Lone Star Poker Series Champions Social
Day 1 Completed
Lone Star Poker Series Champions Social
Lone Star Poker Series Champions Social
Day: 1
From January 22-31, the Lone Star Poker Series held its second-ever stop, which was hosted by Champions Social in Houston, Texas. The 16-event series proved to be a popular festival as the tournaments catered to a combined 2,288 entrants and awarded $932,535 in prize money. Not only that, every day featured a live stream allowing fans to watch both cash game and final table action.
The stopped started with a bang as Event #1: $400 Super Stack Kickoff drew an impressive 546 runners, which created a $177,450 prize pool, well ahead of the $100,000 guaranteed. Stephen Hart won that tournament for $32,000 and the silver belt buckle trophy.
Other notable winners included Bridgette Adkins winning Event #3: $300 NLH Ladies Only for $3,155 and a Tiffany bracelet, five-time World Series of Poker Circuit ring winner Ray Henson taking down Event #5: $400 8-Game for $4,160, John Samuelson topping a 91-entry field to win Event #11: $600 PLO Championship II for $13,028, and Logan Hewett proving himself a bounty hunter by emerging victorious in Event #13: $600 Lone Star Surprise Bounty for $15,566.
While all of those events awarded money clips as the trophy, the $600 Main Event offered up a custom silver belt buckle to the winner.
Mark-Ellis Cortez Wins Main Event
This past weekend, the Lone Star Poker Series Champions Social $600 Main Event more than doubled its $200K GTD by drawing 877 entrants over four starting flights. That resulted in a $447,270 prize pool that was paid out to the top 107 finishers.
Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were Event #9: $400 PLO Double Black Chip Bounty champ Keith Norris (10th - $5,950), James Juvancic (16th - $4,850), Tom Hudson (27th - $2,500), Tiffany Keathley (35th - $2,100), Event #14: $400 Big-O 8-Max winner Schuyler Thornton (41st - $1,850), David Shaw (57th - $1,500), Tom Laplante (69th - $1,375), John Mingus III (80th - $1,275), La Sengphet (94th - $1,200), and Rudolph Bourg (107th - $1,200).
The final table had several accomplished players including Lone Star Poker Tour co-founder Hayden Fortini and poker pro Chan Pelton, who according to The Hendon Mob have career earnings of $625,282 and $646,601 respectively.
With a slow and steady structure, it proved to be a lengthy affair with Pelton bowing out in eighth place for $8,600 and Fortini taking his leave in fourth place for $25,400. After Kristopher Burchfield exited in third place for $35,800, the title came down to local player Mark-Ellis Cortez and Brandon Bergin of Fayetteville, Georgia.
The former ultimately prevailed to win the title and $81,720 first-place prize. It was far and away Cortez’s largest poker score; in fact, the only other cash he has on The Hendon Mob is from 2019 and for a modest $1,500.
LSPS Champions Social Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark-Ellis Cortez | $81,720 |
| 2 | Brandon Bergin | $49,550 |
| 3 | Kristopher Burchfield | $35,800 |
| 4 | Hayden Fortini | $25,400 |
| 5 | Richard Semander | $18,200 |
| 6 | Amir Soleymani | $13,850 |
| 7 | Ryan Vanderpoorten | $10,500 |
| 8 | Chan Pelton | $8,600 |
| 9 | Jeremy Tinsley | $7,200 |
Justin Brassieur Wins Two Events
One of the stop’s breakout players was Louisiana’s Justin Brassieur, who captured two titles. The first came when he topped a small 25-entry field to win Event #12: $250 NLH Nightly Turbo for $1,870 after a three-way deal that saw Lone Star Poker Tour founder Kim Stone finish as runner-up for $1,723 and Catherine Young take third for $1,407.
A few days later, he secured a much larger payday in Event #16: $400 NLH Monster Stack, which drew 134 entries. This time Brassieur won $10,000 after a three-way deal with Texas players Amjad Khan and Kedron Guinn, who each took $6,714 for finishing second and third respectively.
To top it all off, Brassieur notched a 40th-place finish in the Main Event for $2,100.
