Jordan Sleen Wins 2024 FPN Vegas $100k World Championship for $25,000
Table Of Contents
For the third year in a row, a poker player from Billy's Corner Bar & Grill in Minnesota has won the Free Poker Network (FPN) Championship. Early Monday morning, Jordan Sleen took down the 2024 FPN Vegas $100k World Championship at the Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas to win the trophy and $25,000.
The event had 388 qualifiers and a prize pool of $100,000 to make it the biggest FPN championship in history. There were 36 places paid with a minimum cash being worth $720 in the qualifying event.
The final table included runner-up Joseph Fisher ($15,000) of Illinois, Wisconsin's Dale Hjelmgren (3rd - $8,100) and Delaware's Gary Lance (4th - $5,000).
2024 FPN Vegas $100k World Championship Final Table Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordan Sleen | $25,000 | |
| 2 | Joseph Fisher | $15,000 | |
| 3 | Dale Hjelmgren | $8,100 | |
| 4 | Gary Lance | $5,000 | |
| 5 | Wendy Adamczyk-D'Andrea | $4,300 | |
| 6 | Christopher Nelson | $3,400 | |
| 7 | Brian Lilly | $2,600 | |
| 8 | Brad Bellman | $2,170 | |
| 9 | Jeff Gab | $1,750 |
Reigning champion Joel Smith, another Billy's Corner Bar & Grill regular who last year won the 2023 FPN Chasin’ Bracelets National Championship for $11,500 and his second FPN title, made the money but bowed out near the final table bubble in 11th place.
"It is really great because this is our third year in a row winning the championship," Sleen said in a winner's interview. "We had five finish in the cash tonight, including Joel Smith, the reigning champion. It's been a very good week for all of us."
World Championship Action
It took more than 13 hours to crown a winner as the field of 388 qualifiers slowly dwindled down. Some of the players who were eliminated ahead of the money include Sean Faden, Brian Kauffunger and PokerNews' own Chad Holloway, who qualified for the event alongside Connor Richards off a sixth-place finish in the Tag Team event.
One of multiple blind all-ins cost Holloway his stack, while Richards was able to make a run into the money before the PokerNews editor and live reporter bowed out in 21st place for $800.
The final two tables went quickly as the likes of Jim Obos, Todd Edmonton and Mick Alm were eliminated. Phillip Doer fell in tenth place on the final table bubble before Jeff Gab went out in ninth place for $1,750 as his ace-jack was eliminated by Sleen's ace-queen.
Sleen laid back as Brad Bellman, Brian Lilly and Christopher Nelson were eliminated and he also stayed out of the way Wendy Adamczyk-D'Andrea and Gary Lance hit the rail.
After reaching three-handed play, Sleen knocked out Dale Hjelmgren to enter his heads-up battle over Fisher with the chip lead. Heads-up play didn't last long as both players got their chips in the middle with Sleen holding king-jack and Fisher having pocket sevens.
It looked like Fisher would double before a king on the river gave Sleen the winner as the floor confirmed he had his opponent covered.
As he celebrated his victory, Sleen commented that he only had to deal with the record-breaking field "eight at a time" and reflected on what to do with his newly acquired $25,000.
"Pretty good, will probably go to good use — if I get out of the casino with it."
Team Wilburn/Sneed Wins FPN Tag Team Championship
The 2024 Free Poker Network Tag Team Championship has come to an end and it was the team of Phil Wilburn and Darren Sneed that took home the championship belts and the top prize of $1,500.
Wilburn and Sneed came into the final table with the second smallest chip stack, and they fell to just one big blind before the team rallied back for the win. They outlasted 162 teams on their way to victory.
The pair are followed in second by Mike Yoder and Marla Smith, who did most of the heavy lifting at the final table before bowing out in second. Jamieson Smith and Becky Ogrodny finished third and the team of Eugene and Boyd Brandsrud ran to fourth place, while John Zellich and Jeff Kochersperger rounded out the top five teams.
FPN Tag Team Championships Final Table Results
| Rank | Team | Poker Club | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phil Wilburn - Darren Sneed | Mr. G's & Joe's Older Than Dirt (KY) | $1,500 |
| 2 | Mike Yoder - Marla Smith | Palet Bar (NE) | $800 |
| 3 | Jamieson Smith - Becky Ogrodny | DC Cobbs & Mugs n' Manor (IL) | $300 |
| 4 | Eugene Brandsrud - Boyd Brandsrud | Woody's (SD) | $200 |
| 5 | John Zellich - Jeff Kochersperger | Mr. G's (KY) | $200 |
| 6 | Chad Holloway - Connor Richards | PokerNews | $200 |
| 7 | Catherine Stuart - Theresa Carlson | Stillins (IL) | $200 |
| 8 | Sam Jacob - Jim Perugini | 6 Paupers (DE) | $200 |
| 9 | Russ Neil - Al Buhr | Across the Trax (NE) | $200 |
“Phil and I met up a few weeks ago and we got in a heads-up game,” Sneed said in a post-win interview. “So we decided to be tag team partners. We told each other to play our game and that’s what we’ve done.”
Sneed and Wilburn are from Louisville where they grind the local bar poker scene.
“We have a ton of fun playing," Sneed continued. "The community is phenomenal, not just in Louisville, but all over. Everyone’s been great. And I’ve got my wife who has been behind me 100%. She’s my lucky charm."
Final Table Highlights
A bumper crop of 162 teams turned out and played down to the final nine, where Team Brandsrud entered with the chip lead and Connor Richards followed close behind in second, representing Chad Holloway and Team PokerNews.
It didn’t take long to get the first final table elimination when Russ Neil shoved his last 37,000 with pocket sevens on behalf of his partner, Al Buhr. Neil found two callers, Zellich and Yoder, and it was Zellich’s pocket queens that held on to eliminate the pair in ninth place.
When the final eight returned from the first break. Yoder surrendered a double to Sneed when he called a shove with the suited queen-jack. Sneed turned over pocket deuces and found another one on the turn to stay alive on the road to victory.
The team of Sam Jacob and Jim Perugini were next to go in eighth place when Jacob shoved with king-nine and Yoder called with king-ten. Jacob danced for good luck but it wasn’t enough to stay in the tournament when the board ran out with no help.
Catherine Stuart and Theresa Carlson were next to go in seventh place when their king-five was no good against Wilburn’s suited ace-six. A few moments later, PokerNews’ own Richards, a fan favorite, saw his chance with a suited king-deuce and Yoder called his shove with king-queen. Holloway looked on as his partner couldn’t catch up to avoid the sixth-place exit.
Zellich and Kochersperger were next in fifth when their pocket sixes ran into Yoder’s pocket tens. Yoder picked up yet another knockout before Team Brandsrud hit the door in fourth place after their queen-ten couldn’t beat the pocket queens of Smith.
The quick pace continued when Smith and Ogrodny were out in third a short time later after their queen-ten lost to Sneed’s suited ace five. The final two teams sat down for heads-up play and Wilburn/Sneed had a significant advantage.
The heads-up battle was short, and although Yoder fought back briefly, the big moment came when he got it in with king-jack. Sneed called with king-seven and found a seven on the turn to take the championship belts.
*Lead photo courtesy of FPN
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