Maksim Tatarintsev Wins For Second Year in a Row
When Maksim Tatarintsev reached the final table with the chip lead, it must have felt like deja vu as for the second year in a row, he was poised to become champion at a RunGood Poker Series event at Jamul Casino Resort. Tatarintsev won the main event in 2024 almost exactly one year ago, and now he can call himself a back-to-back champion, as now has two RGPS main event titles, as he took down the RunGood Poker Series Grand Prix San Diego $600 Main Event for a prize of $38,890.
“I’m really happy about it, of course,” Tatarintsev shared with PokerNews after his victory. “I was just playing how I know how to play.”
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maksim Tatarintsev | United States | $38,890 |
| 2 | Zach Kelley | United States | $27,250 |
| 3 | Gabriel Habbaba | United States | $17,520 |
| 4 | William Wilson | United States | $11,229 |
| 5 | Jose Medina | Mexico | $8,659 |
| 6 | Barbara Lanese | United States | $7,155 |
| 7 | Bradley Miller | United States | $6,017 |
| 8 | Jeff Burquist | United States | $4,940 |
| 9 | Henry Trinidad | United States | $3,887 |
Tatarintsev received the lion’s share of the $180,960 after he outlasted 348 players to take down his second RGPS main event title. He went into the final table with a gust of momentum as he knocked out Julian Schoolcraft (20th), Kellan Kemp (16th), and Perry Chou (15th).
Tatarintsev won a massive hand against Nan Chen (11th) when Chen ran into the kings of Tatarintsev and was unable to spike his ace to crack pocket kings to go into the final table as the chip leader. This proved to be a boon for Tatarintsev as he maneuvered the endgame stage of the tournament.
“I just felt confident and the stack helped me in case I made a mistake,” Tatarintsev said.
A pivotal moment occurred shortly into the final table when Tatarintsev got involved in a three-way all-in holding pocket eights against the pocket aces of Jeff Burquist and the overcards of Henry Trinidad. Fortune was on Tatarintsev's side as he hit runner-runner flush to sink both his opponents, which gave Tatarintsev nearly half the chips in play.
He rode that momentum until he knocked out his Gabriel Habbaba in third place and Zach Kelley to secure the title.
The former international online pro was stoic after his victory, sharing that he has begun to play live tournaments with more emphasis after his victory in 2024.
“I want to thank my support in my friends and family all over the world,” Tatarintsev said in the afterglow of his title run.
Day 2 Action
Although 42 entries qualified for Day 2, Long Hoang qualified twice. Hoang thus forfeited the smaller stack and secured a minimum cash with a 42nd place finish for his second bag. This meant that 41 players entered the tournament area at Jamul Casino with hopes of capturing an RGPS title.
Jeremy Clemons got off to a hot start as he went from a short stack to above average with a triple-up at the expense of Jonathan Fagin, who was eliminated, and then a double through Long Hoang.
Gabriel Habbaba began to put together his deep run during Level 15 when he won a big pot versus Andres Ortega when he spiked an ace on the river to crack Ortega’s queens and vault past the seven-figure mark in chips. Habbaba followed that up by eliminating Long Hoang, who tried to bluff Habbaba and was caught to grow Habbaba’s stack to nearly two million in chips.
Day 1a chip leader Corey Paggeot’s chances at a title were shattered when he was eliminated in 19th place after he ran into the pocket queens of Lewis Christenson.
Day 1b chip leader Barbara Lanese had trouble getting momentum, but despite that, she ran deep into the tournament, finishing in sixth place after she was unable to improve against the pocket tens of Zach Kelley.
Day 1c chip leader was the last flight chip leader standing before he was eliminated in fifth place after he ran his pocket nines into the pocket jacks of Kelley.
From that point forward, it was Tatarintsev’s show as he began to topple his opponents down the stretch to capture his second RGPS main event title.
This concludes the PokerNews coverage RunGood Poker Series Grand Prix San Diego $600 Main Event.