Start to Finish: Daniel Lowery Dominates RGPS Joplin Main Event
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After more than 12 hours of play in the Downstream Casino Ballroom, RunGood Poker Series ambassador Daniel Lowery emerged victorious, defeating Justin Dreiling heads-up to claim the top prize of $74,398 and the coveted RGPS Main Event ring.
With over $3.7 million in career poker earnings and 18 WSOP Circuit rings to his name, Lowery is no stranger to the winner’s circle—but conquering a 496-entry field in the Main Event made this win feel a little more special.
Although Lowery already held several RGPS rings, this marked his first Main Event victory—something he reflected on after the win. “It feels good. I’ve been close a lot of times in these RunGood Main Events, so to finally win and have that as an accolade is cool,” he said. He also touched on what it meant to earn the title as a series ambassador: “Any win feels good, but being able to represent our brand, have a great time here all weekend, and finish strong—it just feels really good.”
RGPS Joplin Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Lowery | United States | 71,398 |
| 2 | Justin Dreiling | United States | $44,123 |
| 3 | Jeffrey Copeland | United States | $32,064 |
| 4 | Todd Tucker | United States | $23,646 |
| 5 | Connor Hayward | United States | $17,699 |
| 6 | Colin Arnold | United States | $13,450 |
| 7 | Justin Brevik | United States | $10,379 |
| 8 | Keith Murrell | United States | $8,135 |
| 9 | Joshua Brower | United States | $6,478 |
Smooth Sailing on Day 2
Lowery entered Day 2 second in chips out of the 60 returning players, after bagging the Day 1B chip lead—just 6,000 chips shy of the overall lead. When asked about his mindset heading into the final day with a big stack, he said, “They usually expect me to be going off, so I don't really try to get involved too quickly,” before adding, “But eventually, I'm trying to build. I know how to use a big stack—I'm used to having a big stack, and it's where I feel most comfortable.”
Lowery executed his game plan to perfection, patiently building his stack during the early stages of Day 2. A pivotal hand helped him separate himself from the field when his pocket jacks held strong in a double knockout against Scotter Clark, who held ace-king, and Daniel Ocain, who held ace-queen.
Lowery, who still held the chip lead at the time of the three-table redraw, continued to pick his spots and build on his advantage. He eliminated Tyler Barnes (24th), Timothy Black (22nd), Bill Hayes (18th), Iman Alsaden (15th), and Charles Deatherage (11th), heading into the final table with nearly 1,500,000 more chips than the next closest player.
Final Table
The momentum didn’t stop for Lowery once he reached the final table, as his pocket deuces held up to eliminate Joshua Brower in ninth place.
After Keith Murrell exited in eighth and Justin Brevik followed in seventh, Lowery encountered his first real roadblock of Day 2. Reflecting on that stretch after his win, Lowery said, “I feel like I went wire to wire today — I had the chip lead the whole time, except for about 45 minutes.”
During that 45-minute stretch, with six players remaining, Lowery lost two sizable pots to eventual runner-up Dreiling and found himself in the middle of the pack. That’s when he decided to shift gears, saying, “There was a point where I felt like I needed to totally put on the brakes and wait until we were four or five handed before I went back to work.” He added, “I just felt like I needed to change the dynamic a bit, because it wasn’t working six-handed when I lost the chip lead.”
Although Lowery may not have had his foot on the gas in his usual fashion, he quickly halted his slide while still six-handed. His pocket kings held strong against Dreiling’s flopped open-ended straight draw, allowing him to double up and retake the chip lead — the only time he was all-in and at risk on Day 2.
Lowery continued to pick his spots carefully six-handed and only momentarily lost the chip lead after fellow RGPS Ambassador Jeffrey Copeland won a massive flip to eliminate Colin Arnold in sixth place.
From there, things once again went according to plan for Lowery. He regained the chip lead with five players remaining, and after Connor Hayward exited in fifth place, Lowery added a couple more knockouts to his tally. He eliminated Todd Tucker in fourth place, despite Tucker having him dominated preflop.
Shortly after, Lowery and fellow RGPS Ambassador Copeland went to off to the races, with Lowery holding pocket jacks against Copeland’s ace-queen. The flop brought a queen to give Copeland the lead, but the turn completed a straight for Lowery, sending Copeland to the rail in third and setting up a heads-up match with Dreiling.
Heads-Up Battle
To start heads-up play, Lowery held a commanding chip lead, with approximately 10,000,000 of the 14,900,000 chips in play. However, the momentum shifted early when Dreiling flopped trips against Lowery’s pair of nines. Lowery paid him off on the river after Dreiling moved all in, evening the chip counts between the two.
Despite the setback, Lowery continued to apply pressure, winning several small pots to rebuild his lead. But he hit another speed bump when he called a large river bet, only to see that Dreiling had made quads—momentarily giving Dreiling the chip advantage. Lowery, however, remained unfazed. He quickly recovered, retaking the lead and extending it to an even greater margin than when heads-up play began.
Dreiling managed to find one double-up to stay alive, but shortly afterward, he moved all in with king-three suited. Lowery made the call with pocket threes, and when the board ran out with no help for Dreiling, it was Lowery who emerged victorious. Dreiling finished as the runner-up, earning $44,123 for his efforts.
After the victory Lowery talked about how he felt about the state of his game saying, "I felt really good, and felt focused today, I have been for the last few months". He's hoping to be able to keep the same form coming into the WSOP this summer, but mentioned he hopes to attend the RGPS stop in Kansas City.
That concludes our coverage here in Joplin for the RGPS, but be sure to follow PokerNews for live updates and coverage on tournaments from all around the globe.
