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Andrew Chang Goes From Short-Stack to Champion as Five-Way Deal Ends the $500 Monumental Stack
Andrew Chang had made several final tables over the last few years, but it took just one card for him to finally get his first career trophy today in the Potomac Summer Poker Open $500 Monumental Stack.
The final five players decided to have a look at the numbers before heading on dinner break, and they eventually agreed to a chop. Jack Arnal, the chip leader at the time, took the biggest share of $22,882, while Chang was the shortest stack and took $16,600. They then drew high cards for the trophy, and Chang flipped over an ace to snatch the title.
Potomac Summer Poker Open $500 Monumental Stack Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Chang | United States | $16,600* |
| 2 | Jack Arnal | United States | $22,882* |
| 3 | Rick Aasen | United States | $20,546* |
| 4 | Valentin Lita | United States | $19,747* |
| 5 | Yonnas Banteamlak | United States | $16,897* |
| 6 | Timothy Conrow | United States | $6,871 |
| 7 | Linda Swears | United States | $5,195 |
| 8 | James Freeman | United States | $3,854 |
| 9 | Kyle Dishongh | United States | $3,184 |
*- denotes five-way deal
The Virginia native had ten final tables on his poker resume, including a runner-up finish in Las Vegas in 2024 and a third-place finish in the $3,500 High Roller at the 2023 Potomac Poker Open here at MGM National Harbor. “I’ve had the chip lead heads-up, but the variance is just crazy,” he said.
Arnal offered him an additional $500 if he could take the trophy and pose for the winner’s photo, but Chang declined. He finally wanted his turn in the spotlight. “It means a good amount. In the end, we decided to chop. Then we actually high-carded for the trophy, so I felt like I got pretty lucky that I won there. The final table started out kind of rough, but in the end, we just high-carded for it, and I got lucky,” he said.
Chang began the final table as chip leader, and even increased his lead when he picked up queens to bust Linda Swears in seventh place. But things turned against him from there, and Chang found himself nursing the short stack among the final five. He considered himself lucky just to get that far. “I came into the final table with, I think, the chip lead, but then things started to not go my way. Still very fortunate to have gotten to where I am,” he said.
Chang Ascends to the Chip Lead at the Final Table
Day 2 began with 52 players remaining out of 403 entries, each having already secured a piece of the $167,245 prize pool. Dennis Backhaus (37th), Matt Mullins (22nd), and Kash Corpening (17th) were among those eliminated before the final table, while start-of-day chip leader Shahab Shirazi made it to 18th place.
Chang won a classic flip with queens against ace-king to bust Masoud Shoja in 12th, and by the time Dat Nguyen was eliminated in 10th to set the nine-handed final table, Chang sat atop the leaderboard with 9,500,000.
The final table began with a bang, as Yonnas Banteamlak doubled up off Kyle Dishongh on the first hand. Dishongh was left with less than a big blind, and Banteamlak finished him off the next hand.
The short-stacked James Freeman fell to Arnal in eighth, while Swears then four-bet shoved for 3,200,000 with two fours but ran right into Chang’s queens to fall in seventh. Chang reached his peak from there, but then began a precipitous drop down the leaderboard.
Rick Aasen first picked up Chang’s bluff with a straight, while Chang then gave up two pots to Banteamlak and Valentin Lita to fall down to 5,000,000. While Chang was falling, Arnal was rapidly rising to become chip leader. He first shoved the river for 2,225,000 with a pair of queens and got Banteamlak to call with two tens to double up, then called down Banteamlak with a straight to win another big pot.
A Deal Is Finally Reached
After Lita picked up two queens to bust Timothy Conrow, the remaining five players first asked to pause the clock as they looked at the numbers. They weren’t able to agree to a deal at the time and kept playing for another 20 minutes, but with a 45-minute dinner break coming up, they decided to try again.
They were able to reach an agreement this time, and the tournament came to an abrupt end. Chang, despite being the shortest of the five, was the one who got to pose for the trophy afterward.
Chang isn’t sure whether he’ll be able to stick around and play more events this series. “I might play the Main tomorrow, but I’m also going to a bachelor party this weekend. So to be determined,” he said. If the Monumental Stack proves to be the end for him this week at MGM National Harbor, it will still end with him getting his long-awaited hardware.
That concludes PokerNews' coverage of the $500 Monumental Stack. The $3,000 Main Event begins tomorrow, and PokerNews will be following the action the entire way.