Lone Star Poker Series Champions Social Winners
| Tournament | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $400 Super Stack Kickoff | 546 | $177,450 | Stephen Hart | $32,000 |
| Event #2: $400 NLH Sunday Special | 68 | $22,100 | Carlos Requena | $6,030 |
| Event #3: $300 NLH Ladies Only | 36 | $8,640 | Bridgette Adkins | $3,155 |
| Event #4: $400 NLH 6-Max | 60 | $19,500 | Adam Elfazzani | $5,055 |
| Event #5: $400 8-Game | 32 | $10,400 | Ray Henson | $4,160 |
| Event #6: $250 NLH Turbo | 33 | $6,600 | Doug Ngo | $1,694 |
| Event #7: $400 NLH Mega Stack | 97 | $31,525 | Darren Hicks | $7,409 |
| Event #8: $400 Triple Draw 3-Game Mix | 26 | $8,450 | Casey Robbins | $4,225 |
| Event #9: $400 PLO Double Black Chip Bounty | 36 | $11,700 | Keith Norris | $1,800 |
| Event #10: $400 NLH Double Black Chip Bounty | 62 | $20,150 | Linh Dinh | $2,306 |
| Event #11: $600 PLO Championship II | 91 | $46,410 | John Samuelson | $13,028 |
| Event #12: $250 NLH Nightly Turbo | 25 | $5,000 | Justin Brassieur | $1,870 |
| Event #13: $600 Lone Star Surprise Bounty | 109 | $55,590 | Logan Hewett | $15,566 |
| Event #14: $400 Big-O 8-Max | 56 | $18,200 | Schuyler Thornton | $5,460 |
| Event #15: $600 Main Event | 877 | $447,270 | Mark-Ellis Cortez | $81,720 |
| Event #16: $400 NLH Monster Stack | 134 | $43,550 | Justin Brassieur | $10,000 |
The Lone Star Poker Series Champions Social $600 Main Event more than doubled its $200K GTD by drawing 877 entrants over four starting flights. That resulted in a $447,270 prize pool that was paid out to the top 107 finishers.
After a long Day 2, it was local player Mark-Ellis Cortez finishing as the last player standing to win the title and $81,720 first-place prize.
Stay tuned for a full recap of the Lone Star Poker Series stop.
LSPS Champions Social Main Event Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark-Ellis Cortez | $81,720 |
| 2 | Brandon Bergin | $49,550 |
| 3 | Kristopher Burchfield | $35,800 |
| 4 | Hayden Fortini | $25,400 |
| 5 | Richard Semander | $18,200 |
| 6 | Amir Soleymani | $13,850 |
| 7 | Ryan Vanderpoorten | $10,500 |
| 8 | Chan Pelton | $8,600 |
| 9 | Jeremy Tinsley | $7,200 |
| 10 | Keith Norris | $5,950 |
| 11 | Jon Stanfield | $5,950 |
| 12 | Danny Fleming | $5,950 |
| 13 | Dara Taherpour | $4,850 |
| 14 | Emmanuel Mckenzie | $4,850 |
| 15 | Anh Ho | $4,850 |
| 16 | James Juvancic | $4,850 |
| 17 | Meraf Haile | $3,900 |
| 18 | Derek Normand | $3,900 |
| 19 | Joseph Coffaro | $3,900 |
| 20 | Nick Onyejiaka | $3,900 |
| 21 | William Smith | $3,150 |
| 22 | Au Ngo | $3,150 |
| 23 | Alexander Perez | $3,150 |
| 24 | Genc Govori | $3,150 |
| 25 | Lisa Smith | $2,500 |
| 26 | Dirty John | $2,500 |
| 27 | Tom Hudson | $2,500 |
| 28 | Russell Koch | $2,500 |
| 29 | Corey Segall | $2,500 |
| 30 | Eloy Rios | $2,500 |
| 31 | Lalo Cavazos | $2,500 |
| 32 | Dung Tien Mai | $2,500 |
| 33 | Will O | $2,100 |
| 34 | Christopher Wingard | $2,100 |
| 35 | Tiffany Keathley | $2,100 |
| 36 | David Hubbard | $2,100 |
| 37 | Desmond Scott | $2,100 |
| 38 | Jonathan Gaviao | $2,100 |
| 39 | Rick Welch | $2,100 |
| 40 | Justin Brassieur | $2,100 |
| 41 | Schuyler Thornton | $1,850 |
| 42 | Reggi Trotter | $1,850 |
| 43 | Braxton Dunaway | $1,850 |
| 44 | Jonathan Bennett | $1,850 |
| 45 | Kail Holcomb | $1,850 |
| 46 | William Howard | $1,850 |
