November 5-9
Number of hands needed for heads-up play
- 1STCody Fisher$246,466
- 2NDAdam Friedman$164,271
- 3RDNicholas Davidson$115,534
- 4THMatthew Ploof$82,513
- 5THDennis Milko$59,856
- 6THChristopher Webb$44,114
- 7THPatrick Steele$33,039
- 8THRyan Hiller$25,153
- 9THCraig Waikem$19,470
What a day. What a finish.
The final table of the WSOP Circuit Main Event at The Reserve began as what seemed like the inevitable coronation of five-time WSOP bracelet winner Adam Friedman as the inaugural Main Event champion at this brand-new stop in Toledo, Ohio.
Friedman was involved in the last hand, but after a day that won’t soon be forgotten by any of the players, capped by a finish not seen on the Circuit in many moons, it was another local product, Cody Fisher of Strongsville, Ohio, claiming the most dramatic of victories.
Fisher began the day a distant second in chips, with barely a third of Friedman’s 92 big blinds to start, but through the first four hours of play, as stacks got shallower and shallower, the shortest of stacks kept doubling and surviving.
What should have been smooth sailing for the start-of-day chip leader became a slog of short stacks with no one willing or able to go broke.
By the fifth hour of play, action was still seven-handed with Fisher now leading, but with only 30 big blinds. There was still plenty of work to be done and plenty of fortune needed as well.
Fisher stared down variance and a five-time bracelet winner to claim his title.The eventual champion knew what lay ahead.
“I feel like I earned it today,” said Fisher. “You get lucky once or twice in every poker tournament, but I feel like I played good and I feel like my hard work’s paid off.
Oh, they made him work for it, all right.
Heating up at the right time
Eventually, the bodies started to fall. They had to. The blinds kept rising, and the stacks kept getting shallower.
With fewer and fewer big blinds in play, the stacks would swing, and someone would need to combine their skill with a slightly extended stretch of rungood to prevail.
That player would be Fisher.
He hadn’t scored an elimination all day, but leading into the dinner break, three-handed, with position on Friedman since the final two tables, Fisher held over Friedman at the right time to establish a sizeable lead going to the break.
“It made my tournament easier. It was the one caveat that I thought helped me get to that point, having him on my right instead of my left.”
Fisher made the most of a final table with position on Adam Friedman.Friedman entered the break frustrated by Fisher’s timely rush, wondering if he had it every time, which he did.
“I think the lightest three-bet I put in on him was king-ten suited. I had ace-king a lot today. The one time someone called me, I hit my ace. I know Adam’s very capable of putting in a move with any two cards. That’s the kind of patience I showed. While I had it, I wasn't in there until about four-handed. I didn’t really have any tough situations until the big hands.”
What a finish!
And those big hands set up what came immediately after dinner. Now with 56 big blinds to Friedman’s 13 and third-place finisher Nicholas Davidson’s 11, both opponents jammed into Fisher on the first hand back.
Nicholas Davidson and Friedman would be Fisher's only eliminations of the day.Holding pocket eights, Fisher called to try to end the tournament, finding a pretty good time to score his first two eliminations of the day by making a winning straight.
After the tournament seemed like it would never end earlier in the day, it was done in a flash with a double elimination.
Friedman remained seated at the table in shock.
Davidson stood staring at the board.
Fisher celebrated with fist pumps and screams of joy.
Then the significance of his win and the $246,466 first prize hit him, and the tears began to flow.
A life-changing win
With a previous best score of $44K, this was by far Fisher’s biggest career win. His fans and friends in the live stream chat said that he had been playing just $50-$100 dailies not long ago, and now he was a WSOP Circuit Main Event champion.
“It’s everything I hoped. It’s everything I needed and wanted,” said Fisher, with tears in his eyes.
He explained that the need comes from the fact that his fiancée Madison is expecting the couple’s first child next April, around the same time as the WSOP Circuit will be returning to Toledo for another series at The Reserve.
A server by trade, along with Madison, the money couldn’t come at a more perfect time.
“We’re both waiters/waitresses, and just to know that I can give her the time off with our kid is going to be so special. She doesn’t have to rush back; she can just take that time to raise my child. It’s a blessing I can give her, because I’ve been blessed.”
Tears gave way to smiles for the champion's photoshoot.Fisher will be keeping a close eye on the 2027 WSOP Circuit schedule for exactly when they’ll be back in Ohio, because while he’ll be eager for more success, he knows right where he’ll need to be that month.
“I hope the Main Event is before April 21st so I can defend my title, or I’m in trouble. I might have some upset family if I’m not able to be there in late April.”
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