Krzysztof Stybaniewicz Wins Largest WSOP Circuit Main Event of 2015
On Monday, Krzysztof Stybaniewicz topped a field of 1,376 entries in the World Series of Poker Circuit Hammond $1,675 Main Event to win $356,043. Stybaniewicz's win landed him his second gold ring and increased his career live tournament earnings to $535,586.
A native of Denver Colorado, Stybaniewicz told WSOP officials that he hopped into poker full time following college graduation in 2011. After a few years playing professionally, the finance major decided to take some away from poker. His return saw four cashes at the 2015 WSOP in Las Vegas totaling $18,018 and a $3,150 result from a side event at the 2015 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open before his big win at Hammond.
"This means everything to me," Stybaniewicz told the WSOP after his win. "I have a lot of friends that have had a lot of success. These guys are constantly making final tables and I'm kind of on the sidelines. It was nice to have the roles be reversed for once […] Everything went right and all the spots worked out. I kept the gas pedal to the floor and brought it home."
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Krzysztof Stybaniewicz | $356,043 |
| 2 | Joe Kuether | $220,848 |
| 3 | Lytle Allen | $161,838 |
| 4 | Michael Younan | $123,035 |
| 5 | Ben Beever | $93,664 |
| 6 | Robert Kuhn | $72,137 |
| 7 | Kevin Saul | $56,203 |
| 8 | Hao Sun | $44,293 |
| 9 | Peter Vitantonio | $35,315 |
The majority of names at the final table are fairly unknown in the poker world, but both Joe Kuether and Kevin Saul are top competitors that Stybaniewicz had to battle with. Stybaniewicz ended up in heads-up play with Kuether, but Colorado proved greater than Wisconsin in this duel to give Stybaniewicz the victory.
On the final hand of the tournament, the two players saw the J♠8♦2♥ flop with Kuether in position. Both players checked, and the 3♥ landed on the turn. Stybaniewicz checked, and Kuether bet 800,000. Stybaniewicz check-raised all in, and Kuether made the call with the 10♣10♠. Stybaniewicz held the J♥9♠ and was in the lead. The A♦ river card sealed the deal for Stybaniewicz, and he earned the title.
"To beat Joe heads up is even more special because of the run he's been on in the last year and a half," Stybaniewicz told the WSOP. "He's obviously one of the best live tournament players in the world."
Kuether missed out on his third gold ring, but did add $220,848 in second-place prize money to his live tournament record that now boasts earnings of over $4.8 million.
PokerNews' own Mo Nuwwarah finished in 59th place for $5,449. Nuwwarah was one of the casualties of Stybaniewicz. According to event reports, on the end of a K♣Q♥8♥2♠10♠ board, Stybaniewicz checked and Nuwwarah bet 129,000 with about 200,000 behind. Stybaniewicz check-raised all in, and Nuwwarah called off his stack with 2x2x for bottom set. Stybaniewicz had rivered a Broadway straight with the A♥J♥ and won the pot.
The 2015 WSOP Circuit Hammond Main Event generated a prize pool of $2.064 million and the top 153 places were paid. Other notables that cashed were Kelly Minkin (10th - $28,483), Aaron Steury (12th - $28,483), Tom Koral (16th - $19,133), Wade Woelfel (43rd - $6,687), Daniel Weinman (44th - $6,687), Harrison Gimbel (48th - $6,006), Doug Carli (65th - $4,974), Nick Pupillo (85th - $4,211), Aditya Prasetyo (111th - $3,282), Aaron Massey (118th - $3,013), Blake Bohn (119th - $3,013), and Scott Bohlman (137th - $2,766).
*Image courtesy of the WSOP.
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