| 47 | Arturo Lopez | $1,850 |
| 48 | Colin Wienken | $1,850 |
| 49 | Nick Khondkar | $1,650 |
| 50 | Peter Tran | $1,650 |
| 51 | Joseph Stafford | $1,650 |
| 52 | Noah Harthcock | $1,650 |
| 53 | David Mann | $1,650 |
| 54 | Dennis Busby | $1,650 |
| 55 | Ted Mccollom | $1,650 |
| 56 | Ambrose Brooks | $1,650 |
| 57 | David Shaw | $1,500 |
| 58 | Roberto Flores | $1,500 |
| 59 | John Conn | $1,500 |
| 60 | Kevin Kaylor | $1,500 |
| 61 | Luis Angel | $1,500 |
| 62 | Brandon Eberle | $1,500 |
| 63 | Rajappa Chidambaram | $1,500 |
| 64 | Stanley Castleman | $1,500 |
| 65 | John Samuelson | $1,375 |
| 66 | Robert Valden | $1,375 |
| 67 | Mearl Wisehart | $1,375 |
| 68 | Logan Hoover | $1,375 |
| 69 | Tom Laplante | $1,375 |
| 70 | Nathan Labus | $1,375 |
| 71 | John Jacob | $1,375 |
| 72 | Long Ma | $1,375 |
| 73 | Christopher Cummings | $1,275 |
| 74 | James Hordern | $1,275 |
| 75 | Zachary Hammons | $1,275 |
| 76 | Carl Nece | $1,275 |
| 77 | Tyler Thompson | $1,275 |
| 78 | Rick Troendly | $1,275 |
| 79 | Gabriel Abusada | $1,275 |
| 80 | John Mingus Iii | $1,275 |
| 81 | Adam Todd | $1,275 |
| 82 | Xiao Probst | $1,275 |
| 83 | Scott Gronroos | $1,275 |
| 84 | William Nguyen | $1,275 |
| 85 | Charles Carpenter | $1,275 |
| 86 | Stephen Hart | $1,275 |
| 87 | James Larkin | $1,275 |
| 88 | Warren Simon | $1,275 |
| 89 | Brian Barros Vazquez | $1,200 |
| 90 | Marshall Lamb | $1,200 |
| 91 | Ray Oliver | $1,200 |
| 92 | Shahid Ali | $1,200 |
| 93 | Shino Fujiwara | $1,200 |
| 94 | La Sengphet | $1,200 |
| 95 | Larry Bibbs | $1,200 |
| 96 | Clyde Hinton | $1,200 |
| 97 | Reagan Rich | $1,200 |
| 98 | Matthew Colvin | $1,200 |
| 99 | Michael Lehner | $1,200 |
| 100 | Jack Brown | $1,200 |
| 101 | Mark Jefferson | $1,200 |
| 102 | Dana Olson | $1,200 |
| 103 | George Pardalis | $1,200 |
| 104 | Jonathan Horowitz | $1,200 |
| 105 | Michael-Hoc Nguyen | $1,200 |
| 106 | William Baker | $1,200 |
| 107 | Rudolph Bourg | $1,200 |
The last tournament of the Lone Star Poker Series Champions Social was Event #16: $400 NLH Monster Stack Closer, which drew 134 runners and more than doubled the $20K GTD by creating a $43,550 prize pool.
That was paid out to the top 19 finishers including poker photographer Hayley Hochstetler (16th - $697), Gloria Davila (14th - $806), Rick Troendly (9th - $1,089), LSPS founder Kim Stone (7th - $1,742), Ryan Love (5th - $2,722), and Genc Govori (4th - $3,702).
The final three players worked a deal that saw Texas players Amjad Khan and Kedron Guinn each take $6,714 for finishing second and third respectively.
As for the title and trophy, that went to Justin Brassieur of Lake Charles, Louisiana, who also banked $10,000 in prize money.
Event #16 Final Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Brassieur | $10,000* |
| 2 | Amjad Khan | $6,714* |
| 3 | Kedron Guinn | $6,714* |
| 4 | Genc Govori | $3,702 |
| 5 | Ryan Love Iii | $2,722 |
| 6 | Gordon Peet | $2,178 |
| 7 | Kim Stone | $1,742 |
| 8 | Shino Fujiwara | $1,372 |
| 9 | Rick Troendly | $1,089 |
| 10 | Zachary Khang Vuong | $936 |
| 11 | Nathanael Kogel | $936 |
| 12 | Maianh Tran | $936 |
| 13 | Jerome Moon | $806 |
| 14 | Gloria Davila | $806 |
| 15 | Ryan Luna | $806 |
| 16 | Hayley Hochstetler | $697 |
| 17 | Tyler Kolness | $697 |
| 18 | Dirty John | $697 |
| 19 | Jesse Wolf | $135 |
*Denotes three-way deal.
