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$1,200 New England Poker Championship
Day 1 Completed
2026 Eastern Poker Open
$1,200 New England Poker Championship
Day: 1
Event Info
2026 Eastern Poker Open
Final Results
Event Info
Players Info - Day 1
Buy-in
$1,200
Prize Pool
$112,320
Total Entries
104
Entries
104
Players Left
15
Players Left 1 / 104
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Steven Tabb Gives Himself a Shot at Redemption on Day 1 of the $1,200 New England Poker Championship
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Steven Tabb finished second in the $1,650 High Roller last April here at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Milford. Today on Day 1 of the $1,200 New England Poker Championship, he put himself in position to do one better.
Tabb ended the day with 2,130,000, putting him atop the leaderboard as 15 players bagged up for the night. Tabb earned a double knockout of Justin Carey and another opponent when he made the nut flush on the river, then coolered his fellow finalist from a year ago Mike LaMontagne with the nut straight for another massive pot. The local Massachusetts native has more than $1.2 million in live earnings, including the $27,000 he earned for his runner-up finish to Jordan Fishman, and will look to add the $30,000 top prize and the Jordan Fishman Cup tomorrow.
Day 1 Top Ten Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steven Tabb | United States | 2,130,000 | 85 |
| 2 | Andrew Camacho | United States | 1,315,000 | 53 |
| 3 | Kevin Cronin | United States | 1,300,000 | 52 |
| 4 | Glen Thompson | United States | 890,000 | 36 |
| 5 | Steve Quillian | United States | 815,000 | 33 |
| 6 | Jason Kuperschmid | United States | 795,000 | 32 |
| 7 | Rick Ziegler | United States | 680,000 | 27 |
| 8 | Patrick Lohnes | United States | 645,000 | 26 |
| 9 | Rob Keizo | United States | 515,000 | 21 |
| 10 | Tom Magee | United States | 340,000 | 14 |
Andrew Camacho is his closest challenger with 1,315,000. Camacho jumped up the leaderboard in the closing moments of the day in spectacular fashion. He was all in for 300,000 with two kings against Rick Ziegler’s nines, but Ziegler hit a set on the flop to leave Camacho at risk of elimination. The turn, though, brought a king to give Camacho a set and the double up. He then turned a set of deuces against Darrell Blodgett’s two pair to double up yet again for 550,000.
Kevin Cronin (1,300,000), Glen Thompson (890,000), and Steve Quillian (815,000) round out the top five. Ziegler, the reigning Eastern Poker Tour champion, ended up with 680,000, while Marisa Hancock, who was the first player to eclipse the 1,000,000-chip mark earlier today, slid down to 245,000 to end the day.
A total of 104 players entered by the time late registration closed. Linda Swears, the partner of the late defending champion, took her shot at writing a fairy tale story but was eliminated early in the day. WPT Ladies champion Lily Lotfy, last year’s finalist Adam Johnson, 2024 champion Brian Haughey, 2024 Bar Poker Open Florida Champion John Germano, and Vaughn Steeves were also among those sent to the rail. The plan was to play down to a final table today, but with the clock going past midnight, tournament officials brought the day to an early end.
Payouts
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | 7 | $6,000 |
| 2 | $20,000 | 8 | $5,100 |
| 3 | $13,000 | 9 | $4,300 |
| 4 | $9,960 | 10 | $3,560 |
| 5 | $8,100 | 11 | $2,900 |
| 6 | $7,000 | 12 | $2,400 |
The remaining 15 players will return tomorrow at noon local time. The action picks up on Level 18 with blinds of 10,000/25,000 and a 25,000 big blind ante. Only the top 12 will finish in the money and secure a min-cash of $2,400, while the champion will take home $30,000 out of the $112,320 prize pool. The final table will be streamed on the Eastern Poker Tour’s official YouTube channel.
The focus tomorrow shifts to the $35,000 Championship, open to qualifiers from the past season of the Eastern Poker Tour, but PokerNews will also be following along as the New England Poker Championship plays down to a champion.
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
While the plan was to play down to a final table today, tournament officials have called an early end to the day with 15 players remaining.
Stay tuned for chip counts and a recap of the day's action.
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Michel Elmassih moved all in for 120,000 from the hijack and Rick Ziegler called in the big blind.
Michel Elmassih: 5♥5♦ 
Rick Ziegler: A♣Q♦
The J♥10♦10♥ flop gave Ziegler outs to a straight, while the turn was the 6♦. The K♦ river gave Ziegler his straight, and Elmassih was sent to the rail.
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
RJ Pinkham raised to 40,000 on the button and was called by both Andrew Camacho and Jason Kuperschmid in the blinds.
All three players checked the 7♥4♦9♦ flop. Pinkham then bet 45,000 on the K♠ turn, and only Kuperschmid called.
The 5♠ river was checked down, and Kuperschmid showed A♦9♠ for a pair of nines to win the pot.
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Darrell Blodgett bet 50,000 from the big blind on a board of 9♠3♣J♦2♥ and RJ Pinkham called in middle position. Andrew Camacho then raised to 150,000 in the hijack and Blodgett moved all in. Pinkham folded, but Camacho called for 550,000.
Blodgett showed 9♣3♦ for two pair, but Camacho had 2♣2♦ for a set. The river was the J♣ and Camacho doubled up yet again.
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Marisa Hancock moved all in from the hijack and Mike Chafetz called for 90,000 in the small blind.
Mike Chafetz: 8♠8♦
Marisa Hancock: Q♥J♥
Hancock hit a pair on the A♠J♣8♥ flop, but Chafetz also made a set. The J♦ turn gave Hancock some outs, but she missed the 5♠ river and handed over the double up.
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Andrew Camacho was all in for around 300,000 from the small blind, and Rick Ziegler put him at risk under the gun.
Andrew Camacho: K♠K♣
Rick Ziegler: 9♥9♦
Camacho had picked up kings and was a big favorite to double up, but the flop brought 9♣A♥6♠ to give Ziegler a set. "Brutal game," a tablemate said as Camacho got out of his seat, but he spiked the K♥ on the turn.
The river was the A♠ and Camacho covered his head in disbelief while the big pot was pushed over to him.
Level 17
: Blinds 10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante
Dean Metta moved all in for 146,000 from the cutoff and Glen Thompson put him at risk in middle position.
Dean Metta: 9♥9♣
Glen Thompson: A♠10♣
Thompson hit top pair on the A♦6♣2♥ flop to take the lead, while the rest of the board ran out Q♥10♠ to seal Metta's elimination.
