Max Young Claims Fifth Ring in WSOP Circuit Choctaw Victory ($263,815)
The $1,700 WSOP Circuit Choctaw Main Event drew 893 entries and well-known Circuit grinder Maxwell Young claimed the title for his fifth gold ring and second Main Event title after he won the Main Event in Tahoe a year ago. The Oregon-based up-and-comer collected his largest career cash of $263,815 with the win Monday that also locked him up a seat in the 2019 Global Casino Championship. Young also crossed the $1 million mark in total live earnings with the victory.
Eventual runner-up Jared Hemingway went into the final day of play Monday as the chip leader with 12 remaining, according to the WSOPC live updates, and needed to finish in the top seven to lock up Casino Champion and a seat in the Global Casino Championship, which he did.
Among the 91 Main Event cashers who didn’t make the final day were Eric Bunch (18th - $13,542), Mina Greco (20th - $11,283), Joshua Vizcarra (31st - $6,088), Ray Qartomy (38th - $4,789), Dann Turner (46th - $4,316), Marty Gorenc (51st - $4,316), Chris Staats (60th - $3,923), Harry Arutyunyan (72nd - $3,612), Blair Hinkle (73rd - $3,328) and Bart Bogard (81st - $3,328).
2018 WSOP Circuit Choctaw Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maxwell Young | Seaside, OR | $263,815 |
| 2 | Jared Hemingway | Greenville, TX | $163,024 |
| 3 | Jonathan Bloyen | Denton, TX | $120,083 |
| 4 | Rolando Lozano | Channelview, TX | $89,616 |
| 5 | Robert DeLeon | Plano, TX | $67,753 |
| 6 | Nivedan Nasina | Allen, TX | $51,884 |
| 7 | Terry Presley | Huntsville, AR | $40,235 |
| 8 | Wayne Lovell | Killeen, TX | $31,590 |
| 9 | Charles Johnson | Norcross, GA | $25,110 |
2018 WSOP Circuit Choctaw Main Event Final Day Action
The shortest stack to start the final day belonged to Jeb Hutton and he soon got his last seven big blinds in on the button with ace-six suited. He ran into the ace-ten of Jonathan Bloyen in the big blind though and didn’t find help from the board, out in 12th for $20,199.
Next out was Jean “Prince” Gaspard, who was in good position to double up with pocket nines on a flop of eight-six-six, at risk against Hemingway who held eight-nine. The seven turned provided Hemingway with some chop outs, but an eight on the river gave Hemingway a full house to send Gaspard out short of the unofficial final table for a payday of $20,199.
Hemingway had a sizable lead heading into the final ten, Young starting out in fourth place. Hemingway promptly took a hit to his stack when he doubled up Nivedan Nasina, who turned a set of nines and picked off Hemingway’s turn and river bluffs.
Still with the lead, Hemingway then doubled up Charles Johnson, whose pocket kings held against Hemingway’s flopped pair of eights after he defended the big blind with jack-eight.
Todd Rebello was the second shortest stack to start the day and he was eliminated in tenth place after running seven-eight into Rolando Lozano’s ace-king suited blind vs. blind.
WSOP Circuit Choctaw Official Final Table Action
Johnson was the first to head to the payouts from the official final table after flopping top pair of kings against the top two pair of Robert DeLeon in a limped pot and getting in stacks. A short-stacked Wayne Lovell busted next in eighth after he shoved king-six in the small blind and got looked up by big blind DeLeon with jack-ten suited. The queen-jack-nine flop favored DeLeon and Lovell couldn’t find a ten on the runout. DeLeon had the chip lead soon after that.
Terry Presley hit the payout desk in seventh place after re-shoving his last ten big blinds with queen-ten suited over Lozano’s raise. Lozano made the call with ace-jack and although Presley flopped a pair of tens to take the lead, Lozano rivered an ace to bring the field down to six.
After remaining quiet for the first part of the day, Young put his stack to work, shoving his last 23 big blinds from the small blind over Bloyen’s hijack open, and found himself racing with pocket fours against Bloyen’s ace-queen. The runout was clean for Young, who shot up the counts.
Then, Nasina shoved for 18 big blinds in middle position with king-ten of diamonds and was met with a re-shove from Young on the button. Young’s ace-king was dominating, and despite two diamonds on the flop, Nasina didn’t catch up and was out in sixth.
DeLeon was eliminated next at the hands of Bloyen, who took most of DeLeon’s stack when he flopped a gutshot straight flush draw with six-nine suited in the big blind and called DeLeon’s shove. DeLeon held top pair and couldn’t fade the straight draw. He was out soon after when his queen-nine suited couldn’t best Bloyen’s king-queen.
Hemingway and Young Vie for Chip Lead
From there, it was the Young and Hemingway show. Lozano busted in fourth place when he re-shoved ace-five suited and Hemingway’s pocket nines held up. Hemingway then took from Young in a couple sizable pots to grind him down, but then Young and Bloyen clashed.
Bloyen defended Young’s button raise from the small blind with eight-six and flopped open-ended on nine-nine-seven. He check-called the flop and check-shoved the three turn, only to be staring at Young’s jack-nine for flopped trips. Bloyen needed a five or ten to double through but didn’t find it and he was out in third for the first six-figure payday.
Young began heads-up with a slight chip disadvantage but that soon changed as he took pot after pot from Hemingway to climb into a big lead. Hemingway found two doubles though, one with jacks against deuces and another with ace-eight suited against Young’s jacks.
Despite evening out the stacks, the two were soon all in for a big coin flip, Hemingway with deuces and Young holding ace-nine suited. Two nines on the flop had Hemingway down to two outs, and he was soon eliminated in second for a $163,024 consolation prize. His two second-place finishes plus a win in Event #5 and another cash secured him the Casino Champion title though.
One player sweating the heads-up match was Bart Bogard, who stood to earn the second allotted GCC seat if Hemingway won a seat with a Main Event victory. It wasn’t to be for Bogard, who had a strong series showing with six cashes including a win, a third-place finish in Event #1 $250 Double Stack, and eighth place in Event #5 $400 Six-Max. See below for a list of all the ring winners from the Choctaw stop.
2018 WSOP Circuit Choctaw Ring Winners
| Event | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| $250 Double Stack | Schuyler Thornton | $21,806 |
| $400 Re-entry | Wes Cutshall | $107,573 |
| $400 One-Day | Trung Pham | $25,883 |
| $400 PLO | Jorge Cosenza | $12,382 |
| $400 Six-Max | Jared Hemingway | $20,616 |
| $400 NLHE | Wilbern Hoffman | $12,937 |
| $400 NLHE | Joshua Vizcarra | $14,612 |
| $400 Bounty | Rex Worrell | $12,879 |
| $400 NLHE | Bart Bogard | $11,916 |
| $400 Monster Stack | Carl Brewington | $42,751 |
| $600 NLHE | Martin Ryan | $19,323 |
| $400 Bounty | Lloyd Hemingway | $12,478 |
Photo courtesy of WSOP Circuit.
