'Really sick' — Lucky turn helps Sandberg win WSOPC Tahoe Main

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Evan Sandberg topped a field of 439 entries to win the WSOP Circuit Main Event at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, outlasting an incredible final table of talent on Monday that included multiple Circuit Main Event champions, WSOP bracelet winners, and a litany of accolades outside the WSOP.

For his win, Sandberg wins $133,837, his first WSOP Circuit ring (to go with two WSOP online bracelets), and entry into the 2025 WSOP Tournament of Champions.

Sandberg said after the win that he couldn’t have asked for a better place to claim his first piece of live WSOP hardware.

“It feels quite amazing, especially because Lake Tahoe is probably my favorite place to travel for poker, which I can only do once a year. I live in Vegas and I go to Thunder Valley sometimes, but this is the number one spot I’d like to win at, so it makes it extra special.”

Sandberg says he loves to 'helicopter fold'. Pretty sure this is his favorite helicoptering of cards ever.

Sandberg beats tough table

The other five players were a thoroughly accomplished group that Sandberg had to outlast including the venerable start of Day 2 chip leader Travis Stenerson (6th), two-time WSOP Circuit Main Event champion here in Tahoe Michael Pearson (5th), 2018 Thunder Valley Circuit Main Event champ Brett Murray (4th), fellow online bracelet and Circuit ring winner Dann Turner (3rd), and James Czarnecki (2nd) who added a runner-up spot to two previous Circuit Main Event final tables.

Dann Turner fell in 3rd place after starting Day 3 with the chip lead.

Despite having that daunting lineup to go through to win, Sandberg relished the opportunity.

“For me, I always enjoy a challenge, so playing with tough competition does make it a lot funner to me. It just motivates me to really play my best.”

Following the elimination of the start of Day 3 chip leader Turner in third place, Sandberg was left with a virtually even heads-up match against Czarnecki, but he quickly trailed nearly 2-to-1 at the first break.

James Czarnecki (left) and Evan Sandberg during their heads-up match.

Sandberg drills the turn

A critical hand once they returned swung the momentum firmly in the eventual champion’s favor and he never looked back.

Sandberg three-bet a Czarnecki’s open with queen-six offsuit, and a surprisingly large pot continued from there.

Sandberg explained his preflop thoughts on the hand.

“I felt like I wanted to be very polarized, I thought I could maybe get some better hands to fold. I really hate three-bet folding a good hand like queen-jack, I want to call because I have to see a flop, but queen-six, okay, I three-bet, he four-bets, it’s not painful, I just fold.”

Instead, Czarnecki called and the flop came queen-high.

“I thought he looked weak when he raised, (which was) a completely bad read, and post-flop it’s just the money’s going in and I got incredibly lucky.”

Sandberg did so by drilling a six on the turn to give him two pair versus what turned out to be ace-queen for Czarnecki.

“I was already on the flop thinking like, okay I’m probably stacking off unless the turn was really bad. When the turn hit, I essentially had the nuts now, my heart was pumping at that point I’m sure. Really sick.”

Sandberg check-raised the turn and got all in with his two pair holding on to give him the 2-to-1 lead.

Czarnecki couldn’t climb back into the match from there and within an hour, Sandberg was the champion.

In a curious twist, it was the very hand (AQ) that Sandberg took down in his critical Q6 hand that he won the tournament with.

The WSOP Circuit now heads to the Chicagoland area this weekend for a 19-event series at the Grand Victoria along with the ongoing series at Choctaw in Durant, Oklahoma running until November 11th.

PokerOrg is at these and all WSOP Circuit stops as your home for continuing coverage of the WSOP Circuit.

Event #13: $1,700 Main Event final table results