John Mizeur, Wendy Adamczyk-D'Andrea, and Craig Ashley Win FPN Main Event for $12,500 Each!
The Free Poker Network Step Into the Ring National Championship has come to an end and John Mizeur, Wendy Adamczyk-D'Andrea, and Craig Ashley have claimed the FPN trophies and a $12,500 Main Event prize package.
These three champions outlasted a field of 324 to score this prize, which they are encouraged to use in the big tournament later this summer.
“I knew it was going to happen, I really did,” Mizeur said in his post-win interview, and the two other winners nodded in agreement.
"I'm feeling really shocked...and great...I really don't know how I did it, I just got lucky when I needed to," said the Illinois native Adamczyk-D'Andrea, as this is her biggest cash.
It is actually all three winners' biggest cash, and they were definitely excited about using the money to fire in more tournaments.
FPN Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Qualifying Bar | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Craig Ashley | Office Bar, Illinois | $12,500 |
| 2 | Wendy Adamczyk-D'Andrea | Town Bar & Grill, Illinois | $12,500 |
| 3 | John Mizeur | Danny's Dugout, Minnesota | $12,500 |
| 4 | Randy Onstad | Route 65, Minnesota | $1,000 |
| 5 | Keith Wahl | Misfits, Las Vegas | $1,000 |
| 6 | Jim Carroll | DC Cobbs, Illinois | $1,000 |
| 7 | Skyler Sands | Cando Bar, North Dakota | $1,000 |
| 8 | Roy Winkelman | Muddy Low, Minnesota | $1,000 |
| 9 | Jennifer Bezhig | Route 47, Minnesota | $1,000 |
Players came from all over the country after winning their seats in local and online tournaments, as well as through instant win opportunities and other drawings. Those that did not qualify throughout the year still had the chance to come to Las Vegas to play in five different qualifiers that were offered throughout the weekend.
Among those that ran deep but couldn't make the final table were National Champion Joel Smith along with his wife Nikki Smith, and last night's Tag Team Champions Noel Batres and Paul Hamann.
Final Table Action
Coming into the final table with the chiplead was Craig Ashley, with Keith Wahl and Randy Onstad trailing behind.
The first to draw blood was Jim Carroll when he knocked out Jennifer Bezhig in 9th when she was forced all in from the blinds and failed to find a double.
Next to go was Roy Winkelman, who had been running hot all day but found himself short and all in preflop against Ashley and Mizeur. Mizeur then shoved on the flop of king-queen-five to force a fold from Ashley, and that's when Winkelman rolled over king-five for two-pair, thinking his luck was back. Unfortunately, Mizeur showed him the bad news when he tabled king-queen for a superior two-pair, and that spelled the end for Winkelman.
Skyler Sands’ elimination in 7th wasn't quite as dramatic, as he got it in multiway preflop with king-nine but an ace appeared on the board to give Mizeur top pair to send him packing.
Tonight’s sixth place finish belonged to Jim Carroll when he lost a big flip with ace-queen against the pocket jacks to Ashley, and fifth place was Keith Wahl who also lost with ace-queen, but it was especially brutal as it was to Adamczyk-D'Andrea holding ace-seven.
The final person to hit the rail tonight was Randy Onstad, who got it in with nine-ten suited against the king-jack of Ashley, but Ashley hit trip kings on the turn to spell the end for Onstad, and he was sent out on the champion’s bubble.
With his elimination, play was stopped and Ashley, Adamczyk-D'Andrea, and Mizeur were then crowned the champions and awarded the trophies and grand prize of $12,500 each.
That wraps up coverage of the Free Poker Network Step into the Ring National Championship at Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas. Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team for live updates for the rest of the summer!