"Colossus" Cord Garcia Wins WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond Event #7 for 2nd Gold Ring
The World Series of Poker Circuit, which is in its 12th season, is currently at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana, which is just outside Chicago. We already told you about Amanda Heidbrick's win of $101,190 after topping 2,211 entrants in Event #1 $365 No-Limit Hold’em Reentry, and now, six events later, Cord Garcia has followed in her footsteps of capturing a coveted gold ring.
If that name sounds familiar, it should. That's because Garcia, who has been nicknamed "Colossus Cord," topped a record-setting field of 22,374 to win the 2015 WSOP Event #5 The Colossus, a $565 buy-in tournament that created a whooping prize pool of $11,187,000. For winning the largest live poker tournament in history, Garcia earned $638,880 and his first WSOP gold bracelet.
Prior to that, in 2012, Garcia won his first WSOP Circuit gold ring in Event #5: $365 No-Limit Hold'em at the Horseshoe Bossier City stop, a win that netted him $18,449. That means his latest win at Horseshoe Hammond marked the second gold ring for the 25-year-old pro from Houston, Texas.
“You don’t win first place often, so it feels good,” said Garcia. “I think every tournament is special in its own way. This is my second ring and I was really motivated to try to chase points this year for the [WSOP Global Casino Championship].”
In Event #7: $1,125 No-Limit Hold'em – a tournament that attracted 142 players and created a prize pool of $142,000 – Garcia prevailed over Brandon Fish, who was just a couple months removed from his win in the RunGood Poker Series Council Bluffs Main Event.
“I’m just trying to ride the wave and appreciate everything that’s happening and see what I can turn it into now,” Garcia said. “Everything I play for the rest of the year, it’s just icing on the cake. I’m going to keep staying at it and try to do something else.”
According to reports, Garcia, Fish and Kyle Julius battled for nearly three hours. Julius held the chip lead three-handed, but eventually doubled up Fish, who turned right around and finished the Chicago pro off in third place for $17,739. That set up a heads-up match that lasted another two hours, during which time both players flirted with elimination. Eventually Garcia took over the chip lead, and sent Fish packing in second place for $24,575.
“I would say I am more motivated now than ever,” said Garcia. “I know I’m capable of playing any stack at any time in any field. That’s definitely very valuable to have that mentality going in. At the same time I try to stay balanced and try to realize that I’m not invincible. It’s a very fine line […] I love the game — just keeping getting more trophies, more bracelets. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cord Garcia | $39,759 |
| 2 | Brandon Fish | $24,575 |
| 3 | Kyle Julius | $17,739 |
| 4 | Philip Ariganello | $13,034 |
| 5 | James Kasputis | $9,744 |
| 6 | Fadi Hamad | $7,408 |
| 7 | Sasidhar Bobba | $5,727 |
| 8 | Kevin Andriamahefa | $4,499 |
| 9 | Maxx Coleman | $3,591 |
This weekend, the WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Hammond $1,675 Main Event will take place, as well as a $5,300 High Roller ring event on Sunday. PokerNews will bring you recaps from both events upon completion of play.
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