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James Brashear Turns First Tournament Cash into Record-Breaking RGPS Ring
As the final day of the 2026 RGPS Golden Expedition Kentucky series began, there was already at celebratory mood at The Barrel Social Club. Both for the staff after a record-breaking $800 Main Event, and for Nashville-area resident James Brashear excited about his first ever tournament cash.
"When I got my bag last night, that was the win right there and everything past that was kind of gravy," Brashear told PokerNews. "So I'm pretty happy right now. I think I've played four live tournaments in the last five years and this would be my first live cash."
After almost 12 hours of poker action, a deal was reached that saw Brashear take home the largest first-place prize in Kentucky poker history by earning $56,804. Brashear reached an agreement with Eric Cunningham, John Mingus and Christopher Borinsky to chop up the remaining balance of the record-breaking $424,200 prize pool.
Brashear describes poker as a hobby, and is preparing to get married in the fall. As he played later into the final day, the updates for his fiance became less frequent.
"She went to sleep a couple of hours ago. She knew I made the final table, but she thought I had busted out a couple of times today because she would text me and then not hear back. Then I would call her later and tell her I was still in, so she's going to be very surprised in the morning. She's on her bachelorette trip right now, so it's a bonus."
2026 RGPS Golden Expedition Kentucky $800 Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Brashear | United States | $56,804* |
| 2 | Eric Cunningham | United States | $55,487* |
| 3 | John Mingus | United States | $46,966* |
| 4 | Christopher Borinsky | United States | $42,162* |
| 5 | Maxx Dansky | United States | $22,003 |
| 6 | Chen Chen | United States | $16,575 |
| 7 | Scott Bennett | United States | $12,834 |
| 8 | Michial Drake | United States | $10,087 |
| 9 | Andrew Bucaric | United States | $7,857 |
*Denotes four-way ICM deal
Record-Breaking Event
The first-ever visit for the RunGood series to Kentucky saw the Main Event attract 606 entries over six starting flights, creating the largest poker prize pool in the history of the state.
The final 74 players returned to battle for the title, with Brashear sitting in the middle of the pack. As the day progressed, he continued to climb the leaderboard while having fun along the way.
"It was very stress free today because the other tournaments I've played in, I played very poorly. So once I cashed, everything past that was really just fun. I could have gone out at any point after I cashed, and I would have been very happy."
Among the returning field were a trio of RunGood Ambassadors, with Heather Alcorn the first to hit the payout desk in 50th place ($1,616). Preston McEwen faced off against Brashear early in the day, spiking the river to stay alive before bowing out in 44th ($1,836). Craig Welko reached the final two tables, finishing in 16th place for $4,191.
Final Table Deal
Brashear entered the final table in a similar spot to the start of the day, sitting fifth of nine and building his stack while others faded. Once Brasheart made a full house to send Maxx Dansky out in fifth place, the remaining four players began to discuss a possible deal.
After an agreement was reached using ICM numbers, the initial plan was to keep playing for the RGPS ring. But the elimination of Borinsky in fourth position produced a secondary deal that saw Brashear awarded the title.
The final three players shook hands, and posed for a photo together before heading to the payout desk. Brashear then reflected on his time at The Barrel, watching the growth that has led to his record first-place prize.
"I've been playing at The Barrel for about a year and a half, and playing more recently. It's amazing to see where the barrel was and where they are now with the tournament offerings, the events, and the cash games, and there's no reason to believe otherwise it's not going to continue to grow at a fairly massive rate. The Barrel is incredibly well run and well managed, people like to play here and people travel in to play here and they, they've started to make a name for themselves."
"I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. I love playing cash poker and I've learned a lot, but this was kind of a new experience for me and really I was just really focused today. You know, there was a fair amount of luck involved and that's helpful, but I imagine I will be playing more tournaments in the future."
No matter how many more cashes he earns, Brashear now has a shiny new memento of the victory, and plans to proudly display it at his new home after putting the prize money to good use.
"We're having an international wedding here in about six weeks, it's probably not fully paid for yet. So this is going to be part of it here. But I imagine that I will be buying [my fiance] a present. The ring might just go on the wall, might put it in a frame and stick it on the wall for the memory of the one tournament that I'll ever win as a poker player."
That concludes PokerNews coverage from the first RunGood Poker Series stop in Kentucky, but be sure to follow our live reporting from tournaments around the world.