Jonathan Tamayo triumphed in the World Series of Poker's (WSOP) Main Event on Wednesday, earning a $10 million cash prize, a gold bracelet, and a lifetime of bragging rights.
The 38-year-old poker professional from Humble, Texas defeated Jordan Griff — a 30-year-old amateur from Scottsdale, Arizona — following over three hours of heads-up competition at the Horseshoe Las Vegas.
Griff started the day as the chip leader, but in the final hand of 65, all the chips went in as Tamayo hit two pair against Griff’s top pair, stealing a Chris Moneymaker-style dream victory from the data and analytics manager.
However, $6 million for finishing second isn't too bad.
Prior to his victory, Tamayo had garnered $2.3 million in earnings from live tournaments and slightly more than $1 million from online competitions. The nearest he had gotten to winning the Main Event before was in 2009, when he finished in 21st place, earning $352,832.
Sweden’s Niklas Astedt — the online poker player recognized as Lena900 — entered Day 10 with the highest stack and the best odds of victory. However, due to the game's unpredictable nature, he was knocked out in under an hour, holding top pair and a straight draw versus a set of nines that Griff had.
He left with $4 million.
The $10K WSOP Main Event drew a historic 10,112 participants, exceeding the last year's record of 10,043.