A Detour Turns Into a Title
Hamid Izadi did not originally plan to come to Reno for the RunGood Poker Series $800 Main Event, but a friend and RGPS Christina Lofquist talked Izadi into making a detour to Reno. This proved to be a $39,550 decision as Izadi defended his chip leader status entering Day 2 to take down the title and the RGPS ring at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa.
"I'm glad. I'm going to take care of Christina (Lofquist) and my friends with a nice dinner for everyone," Izadi said in the afterglow of his victory.
Izadi is a nine-time WSOP Circuit ring winner, but he has been unable to secure an RGPS title despite making several final tables. The drought ended at RGPS Passport Reno, as now he can add his first RGPS ring to his trophy case.
"I've been to six/seven final tables, but never won it," Izadi said. "Second place doesn't matter how much money, doesn't feel like first place."
Izadi came into Day 2 as the one to chase as he entered with the chip lead with 28 players left. He was active early as he knocked out Daniil Fedunov to cross the seven-figure mark. Izadi took a dip in the counts before he busted Lucas Hill to inch back closer to a million chips.
His day continued on the upward trajectory when he eliminated Shawn Roberts, but the hand that was most talked about occurred when he clashed with Adam Saven.
Izadi only had one out to eliminate Saven, who turned a full house, but the river was a spectacular one when Izadi spiked the only card in the deck that mattered to hit a straight flush and grow his stack to nearly two million.
Izadi’s magic carpet ride hit a bit of a rut following his bombastic straight flush when Joshua Prager doubled through Izadi. Izadi then suffered a cooler against Daniel Turner to drop down in the count once again.
Despite the turbulence, Izadi entered the final table with the second most chips in play.
With three left, however, Izadi sank to as low as 1,395,000 to be third in chips, but that would be the final hurdle for the champion, as he began to claw back into the match. Izadi clashed with Tim Holcomb over a series of hands that resulted in Izadi growing his stack to 3,900,000. This set the stage for Izadi to secure a double knockout to finish off the tournament and capture his first RGPS title.
Izadi spoke about how important it was to weather the highs and lows.
“Several times I got coolered or bad beat,” Izadi said. “When I lose a hand like that, I slow down. I try to fold marginal hands. As long as you're still in, you have a chance to come back.”
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamid Izadi | United States | $39,550 |
| 2 | Tim Holcomb | United States | $27,675 |
| 3 | Steve Fraser | United States | $17,005 |
| 4 | William Wolf | United States | $10,345 |
| 5 | Patrick Lanahan | United States | $7,990 |
| 6 | Joshua Prager | United States | $6,620 |
| 7 | Gennadiy Fedunov | United States | $5,640 |
| 8 | Daniel Turner | United States | $4,810 |
| 9 | Christopher Nichols | United States | $3,955 |
Day 2 Action
Local notable Daniil Fedunov was unable to outlast his father, Gennadiy Fedunov, when he was eliminated in 26th place.
WSOP Main Event Champion and RGPS Ambassador Greg Raymer was unable to get traction out of the gate and saw his main event run end in 25th place.
Day 1c chip leader Manuel DeAlmeida hovered around where he started until he was eliminated when Fraser hit running two pair to oust him.
Joshua Prager battled on Day 2. He was not shy about getting involved. Prager doubled through Izadi to find a spark. His tournament took a turn for the better as he knocked out Nicholas Iriarte in 10th place to enter the final table as the chip leader.
Prager stayed in contention as he maintained a top-three stack, but a loss to Patrick Lanahan caused Prager to take a hit to his stack. This would mark the downturn before Prager was dealt a significant blow when he got lost in a three-way all-in against Tim Holcomb and Gennadiy Fedunov. Prager would then be eliminated on the next hand as the big blind ate most of his remaining stack and was eliminated in sixth place.
Lanahan followed in fifth, before William Wolf lost to Holcomb in fourth place, before Izadi sealed the win with a double knockout to wrap up the tournament.
This concludes the PokerNews coverage of the RGPS Passport Reno $800 Main Event at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa. Check back here for all your poker updates and coverage.