Congratulations to Sam Barnhart, Winner of the WSOP-Circuit National Championship ($300,000)!
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After three days of non-stop poker action and a long final day that underlined the highs and lows of any final table, the inaugural 2010-11 WSOP-Circuit National Championship has been run and won by Little Rock, Arkansas native Sam Barnhart.
On a weekend where many opt to party hard and enjoy life in a commemoration of U.S Service Members who died in the military service, 100 individuals chose to celebrate their Memorial Day weekend by partaking in the WSOP-Circuit National Championship.
With the tournament only allowing 100 qualified players to take a seat, 97 managed to journey out to Las Vegas to see if they could snag a piece of the $1,000,000 prizepool. Day 1 saw many heated battles on the felt as players with WSOP-Circuit resumes longer then this wrap-up post looked to give them the best opportunity at sitting atop the super-talented field. Only 35 players managed to survive for a day two berth, and when the penultimate day of the tournament was over, our final table of nine was set with everyone breathing a sigh of relief knowing that they were returning to the bright lights of the final table with their bankroll guaranteed of some extra padding.
A rivered outdraw would force Matthew Lawrence to commit his short-stack a few hands later, and consequently he would be first out the door before Adam Hui was unable to outdraw top set with his two-pair and backdoor flush-draw. Following the elimination of Drazen Ilich in seventh, chips would circle round the table for nearly three hours before Charles "Woody" Moore would be unable to snag a third lucky river as he exited in sixth. Unfortunately for majority tournament chip leader Jonathan Poche, he wasn't able to capitalise on his earlier run good as he bowed out next before La Sengphet's galliant run ended in fourth. Ninety minutes would pass before Josh Evans was unable to outdraw a pair of ladies as heads-up play was reached after nine hours of play.
Staff, railbirds and the media row all expected a very heated heads-up battle between Sam Barnhart - WSOP-Circuit Tunica Champion - and James Anderson - WSOP-Circuit Hammond Champion as both began the battle just a few big blinds apart. Surprisingly however a massive all-in preflop pot would develop just several hands in when Barnhart's 
outdrew Anderson's 
after spiking two-pair to leave Anderson decimated with just ten big blinds. Anderson would fight hard to try and get himself back in the match, but inevitably he would see his dream of become a multiple WSOP-Circuit Champion in the same season (for now) end when his 
was outdrawn by the 
of Barnhart.
For Barnhart, this win here not only earns him a coveted gold bracelet and $300,000, but also puts him on the path to becoming one of the great WSOP-Circuit players with a resume that now includes seven cashes and two titles for close to $500,000 in prizemoney. Congratulations to Sam Barnhart for playing an excellent tournament here with an exciting mix of aggression, control, timing and a desire to win the 2010-11 WSOP-Circuit National Championship!
For the PokerNews Live Reporting Team, our focus will now be switched to the 2011 World Series of Poker where our hard-working team will be on the floor of the Rio Hotel & Casino providing extensive live coverage of every event as we look to unearth the next World Champion.
Until Tuesday when the action kicks off, PokerNews would like to wish you all good luck in chasing your poker dream like Sam Barnhart did today while also sending out a huge thank-you to Ceasars Palace and the WSOP-Circuit staff for their wonderful hospitality and assistance in the inaugural WSOP-Circuit National Championship.