Byron Johnson Credits Maurice Hawkins for Help Winning $166,176 Prize in WSOPC Tampa Opener
PokerNews is in town to live report the $1,700 Main Event and two high roller tournaments here at the World Series of Poker Circuit at Hard Rock Tampa, but those are just three of the gold ring events that will have played out by the end of the series.
In Event #1: $600 NLH Double Stack, 2,433 entrants competed over five starting flights to create a $1,252,995 prize pool. That was paid out to the top 355 spots and among those to make deep runs were Corey Zedo (5th - $47,378), John Racener (8th - $23,410), Filipp Khavin (9th - $18,797), Andrew Brinkley (13th - $12,410), Marsha Wolak (18th - $10,205), Frank Covich (51st - $2,868), and Cord Garcia (52nd - $2,868).
In the end, 35-year-old Bryon Johnson of Wesley Chapel, Florida bested Fabian Foster in heads-up play to win the title and a $166,176 first-place prize.
“This means a lot, especially with the training I’ve been getting, I’ve been working with Maurice Hawkins. These were all some great players, so it was just a blessing to take this down,” Johnson said after his victory.
He continued: “To win this you actually have to run pretty good, so I think I ran pretty good. It seems like when I needed to hit the cards, I did. It worked out pretty good for me. There was one hand earlier in the tournament when I was all in, I had jack-ten suited, I tried to steal the blinds and someone called with pocket aces. I ended up hitting two tens on the flop and it was pretty much smooth sailing since that point.”
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Byron Johnson | Wesley Chapel, Florida | $166,176 |
| 2 | Fabian Foster | Florida | $102,705 |
| 3 | Juan Restrepo | Pembroke Pines, Florida | $78,741 |
| 4 | Massimo Dirienzo | Atlanta, Georgia | $60,856 |
| 5 | Corey Zedo | Denver, Colorado | $47,378 |
| 6 | Carlos Loving | Tampa, Florida | $37,168 |
| 7 | Michael Spada | Bradenton, Florida | $30,344 |
| 8 | John Racener | Tampa, Florida | $23,410 |
| 9 | Filipp Khavin | St. Petersburg, Florida | $18,797 |