Sasha Guerin limped under the gun and Michael Lin limped next to act. In the small blind, Hrishikesh Kulkarni jammed for 1,850,000 and Guerin called with the slightly covering stack.
Hrishikesh Kulkarni: A♠Q♣
Sasha Guerin: 10♥10♦
It was a coinflip scenario with Guerin maintaining his lead on the J♥3♠3♥ flop. Nothing changed on the 5♦9♠ runout as Kulkarni hit the exit after a strong run.
Sasha Guerin jammed for 1,800,000 under the gun and Michael Lin rejammed the button covering.
Sasha Guerin: Q♠9♠
Michael Lin: A♣Q♣
Guerin was in tough shape with his dominated hand and it got worse on the A♦7♥3♣ flop. He was drawing dead on the 5♣ turn to the 2♠ river as he hit the exit in fourth.
Ian Steinman jammed the button covering and Michael Lin called from the big blind for 2,200,000.
Michael Lin: A♣6♣
Ian Steinman: A♠8♣
Lin was looking for some help in the form of a pair or chop but could not find it on the 9♦4♦2♠7♦2♣ flop as he hit the exit in third, after getting second last year.
Ian Steinman jammed the button covering and Michael Lin called from the big blind for 2,200,000.
Michael Lin: A♣6♣
Ian Steinman: A♠8♣
Lin was looking for some help in the form of a pair or chop but could not find it on the 9♦4♦2♠7♦2♣ flop as he hit the exit in third, after getting second last year.
Ian Steinman limped the button, Feiyue Wu jammed for 3,800,000, and Steinman snap-called.
Feiyue Wu: A♦5♣
Ian Steinman: 10♠10♣
Steinman was in prime position to win the title but Wu picked up outs on the 9♠7♠5♠ flop. However, the board ran out 8♣2♠ and Steinman made a flush to eliminate Wu in second after an impressive run.
Ian Steinman is no stranger to the winner’s circle. He is a WSOP Bracelet winner, eight-time WSOP circuit winner, and now he is a two-time RunGood Poker Series Main Event Winner.
The 2025 RGPS Mission RunGood $800 Main Event brought out a total of 643 hopefuls to Graton Resort and Casino. After the dust settled, Steinman was the one holding the ring and the first-place prize of $67,540.
The 35-year-old from California spent his early twenties grinding dailies in the Bay Area, so it was a full circle moment for him to capture the fifth biggest live score of his career, surrounded by many friends he grew up in the game with. He has now surpassed $1.7 million in live tournament earnings.
Less than two months ago, Steinman took down the RunGood Main Event in Reno as he hopes to continue his hot streak into the WSOP Tournament of Champions in a couple days.
Final Table Results
Place
Player
Prize
1
Ian Steinman
$67,540
2
Feiyue Wu
$46,500
3
Michael Lin
$34,500
4
Sasha Guerin
$26,000
5
Noel Rodriguez
$19,500
6
Hrishikesh Kulkarni
$14,900
7
Curtis Kowalk
$11,400
8
Scott Sanders
$8,900
9
Denis Lee
$7,000
The Day’s Action
82 players returned to the felt today, all of whom were guaranteed a minimum cash of $1,400.
The bustouts were quick to begin the day with many short stacks returning for Day 2. By the first break of the day, the field had been reduced to 44.
However, once the larger pay jumps came into play, the action became more calculated as players jousted for position before the final table.
Some notables to bust short of the final table include RunGood season points leader Michael Johns (67th-$1,620), WSOP Bracelet winner Max Steinberg (53rd-$2,240), WPT Champion Casey Sandretto (49th-$2,240), RunGood ambassadors Jamie Kerstetter (39th-$3,160) and Nikki Limo (33rd-$3,160), and defending champion Jonathan Wang (27th-$3,780).
Final Table Action
Final Table
With the elimination of Ratu Caucau in 10th, the remaining nine moved their chips up to the stage where the final table awaited following a dinner break. Michael Lin came into the final table with the chip lead. It was a stacked final table with many highly accomplished players, most of whom were local to the Bay Area.
The first casualty at the final table was Denis Lee. He was decimated in a pot with pocket queens against the pocket aces of Steinman. A few hands later, he called off his short stack with king-four suited against the ace-queen of Feiyue Wu and could not improve.
The next to fall was Scott Sanders, who came into the final table on the short stack. He got his last few big blinds in with eight-seven suited against the ace-ten of Steinman and was drawing dead on the turn as he hit the rail.
In seventh place was Curtis Kowalk. After a stretch of bad cards he became short-stacked and got the rest in with nine-seven suited against the pocket nines of Feiyue Wu and could not catch up.
Some time would pass before Hrishikesh Kulkarni fell in sixth. He jammed 16 big blinds over two limpers with ace-queen and lost a race against the pocket tens of Sasha Guerin.
The next casualty was Noel Rodriguez in fifth. The California crusher coming off a $1 million score last summer jammed 12 big blinds from the small blind with king-queen. He was snapped off by the ace-nine of Steinman who held to eliminate Rodriguez.
Noel Rodriguez
In fourth place was Sasha Guerin. The California native, now residing in Texas, became short-stacked during four-handed play and shoved with queen-nine suited but ran into the dominating ace-queen of Michael Lin who held as Guerin hit the rail.
Three-handed play was dominated by Steinman who held a massive chip lead. Steinman would jam the button with ace-eight and Michael Lin called off his stack with ace-six suited. He could not find any help as he was eliminated in third, after coming in second place last year.
Michael Lin
On the final hand, Steinman would limp the button before Feiyue Wujammed 13 big blinds with ace-five and Steinman snapped it off with pocket tens. Wu could not find an ace as he fell in second place after a strong effort, and the ring was Steinman’s.
That does it for PokerNews’s coverage of the 2025 RGPS Mission RunGood Bay Area $800 Main Event. Stay tuned as we continue to cover poker tournaments from around the world.