| Tournament | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $400 Super Stack Kickoff | 546 | $177,450 | Stephen Hart | $32,000 |
| Event #2: $400 NLH Sunday Special | 68 | $22,100 | Carlos Requena | $6,030 |
| Event #3: $300 NLH Ladies Only | 36 | $8,640 | Bridgette Adkins | $3,155 |
| Event #4: $400 NLH 6-Max | 60 | $19,500 | Adam Elfazzani | $5,055 |
| Event #5: $400 8-Game | 32 | $10,400 | Ray Henson | $4,160 |
| Event #6: $250 NLH Turbo | 33 | $6,600 | Doug Ngo | $1,694 |
| Event #7: $400 NLH Mega Stack | 97 | $31,525 | Darren Hicks | $7,409 |
| Event #8: $400 Triple Draw 3-Game Mix | 26 | $8,450 | Casey Robbins | $4,225 |
| Event #9: $400 PLO Double Black Chip Bounty | 36 | $11,700 | Keith Norris | $1,800 |
| Event #10: $400 NLH Double Black Chip Bounty | 62 | $20,150 | Linh Dinh | $2,306 |
| Event #11: $600 PLO Championship II | 91 | $46,410 | John Samuelson | $13,028 |
| Event #12: $250 NLH Nightly Turbo | 25 | $5,000 | Justin Brassieur | $1,870 |
| Event #13: $600 Lone Star Surprise Bounty | 109 | $55,590 | Logan Hewett | $15,566 |
| Event #14: $400 Big-O 8-Max | 56 | $18,200 | Schuyler Thornton | $5,460 |
Day 1d, the fourth and final starting flights, in the Lone Star Poker Series Champions Social $600 Main Event attracted 265 runners, which along with Day 1a's 193, 1b's 179, and 1c's 240 brought the field up to 877 entries.
At the end of the night, just 32 remained with Emmanuel Mckenzie and his stack of 898,000 leading the way. That is ahead of both Day 1c chip leader Stanley Castleman (770,000) and Day 1a chip leader John Mingus (842,000), but behind Day 1b chip lead Chan Pelton (1,166,000).
| Player | Count |
|---|---|
| Emmanuel Mckenzie | 898,000 |
| Colin Wienken | 737,000 |
| Joseph Coffaro | 580,000 |
| William Smith | 556,000 |
| Lisa Smith | 534,000 |
| Jeremy Tinsley | 491,000 |
| Justin Brassieur | 472,000 |
| Russell Koch | 463,000 |
| Mark-Ellis Cortez | 458,000 |
| Eloy Rios | 453,000 |
| Rajappa Chidambaram | 413,000 |
| Genc Govori | 395,000 |
| Rick Troendly | 363,000 |
| Meraf Haile | 352,000 |
| Marshall Lamb | 346,000 |
| Ted Mccollom | 324,000 |
| Luis Angel | 308,000 |
| Logan Hoover | 306,000 |
| James Juvancic | 259,000 |
| Tyler Thompson | 257,000 |
| Dara Taherpour | 239,000 |
| Jonathan Bennett | 187,000 |
| La Sengphet | 175,000 |
| James Hordern | 156,000 |
| Mearl Wisehart | 146,000 |
| John Jacob | 141,000 |
| Larry Bibbs | 139,000 |
| Kevin Kaylor | 133,000 |
| William Baker | 119,000 |
| Noah Harthcock | 113,000 |
| Shino Fujiwara | 80,000 |
| Nathan Labus | 16,000 |
Day 1c, the third of four starting flights, in the Lone Star Poker Series Champions Social $600 Main Event attracted 240 runners, which along with Day 1a's 193 and 1b's 179 brought the field up to 612 with one flight to go.
At the end of the night just 29 remained with Stanley Castleman and his stack of 770,000 leading the way. That was behind both Day 1b chip lead Chan Pelton (1,166,000) and Day 1a chip leader John Mingus (842,000).
| Player | Count |
|---|---|
| Stanley Castleman | 770,000 |
| Keith Norris | 633,000 |
| Xiao Probst | 632,000 |
| Long Ma | 595,000 |
| David Shaw | 567,000 |
| Reggi Trotter | 441,000 |
| Kail Holcomb | 381,000 |
| Au Ngo | 356,000 |
| Dana Olson | 324,000 |
| Carl Nece | 314,000 |
| Ambrose Brooks | 301,000 |
| Corey Segall | 300,000 |
| Michael-Hoc Nguyen | 295,000 |
| Lalo Cavazos | 288,000 |
| Ray Oliver | 287,000 |
| John Samuelson | 265,000 |
| Clyde Hinton | 252,000 |
| James Larkin | 246,000 |
| Jack Brown | 238,000 |
| Amir Soleymani | 218,000 |
| Corey Segall | 184,000 |
| Michael-Hoc Nguyen | 167,000 |
| Lalo Cavazos | 158,000 |
| Ray Oliver | 143,000 |
| John Samuelson | 140,000 |
| Clyde Hinton | 131,000 |
| James Larkin | 106,000 |
| Jack Brown | 89,000 |
| Amir Soleymani | 89,000 |