National Championship
Day 3 Completed
2010-11 World Series of Poker Circuit - $1,000,000 National Championship
National Championship
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2010-11 World Series of Poker Circuit - $1,000,000 National Championship
Entries
100
Level
21
Blinds
10,000 / 20,000
Ante
3,000
![[user80015]](/img/avatars/avatar.svg){kind=avatar}
Level 21
: 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
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.
Level 21
: 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
With the action on Sam Barnhart on the button, he looked up and eyed James Anderson's chip stack before announcing he was all-in. Anderson peeled back his hand before nodding in accordance and making the call to be at risk.
Barnhart:
Anderson:
With Anderson a slight favorite he remained seated awaiting his tournament fate while Barnhart stood nervously over his imposing chip stack hoping that within a few moments he would be crowned champion.
The 
flop gave Barnhart the lead but left Anderson with outs to his ace, a queen for a straight or running diamonds or tens. When the 
was flipped over on the turn, Anderson would need to spike one of his six outs if he was to remain in this heads-up battle.
Unfortunately for the Berea, Ohio native, the river landed the 
to end his tournament in a very respectable 2nd place for a $200,000 payday as Sam Barnhart is crowned the inaugural WSOP-Circuit National Championship Champion for 2010-11.
Level 21
: 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
James Anderson limped in and Sam Barnhart bumped it up to 70,000.
Anderson made the call, but when faced with Barnhart's all in shove on the 
flop, he quickly mucked.
Level 21
: 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
Sam Barnhart limped in and James Anderson checked his option before they saw the turn for free with the board reading 
.
Anderson checked and Barnhart tossed out 50,000 which Anderson called before both players checked the 
on the river.
Anderson tabled his 
to claim the pot and move his stack close to the 350,000-chip mark.
Level 21
: 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
From the button, James Anderson pushed all in for slightly over 200,000.
"How much is it roughly?" asked Sam Barnhart.
As Anderson began cutting his chips out, Barnhart eventually tossed his cards casually at the muck to give Anderson some much-needed chips.
James Anderson opened his button to 50,000 only to have Sam Barnhart shove all in for 860,000. Anderson immediately made the call.
Barnhart:
Anderson:
With Barnhart trailing in chips and in hand strength, the sweat-tastic 
flop gave Barnhart a great chance of staying alive in the tournament.
"Not a bad flop!" stated Barnhart before the 
rolled off on the turn and Barnhart continued by saying, "throw an ace out there!"
And the dealer would deliver by dropping the cruel on the river to give Barnhart aces-up and send him soaring to over 1,700,000 as Anderson plummets down to just over ten big blinds.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,726,000
749,000
|
749,000 |
|
272,000
-749,000
|
-749,000 |
|
||
Level 21
: 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
Sam Barnhart limped the button only to fold following a James Anderson raise to 65,000.
Level 21
: 10,000/20,000, 3,000 ante
James Anderson opened his button to 50,000 and Sam Barnhart made the call to see a 
flop.
Barnhart checked to Anderson who opted to fire out a 60,000-chip continuation-bet which was met with a fold from Barnhart.