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Xiong Thao Continues Recent RunGood in $400 PokerNews Cup
After a dominant opening flight of the $400 PokerNews Cup at Thunder Valley Casino Resort, Xiong Thao decided to change his approach for the final day. Despite successive recent months filled with big results, the local regular did not want this tournament to slip away.
“I almost feel like for myself, I tend to self-sabotage sometimes," Thao, known to friends as Peter, told PokerNews moments after winning fourth RunGood Poker Series ring at the RGPS Passport Season Finale. "Because I'm like, oh man, I have all the chips, I'm expecting myself to win. And then all of a sudden it's like, oh man, I did too many things, I thought I could get away with all these things. I've made a bluff here and there, and then before I know it, I'm out in 18th."
"But, you know, changed it up this time and just kind of was very present, was very in the moment and didn't let any moment get too big or too small."
Thao navigated those moments like the seasoned champion that he has become, outlasting a field of 901 entries to take home the top prize of the $306,340 prize pool. He entered heads-up against Farzad Abbaszadeh and closed it out for the title, along with the PokerNews trophy.
The fourth and most recent RGPS ring comes one day short of a calendar year after his first, when he took two victories at the season-ending series last summer in this very room.
The other also came at Thunder Valley, winning the $300 No Limit Hold'em event at the RGPS Dream Factory last December. The first-place prize of $48, 340 ranks as Thao's fourth-largest career score according to The Hendon Mob.
$400 PokerNews Cup Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xiong Thao | United States | $48,340 |
| 2 | Farzad Abbaszadeh | United States | $32,000 |
| 3 | Vijesh Suseela | United States | $23,800 |
| 4 | Elijah Obel-Jorgensen | United States | $17,800 |
| 5 | Khamla Kounlavouth | United States | $13,500 |
| 6 | Vy Nguyen | United States | $10,300 |
| 7 | Jeevandeep Singh | United States | $7,900 |
| 8 | Christopher Johnson | United States | $6,100 |
Wire-to-Wire Win
Thao entered the final day leading the remaining 88 contenders by a wide margin, having bagged almost 40 starting stacks on Day 1a. Nobody from the other three flights was able to catch him, and that trend continued as the field was rapidly trimmed down.
Thao quickly scored a pair of early knockouts to pad his stack even further, and maintained his spot among the chip leaders as the final table neared. He entered the final nine sitting sixth in chips, and watched Christopher Rudd, Christopher Johnson, Jeevandeep Singh and Vy Nguyen all exit to lock up a five-figure score.
From there, Thao took over as he knocked out every other player on his way to victory. Khamla Kounlavouth fell to Thao in fifth place, followed by Elijah Obel-Jorgensen as his next victim in fourth.
Thao then took care of Vijesh Suseela in third, before his heads-up duel with Abbaszadeh ended fittingly with a dominant spot for the final knockout. Thao's friends rushed over to congratulate him, something that is quickly becoming a familiar feeling over the past year.
RunGood Success
Thao is clearly no stranger to success at Thunder Valley, but his RunGood prowess also took him to Japan. The newest RGPS ring winner took down a qualifier to the 2026 RGPS Passport Japan series in April, but had to put that trip on hold.
"Initially I won the invitational, which had a $2,000 package to Japan. But then I had a wedding and then a couple of other family events during that weekend of the tournament that I was supposed to go play."
"So (they) gave me the money for the package, and then I just rescheduled for just literally two weeks ago. Just got back two weeks ago, and it was amazing."
After creating memories in Japan, Thao captures his latest in the long line of recent wins and earns a big trophy to take home. When asked where he plans to keep it, that was still to be determined.
"I don't right now, but I'm gonna have to make the room for it, of course."
That concludes our coverage of the first weekend at Thunder Valley, but PokerNews live reporting will return this week for the $600 The Hendon Mob Mid-Major Championship. Also be sure to check out other events around the poker world, as the coverage calendar continues to fill up.