In 1980, Mac Davis, a songwriter from Lubbock, TX sang, “Oh, Lord, it’s hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way.” Today, Jonathan Tamayo, a poker pro from Humble, TX, was as perfect as he needed to be.
Just a few days removed from controversially folding pocket queens pre-flop as he neared the final table bubble, the man from Humble won the biggest World Series of Poker Main Event in history for $10 million.
Eleven years ago, Tamayo was in Palm Beach, Florida and trying to win a heads-up battle in a WSOP Circuit Main Event, and the hour was growing too late. If the clock reached 5am, the card room was going to have to shut down. It was state law. Just before the witching hour, Tamayo won his first big tournament and earned his first six-figure score. Over an eleven year career, Tamayo was 5-2 in major heads-up battles. Today, he made it 6-2.
When is a theoretical mistake not a mistake? When is the collective wisdom of every poker expert in the world meaningless? How does a mistake worth more than a theoretical six figures turn into a $10 million championship?
Jonathan Tamayo just answered all of those questions, defeated a field of 10,112, and earned $10 million in the process.
The rest vs. the best?
Tamayo returned Wedneday to three-handed play. He was up against amateur Jordan Griff and arguably the best online poker player in the world, Sweden’s Niklas 'Lena900' Astedt. Handicappers and journalists had their money down on Astedt who had appeared to be playing flawless relaxed poker every time he sat down. At one point Astedt had referred to the Main Event as a “piece of cake” and nothing difficult compared to playing high-level poker on 23 tables for 40 days.
Just as the day began, Astedt bit off more cake than he could stomach.
He had 
on the button and min-raised to eight million. Griff sat in the small blind with 
and three-bet to 18 million. Tamayo got out of the way and Astedt made the call to see a 
flop. Griff set out 25 million, and Astedt made a quick call. On the 
turn, Griff paused for just a moment before announcing he was all-in. With the pot at 114 million, Griff committed his remaining 160 million. He had Astedt’s stack barely covered – just 500,000 more.
Astedt sat back in his seat quickly, almost looking surprised, and then asked for a count. A minute into his decision, Astedt took off his sunglasses, and asked what the bet was again. He started counting his chips, shaking his head, and rubbing his hand over his slicked back hair. Nearly two minutes into his decision, he quickly grabbed for a handful of chips and watched Griff’s reaction. He saw nothing and shook his head. He let another 30 seconds pass and then seemed to force himself to decide one way or the other – call or fold now. The decision: he called to find he was desperately behind.
Jordan Griff ran to his rail, repeating, “This is huge. This is huge.” Meanwhile, Astedt leaned against the wall in front of his fans and stood with a look of resignation on his face. Only a queen would save him, and that’s not what fell on the river. Griff fell into his wife’s arms as Astedt returned to the table to payoff the rest of his chips. Griff watched at a distance and looked as if he might cry right there on the stage.
Across the the planet, online poker fans’ hearts broke as Astedt left the stage to collect his four million dollars while the rest of the world absorbed one of poker’s best leaving that table without a gold bracelet.
Heads up at the WSOP for the title
That left Griff and Tamayo alone together at the table with a giant stack of money between them. If the chip stacks mattered more than experience, Griff had the advantage. If experience mattered, Griff was in trouble as he faced a much more seasoned player in Tamayo.
Throughout the 2024 World Series of Poker Main Event, journalists’ notes on Jordan Griff mentioned precious little about his poker background, mostly because he didn't have much of one. They noted Griff had worked for Pepsi and is now a supply chain manager for Meta. Otherwise, there wasn’t much to be said.
Griff was nine years old the year Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker, and the young kid who lived in Upstate New York was already on his way to becoming a lifelong sports fan. As a high schooler, he told the White Plains Journal News, his gold medal performance a bowling tournament was “the experience of a lifetime.”
If a gold medal in bowling was the experience of a lifetime, there was no calculus for how Griff would describe being a poker world champion. Before he could get to that point he would have to get through Tamayo. That task proved itself difficult almost immediately.
Within minutes, Griff’s big cheap lead was gone. Holding 
, he bluffed three times on a board reading 
and Tamayo called him on every street. When Tamayo finished counting his stack, he was ahead by a few million. The stacks were nearly even.
Over the next hour, Griff worked his lead back and had Tamayo on the ropes again. This time Griff had pocket sevens and Tayamayo was all in with 
. The 
flop was all anyone needed to see, and the stacks were back close to even again.
The back and forth continued. All-ins, calls, double-ups, and then back around again. And then Tamayo started to chip away at the less-experienced Griff. Tamayo’s rail had seasoned poker pros who could whisper in his ear when the time was right. Griff had none of that. Shortly before 6:30pm, Tamayo had the amateur on the ropes, and then he sent him to the rail.
The final hand of the 2024 WSOP Main Event
On the final hand, Tamayo raised to 12.5 million with 
and Griff called with 
. The flop? It couldn't have been worse for Griff or much better for Tamayo: 
. Tamayo led small for 10 million, and Griff jumped right in with a raise to 40 million. Tamayo played back at him and bumped it enough to put Griff all-in. Griff snap-called. The turn... an ace. The river... a five. Griff was gone, the runner up and $6 million richer.
Griff said, "I'm really proud of myself. I'm amazed I was able to play at this level and make it this far.
And the gold bracelet winner?
That's Jonathan Taymayo. The man from Humble. The guy who folded queens. The 2024 WSOP Main Event champion.
Afterward, Tamayo sounded a lot like country crooner Mac Davis back in 1980. Thing is, if you're the man from Humble, that's as humble as you need to be. Asked what he had to say to anyone who might have questioned his play on the way to the championship, Tamayo smiled.
"Fold queens. Play 8-3," he said.
