Mark-Ellis Cortez Wins Lone Star Poker Series Champions Social Main Event ($81,720)
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.
Lone Star Poker Series Champions Social Winners
| Tournament | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $400 Super Stack Kickoff | 546 | $177,450 | Stephen Hart | $32,000 |
| Event #2: $400 NLH Sunday Special | 68 | $22,100 | Carlos Requena | $6,030 |
| Event #3: $300 NLH Ladies Only | 36 | $8,640 | Bridgette Adkins | $3,155 |
| Event #4: $400 NLH 6-Max | 60 | $19,500 | Adam Elfazzani | $5,055 |
| Event #5: $400 8-Game | 32 | $10,400 | Ray Henson | $4,160 |
| Event #6: $250 NLH Turbo | 33 | $6,600 | Doug Ngo | $1,694 |
| Event #7: $400 NLH Mega Stack | 97 | $31,525 | Darren Hicks | $7,409 |
| Event #8: $400 Triple Draw 3-Game Mix | 26 | $8,450 | Casey Robbins | $4,225 |
| Event #9: $400 PLO Double Black Chip Bounty | 36 | $11,700 | Keith Norris | $1,800 |
| Event #10: $400 NLH Double Black Chip Bounty | 62 | $20,150 | Linh Dinh | $2,306 |
| Event #11: $600 PLO Championship II | 91 | $46,410 | John Samuelson | $13,028 |
| Event #12: $250 NLH Nightly Turbo | 25 | $5,000 | Justin Brassieur | $1,870 |
| Event #13: $600 Lone Star Surprise Bounty | 109 | $55,590 | Logan Hewett | $15,566 |
| Event #14: $400 Big-O 8-Max | 56 | $18,200 | Schuyler Thornton | $5,460 |
| Event #15: $600 Main Event | 877 | $447,270 | Mark-Ellis Cortez | $81,720 |
| Event #16: $400 NLH Monster Stack | 134 | $43,550 | Justin Brassieur | $10,000 |