The RunGood Poker Series' triumphant return to Jamul Casino saw an uptick in entrants as compared to last November. A grand total of 407 entrants over the course of three flights of play beat the set prize pool guarantee and left $211,640 to be split between 52 players. After ten hours of play, there was just one player standing alone at the end.
It was just four short months ago that Kenneth Hirose claimed a career-best score at the WSOP Circuit Commerce. He finished in second place in the Mini-Main event for $53,258. While a significant sum of money, his first big heads-up match had gone awry. Now, he can happily report a heads-up match that went his way.
“It feels much better to take it down,” Hirose said with the new shiny ring wrapped around his finger. “Obviously, that’s the goal of any tournament. To come so close and not close it out, it stings. It just feels a million times better to take the whole thing down.”
The big turning point of the tournament came at the final table when they were still nine-handed, when Hirose, as the second biggest stack, clashed with chip leader James Lawrey. He knocked out Allen Moheimani in that same hand, and after that, there was never any point in the tournament where somebody had half of the chips that Hirose had.
“At a big final table, there should be a pretty heavy focus on ICM,” the man wearing an Anti-Nit Campaign shirt said. “Especially with the payjumps being as significant as they are. In tournaments, I see a lot of ICM mistakes because, generally speaking, most people know how to play poker. The dynamic changes when the pay jumps come into play, and you need to be able to navigate the situation and understand the value of your chips.”
Primarily a cash game player, the California local player talked a little bit more about his overall strategy for tournaments.
“I don’t have any specific rituals for Day 2s,” he said. “One thing for any tournament that I think is important is I don’t eat. I feel like, personally, it helps me keep a much clearer head and gets rid of brain fog. I felt prepared today. I’ve played some final tables of tournaments online and live and done some studying. I felt good and comfortable.”
Hirose’s following plans as far as poker is concerned are grinding cash games and preparing for the 2025 WSOP. With that, the new champion claimed his prize, the new ring, and exited the tournament area.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenneth Hirose | United States | $42,875 |
| 2 | Ramon Mantuano | United States | $30,675 |
| 3 | Luis Medina | United States | $20,130 |
| 4 | Tim Acker | United States | $13,220 |
| 5 | Nan Chen | United States | $9,870 |
| 6 | Fabrice Lapeyre | United States | $8,175 |
| 7 | Di Wu | United States | $6,855 |
| 8 | James Lawrey | United States | $5,570 |
| 9 | Allen Moheimani | United States | $4,295 |
Many of the biggest stacks entering the day made early exits. Cody Blades (45th-$1,060), Jason Laughead (38th-$1,060), Tavish Margers (32nd-$1,175), Juan Carlos Navarro (27th-$1,455), and Day 1A chip leader Fernando Santiago (22nd-$1,755) all fell short of the final stages.
Derek Stark (18th-$2,485) was the last elimination before the final two tables. Chris Bremmer (17th-$2,485) saw his ace-queen lose to Di Wu’s nine-eight, while Aviram Pharsha (16th-$2,485) couldn’t fade James Lawrey’s ace-queen with his pocket kings. Former champion Nova Baghdasarian (15th-$3,035) shoved with king-ten but lost to Nan Chen’s eights. Ken Kroumer (14th-$3,035) then lost with ace-queen against Chen’s ace-king. Brac Warren (13th-$3,035) followed, as Wu’s ace-jack cracked his kings.
At the same table, Day 1B chip leader Qiyuan Yang (12th-$3,610) lost with ace-king against Lawrey’s queen-jack. Lawrey and Anastasia Knapp (11th-$3,610) became the biggest stacks but soon clashed in a cooler. Knapp flopped top two, but Lawrey had a straight and took the massive pot. Left short, Knapp busted shortly after when her ace-four couldn’t hold against Lawrey’s queen-nine. Day 1C chip leader Francisco Anzar (10th-$3,610) saw three opponents double through him before being blinded down and eliminated by Allen Moheimani.
The final table began with a huge three-way all-in. Moheimani’s pocket kings and Kenneth Hirose’s pocket aces were both at risk against chip leader Lawrey’s pocket sixes. Hirose’s aces held, vaulting him into the lead, while Moheimani exited in ninth place ($4,295).
Lawrey couldn’t recover, doubling up Luis Medina and losing several pots before busting in eighth place ($5,570) to Hirose. Lawrey’s jack-nine fell to Hirose’s king-queen on a queen-high board.
Wu’s run ended next. Medina, having laddered up through double-ups, outchipped Wu and called his shove with king-queen. Wu’s jack-five suited found no help, sending him out in seventh place ($6,855).
Hirose continued his dominance, eliminating Fabrice Lapeyre when his ace-seven held against Lapeyre’s king-five. Lapeyre secured a career-best $8,175.
Nan Chen, once a big stack, dwindled before his pocket queens fell to Hirose’s king-two on a king-high board. Chen exited in fifth place ($9,870).
Tim Acker and Medina both started as short stacks but maneuvered their way into significant pay jumps. Acker’s pocket eights couldn’t hold against Ramon Mantuano’s ace-jack, as three aces sealed Acker’s fate in fourth place ($13,220).
Medina finished third, losing a crucial pot to Hirose on an eight-high board. His nine-eight was second-best to Hirose’s ten-eight, sending him to the rail for $20,130.
Hirose held a 4:1 lead over Mantuano in heads-up play. The decisive hand saw Mantuano shove with pocket sixes and Hirose call with king-jack. A jack-high board secured the title for Hirose, while Mantuano earned $30,675 for his runner-up finish.
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