Sam Barnhart Becomes First Ever WSOP Circuit National Champion

The WSOP Circuit National Championship kicked off on Friday May 27th from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, NV.  The field was a mix of direct qualifiers and at-large bids.  A player won an automatic entry into the event either by winning a WSOP-C Main Event, making the final table at the four Regional Championships, or by being the “Casino Champion” at the various WSOP-C stops.  This event awarded $1 Million in prize money to the final table and the winner received a WSOP gold bracelet.

First the ring in Tunica, now the bracelet in Vegas

All but one qualifier showed up on Friday to the event.  Gary Friedlander qualified in New Orleans, but was out of the country and could not attend.  That made everyone’s chances 1/100th of a percent better to win. The field had several big names including Steve Zolotow, Dwyte Pilgrim, Bernard Lee, Brett Richey, Allen Cunningham, and all-time WSOP-C cashes leader Doug “Rico” Carli.

After Day 1, La Sengphet was the chip leader with 165,000 and was trying to position herself for her first WSOP bracelet.  With all of his cashing success in the WSOP-C, he still only has one WSOP-C ring to his credit, and zero bracelets.  Unfortunately, that streak will continue as Carli fell as the true bubble boy in this event in 11th place.

The final ten players were reached, but only nine would reach the TV final table.  Huy Nguyen busted in 10th place, and while he received a $27,500 payday, he likely would have much rather had a shot for the bracelet.

La Sengphet was the last woman standing and made the final table of the event.  However, Jonathan Poche was the chip leader heading into the final table.  Here is how the final table looked at the start of play:

1.  Charles Moore                    65,500

2.  Adam Hui                            239,000

3.  Drazen Ilich             118,000

4.  Jonathan Poche                   534,000

5.  Josh Evans                          222.500

6.  La Sengphet                        245,000

7.  Sam Barnhart                      166,000

8.  James Anderson                  235,000

9.  Matthew Lawrence              140,000

La Sengphet started the day 2nd in chips, but would ultimately fall in 4th place.  She moved all-in with 8-5 on a Q-5-4 board and was called by James Anderson.  A queen on the turn left her drawing dead, and out in 4th.  She took home $100,000 for her strong finish.

Heads-up play was between James Anderson and Sam Barnhart, with Anderson holding a small lead.  The turning point of the match was a hand that saw Sam Barnhart shove pre-flop with A-3, only to run into the pocket kings of Anderson.  Anderson’s kings held through the flop and turn, but an ace on the river gave Barnhart a dominating chip lead.

At this point, it was Barnhart with 1.726 Million versus just 272,00 for Anderson.   The final hand of the match saw Barnhart put Anderson all-in, and again Barnhart was behind.  He held Ks-Qc against the Ad-10d of Anderson.  The flop fell K-J-7 to give Barnhart the lead, but now Anderson had a gutshot straight draw.  The turn and river both fell complete blanks, and Barnhart is the champion.

Sam Barnhart is the first ever WSOP Circuit National Champion.  He took home $300,000 and the first WSOP gold bracelet of the summer.  Barnhart qualified for this event after winning the Tunica Circuit Main Event title and has since taken a year off from his job to pursue playing poker full time.

Congratulations to Sam Barnhart, the WSOP Circuit National Champion.

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