It’s one thing to win a WSOP Circuit ring. It’s another to win a Circuit Main Event. But to come back and defend your Main Event title? That’s a whole other level of impressive, and it’s a level that Evan Sandberg now belongs on.
Sandberg successfully defended his championship here in Lake Tahoe, topping the field of 436 entries to retain his title and win another $125,269 after he picked up $133,837 for his 2024 triumph over 439 entries.
Something in the air
So, just what is it about Lake Tahoe that brings out the best in this crusher, who along with these rings, has a pair of WSOP online bracelets and over $2,000,000 in career tournament earnings? It must be something in the air.
“It’s crazy. The only thing I can say is that in years prior that I’ve been coming to this event, I’ve always really enjoyed it here, even when I wasn’t winning, just because on breaks, you can just go outside. It’s not like you’re in Vegas, out here it’s just beautiful. I can just feel the air outside giving me positivity. I just tend to play my best when I’m out here.”
Good vibes and clean air are great and all, but if that’s all it took, every poker player here in Lake Tahoe would be crushing it like Sandberg. It takes a lot of skill and some good fortune, too. Sandberg spent a lot of Day 2 fighting for survival and needed some help when short-stacked, before going on a rush late in the day to get back into contention, which the two-time champion acknowledged.
“I was just really lucky yesterday, but on the first day and today I felt like I was really playing my A+ game, so overall I’m really happy and grateful.”
Once healthy again by night’s end on Sunday, Sandberg brought 39 big blinds into play for Monday’s final six, which made things much more comfortable for him than his uphill climb to the title in 2024.
“It was actually very different. Last year’s run, I was short-stacked going to the final table, and for most of it I was grinding a short stack. I was really happy with myself, how patient I was, and then I went on a heater. This time, my short-stacking was on Day 2, and I was really lucky. Today I had a decent stack, and I felt like I was just playing poker from the start.
Wildcard becomes the End Boss
While he was able to use his full arsenal on Monday, Sandberg did have one final hill to climb to defend his crown, in runner-up Francisco Trujillo. The Spaniard started the day on the short stack, but had built a nearly 2-1 chip lead on Sandberg to begin heads-up play. And while Trujillo was the least known commodity at the table to start the day, he quickly earned Sandberg’s respect.
“Going into today, the only information I had on him was his Hendon Mob, which was pretty empty, so I actually thought going in that he would be like the spot at the table, but I quickly realized I was wrong. I think I’m pretty good at picking up on what type of player someone is quickly, so I could tell even in the first 20-30 minutes that he had probably played a lot of online poker because he seemed like he was a well-studied player.”
Sandberg quickly made up the deficit and held the lead throughout their match, attributing it to some good bluffs and superior card distribution as he dominated heads-up play en route to his title defense.
Now then, fresh air, good play, a bit of luck, a friendly venue, Sandberg has it all here in Tahoe. Back-to-back-to-back in 2026?
“Of course, I have to. What do they call it, a three-peat?”
Main Event – tale of the chips
WSOPC Lake Tahoe 2025 final table results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evan Sandberg | $125,269 |
| 2 | Fancisco Trujillo | $85,639 |
| 3 | Tim Thorp | $59,620 |
| 4 | Melanie Pittard | $42,280 |
| 5 | Casey Sandretto | $30,554 |
| 6 | Dustin Fox | $22,507 |
| 7 | Eric Afriat | $16,908 |
| 8 | Ryan Awwad | $12,957 |
| 9 | Bradley Hinson | $10,134 |
| 10 | Peter Tran | $8,093 |
