Oh, God! Byrnes Clinches First RGPS Ring in $1,100 Main Event in Kansas City
After three thrilling days at the Harrah's Casino and Hotel Kansas City, the $1,100 Main Event of the RunGood Poker Series has come to a close. The tournament featured three Day 1 flights over two days, attracting a total of 415 entrants, with 50 players advancing to Day 2. They created an impressive prize pool of $402,550, with a minimum cash prize of $1,776 and a top prize of $81,109. In a back and forth heads-up showdown, Bill Byrnes triumphed over Rohan Aggarwal, securing his first RGPS Ring.
Byrnes, hailing from Wentzville, MO, now sits just shy of $1,000,000 in career poker tournament earnings with this victory. He entered Day 2 as one of the shorter stacks, starting with 217,000 chips. However, he quickly chipped up and maintained a steady presence around the 1,000,000 chip mark throughout the later stages of the day.
At the final table, Byrnes picked his spots carefully, choosing not to engage too often as he laddered up through multiple pay jumps. With four players remaining, he found himself as the clear short stack and decided to ramp up his aggression, jamming multiple times to accumulate chips. When asked about his mindset as the short stack, he said, “I felt like I had nothing to lose. I was meant to go out next, so I went for it.” Eventually he found himself heads up for the title, where he defeated Aggarowal.
After seeing his stack near its peak at the final table, Byrnes had a pivotal moment when one of his all-ins was called; he held pocket queens and successfully doubled up, further solidifying his position. Soon after he two more players were eliminated, and he found himself heads up where he defeated Aggarwal for the title.
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Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Byrnes | United States | $81,109 |
| 2 | Rohan Aggarwal | United States | $54,073 |
| 3 | James Mackey | United States | $39,779 |
| 4 | Duma Lowery | United States | $29,610 |
| 5 | Cory Aurentz | United States | $22,304 |
| 6 | Danny Clarkson | United States | $17,004 |
| 7 | Demian Shumaker | United States | $13,123 |
| 8 | Michael Johns | United States | $10,253 |
| 9 | Byron Leiva | United States | $8,111 |
Early Day Action
The first elimination of the day unfolded dramatically. RunGood Poker Series regular Todd Tucker found himself all in on the turn, holding a set of fours against Chris Hosier's over pair with pocket nines. Tucker seemed poised to secure a crucial double up, but when the river revealed a nine, Hosier made a bigger set. Unfortunately for Tucker, that meant he was the first player to hit the rail, leaving him stunned as he exited.
The overall chip leader heading into Day 2, Eric Jordan, had an unexpected early exit. A massive pot developed between him and Frank Kissick, with all the chips going in on the turn. Jordan revealed top pair with king-jack, but unfortunately for him, he ran into Kissick’s pocket aces. The river brought no salvation for Jordan, and he was eliminated in 25th place, leaving with $2,609 for his run.
Three World Series of Poker bracelet winners were in the mix on Day 2, but the first to exit was Grant Hinkle. With an impressive resume boasting over $1.7 million in career tournament earnings, Hinkle found himself all in with ace-ten against Michael Johns' pocket sixes. The players went to the races, but when the board ran out, Hinkle couldn't improve his hand and was eliminated in 16th place, taking home $4,336.
Not far behind Grant was his brother, Blair Hinkle, also a WSOP bracelet winner and the defending champion of the RunGood Poker Series Main Event in Kansas City. Blair appeared poised for a deep run, consistently ranking among the chip leaders in the early part of the day. However, he found himself all in with pocket nines, facing off against an opponent’s pocket sixes—a great spot to double up. But when a six appeared in the window, Hinkle couldn’t improve beyond the set of sixes, ultimately finishing in 14th place for $5,274.
Final Table
Once we reached the final table, two players stood out in their efforts to dwindle down the field, both of whom were among the most accomplished in the tournament. Duma Lowery, the Day 1a chip leader and fourth-place finisher ($29,610), boasts over $3,000,000 in poker tournament earnings. He eliminated Byron Leiva in ninth place ($8,111), Demian Shumaker in seventh ($13,123), and Danny Clarkson in sixth ($17,004).
The other early exits at the final table came at the hands of James Mackey, a two-time WPT winner and WSOP bracelet holder. He knocked out Michael Johns in eighth place ($10,253) and Cory Aurentz in fifth place ($22,304).
Ultimately, both Lowery and Mackey were eliminated by our runner-up after losing flips against Aggarwal's pocket pairs.
Heads-Up Play
Entering heads-up play, Aggarwal held approximately 7,000,000 of the 12,450,000 chips in play. He quickly extended his lead to about 8,800,000 chips after three-bet jamming on Byrnes following a raise on the flop.
However, that lead didn't last long. Byrnes managed to reclaim the momentum when he received a call on a significant river bet after pairing his ace. From that point on, Byrnes won several small pots, ultimately taking a slight chip lead.
From there, Byrnes was on the brink of the tournament championship holding two pair, needing to fade Aggarwal’s open-ended straight draw. The river confirmed Byrnes' two pair of tens and eights were best, eliminating Aggarwal and allowing Byrnes to claim his first RunGood Poker Series ring.
In an interview following his victory, Byrnes was asked how he was feeling. He responded, "Wonderful! My wife got to come up today, so it was awesome she got to see Day 2." His wife was on the rail, cheering him on throughout the entire day.
When asked about his future poker plans, he replied, "Vegas in November and December for sure." After learning about the next RGPS stops, he added, "Oh, I will definitely be in Council Bluffs, and Cleveland seems to be on the docket too."
That concludes our coverage here in Kansas City, but be sure to follow PokerNews for live updates and coverage from around the globe.
