As the grind of the final day at the PokerStars Open Philadelphia series wore on, Edward Leonard insisted that winning was not his focus in the $1,100 Main Event.
All 146 returning players were looking to make a deep run at Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia, and it took more than 18 hours of play to reach the final three contenders. The trio paused the clock to look at a deal, one that left Leonard finally realizing what he had just accomplished.
After reaching an agreement with Guan Huang and Frank Funaro, it was time to let all of that exhaustion and emotion out.
“I feel pretty great,” the newly crowned champion told PokerNews after the deal was concluded. “It’s been a pretty sick start to the year for me, definitely didn’t expect this one but I mean, I ran pretty pure.”
That start to 2025 includes a pair of top 10 finishes in Atlantic City, but this score of $147,806 marks the largest of his career to date.
“It feels good to take down a big one,” Leonard continued. “I’ve had a lot of smaller live wins but this is a big one.” The seasoned poker pro outlasted 1,154 entries in the inaugural event, taking home the largest share of the $1,107,840 prize pool.
$1,100 PokerStars Open Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edward Leonard | United States | $147,806* |
| 2 | Guan Huang | United States | $126,507* |
| 3 | Frank Funaro | United States | $125,708* |
| 4 | William Beer | United States | $62,760 |
| 5 | Adam Agaev | United States | $47,415 |
| 6 | Norman Rogers | United States | $38,330 |
| 7 | Dan McGinnis | United States | $31,660 |
| 8 | Michael Bohmerwald | United States | $25,095 |
| 9 | Norman Rodriguez | Dominican Republic | $18,625 |
*Denotes Three-Way Deal
Marathon Day 2
The action began Sunday at 11:15 a.m. local time, and Leonard had to wait until 5:45 a.m. Monday morning to get his hands on the PokerStars Main Event trophy. He was among the larger stacks to begin the day, and understood how to navigate this massive field.
“You kind of have to pay attention and figure people out, and then just running hot is always a good idea.” Asked about his ability to stay strong mentally during the marathon final day, Leonard had a strategy for that too. “A little bit of caffeine, not too much, I was standing up a lot in between hands trying to stay awake, anything to keep the blood flowing.”
Play was deep all day long, with many notable names bowing out along the way. That included PokerStars Ambassador Maria Konnikova, who survived into Level 20 before getting her short stack in against big slick.
As the field began to thin, Leonard insists that he never envisioned taking down the title here in Philadelphia. “These fields are so big you just never think about winning, even the final table, winning is not the focus, you just kind of take it as it goes.”
Final Table Action
The final table was determined just before midnight, and Leonard scored the first knockout by catching two pair against Joseph Barrett.
From there, Leonard battled his way to the front of the pack before winning the final hand of the early morning, taking down a flip against William Beer to take a commanding chip lead.
After the final three agreed on a deal, Leonard got a look at his newest piece of poker hardware and was immediately impressed.
“It’s gorgeous,” he exclaimed. “This one is going to be a lot bigger than the rest of them, so I might have to find a special spot for it.”
That concludes our coverage of the first ever PokerStars Open Philadelphia, but be sure to check out our live reporting from other notable events around the poker world.
