prize money, was Justin Brassieur out of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The Lone Star Poker Series Champions Social Event #13: $600 Lone Star Surprise Bounty saw 109 entrants create a $55,590 prize pool, nearly double the advertised $30,000 guarantee.
The tournament assigned mystery bounties to certain players, meaning whoever knocked them out received a sealed envelope with an unknown amount of money. $10,000 in added bounty money was added to the tournament! Among those to have $300 bounties on their heads were Lone Star champs Laura Hoppe and Josh Burkhalter, Twitch streameer Alex "Optional" Green, former UFC fighter Heath Herring, and Poker Hall of Famer Dewey Tomko, among others.
Bounties aside, players were still competing for big money in the prize pool. Linh Dinh was seeking his second title of the series after winning Event #10: $400 NLH Double Black Chip Bounty for $2,306, but he came up one spot shy finishing runner-up to Logan Hewett of Basile, Louisiana. Hewett earned a nice payday for $15,566 for his victory.
Event #13: $600 Lone Star Surprise Bounty Final Table Results
On Thursday, the Lone Star Poker Series Champions Social Event #14: $400 Big-O 8-Max attracted 56 runners who created an $18,200 prize pool. That was more than double the advertised $8,000 guarantee.
Well-known poker pro Ray Henson made the final table but bowed out in sixth place for $1,456.
The title came down to Schuyler Thornton and Reagan Rich, with the former ultimately prevailing to the tune of $5,460.
Schuyler Thornton is a well-known grinder with more than $1.1 million in lifetime tournament earnings according to The Hendon Mob. He previously finished runner-up to Matthew Rasco in October's inaugural Lone Star Poker Series Event #11: $360 H.O.R.S.E. for $2,400.
The last tournament of the Lone Star Poker Series Champions Social was Event #16: $400 NLH Monster Stack Closer, which drew 134 runners and more than doubled the $20K GTD by creating a $43,550 prize pool.
That was paid out to the top 19 finishers including poker photographer Hayley Hochstetler (16th - $697), Gloria Davila (14th - $806), Rick Troendly (9th - $1,089), LSPS founder Kim Stone (7th - $1,742), Ryan Love (5th - $2,722), and Genc Govori (4th - $3,702).
The final three players worked a deal that saw Texas players Amjad Khan and Kedron Guinn each take $6,714 for finishing second and third respectively.
As for the title and trophy, that went to Justin Brassieur of Lake Charles, Louisiana, who also banked $10,000 in prize money.
From January 22-31, the Lone Star Poker Series held its second-ever stop, which was hosted by Champions Social in Houston, Texas. The 16-event series proved to be a popular festival as the tournaments catered to a combined 2,288 entrants and awarded $932,535 in prize money. Not only that, every day featured a live stream allowing fans to watch both cash game and final table action.
The stopped started with a bang as Event #1: $400 Super Stack Kickoff drew an impressive 546 runners, which created a $177,450 prize pool, well ahead of the $100,000 guaranteed. Stephen Hart won that tournament for $32,000 and the silver belt buckle trophy.
Other notable winners included Bridgette Adkins winning Event #3: $300 NLH Ladies Only for $3,155 and a Tiffany bracelet, five-time World Series of Poker Circuit ring winner Ray Henson taking down Event #5: $400 8-Game for $4,160, John Samuelson topping a 91-entry field to win Event #11: $600 PLO Championship II for $13,028, and Logan Hewett proving himself a bounty hunter by emerging victorious in Event #13: $600 Lone Star Surprise Bounty for $15,566.
While all of those events awarded money clips as the trophy, the $600 Main Event offered up a custom silver belt buckle to the winner.
Mark-Ellis Cortez Wins Main Event
This past weekend, the Lone Star Poker Series Champions Social $600 Main Event more than doubled its $200K GTD by drawing 877 entrants over four starting flights. That resulted in a $447,270 prize pool that was paid out to the top 107 finishers.
Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were Event #9: $400 PLO Double Black Chip Bounty champ Keith Norris (10th - $5,950), James Juvancic (16th - $4,850), Tom Hudson (27th - $2,500), Tiffany Keathley (35th - $2,100), Event #14: $400 Big-O 8-Max winner Schuyler Thornton (41st - $1,850), David Shaw (57th - $1,500), Tom Laplante (69th - $1,375), John Mingus III (80th - $1,275), La Sengphet (94th - $1,200), and Rudolph Bourg (107th - $1,200).
The final table had several accomplished players including Lone Star Poker Tour co-founder Hayden Fortini and poker pro Chan Pelton, who according to The Hendon Mob have career earnings of $625,282 and $646,601 respectively.
With a slow and steady structure, it proved to be a lengthy affair with Pelton bowing out in eighth place for $8,600 and Fortini taking his leave in fourth place for $25,400. After Kristopher Burchfield exited in third place for $35,800, the title came down to local player Mark-Ellis Cortez and Brandon Bergin of Fayetteville, Georgia.
The former ultimately prevailed to win the title and $81,720 first-place prize. It was far and away Cortez’s largest poker score; in fact, the only other cash he has on The Hendon Mob is from 2019 and for a modest $1,500.
LSPS Champions Social Main Event Final Table Results
Place
Player
Prize
1
Mark-Ellis Cortez
$81,720
2
Brandon Bergin
$49,550
3
Kristopher Burchfield
$35,800
4
Hayden Fortini
$25,400
5
Richard Semander
$18,200
6
Amir Soleymani
$13,850
7
Ryan Vanderpoorten
$10,500
8
Chan Pelton
$8,600
9
Jeremy Tinsley
$7,200
Justin Brassieur Wins Two Events
One of the stop’s breakout players was Louisiana’s Justin Brassieur, who captured two titles. The first came when he topped a small 25-entry field to win Event #12: $250 NLH Nightly Turbo for $1,870 after a three-way deal that saw Lone Star Poker Tour founder Kim Stone finish as runner-up for $1,723 and Catherine Young take third for $1,407.
A few days later, he secured a much larger payday in Event #16: $400 NLH Monster Stack, which drew 134 entries. This time Brassieur won $10,000 after a three-way deal with Texas players Amjad Khan and Kedron Guinn, who each took $6,714 for finishing second and third respectively.
To top it all off, Brassieur notched a 40th-place finish in the Main Event for $2,100.