Jonathan Glendinning wins WSOPC Choctaw Main Event for $231,832

The WSOP Circuit stop at Choctaw Casino & Resort in Durant, Oklahoma crowned a winner in the Main Event yesterday. JonathanGlendinning, of Boulder, Colorado, claimed victory over the field, taking home $231,832 and the gold ring for his efforts.

The Choctaw Main saw a field of 851 entrants vie for the top prize, but it was Glendinning who emerged from the pack to take down the stop's largest prize.

Glendinning's win comes in what was only his second-ever WSOP Circuit ring event and on the heels of a massive score in the WPT Prime Championship back in December. The $505,000 he picked up there for his fourth place finish, plus the $231,832 for the Choctaw win, brings his total earnings in the last month to over $730,000.

"It's unreal," he said afterwards, "In this tournament I learned to win flips, which is an important skill to have."

Final table action

The final day of play saw the action take a predictable route as the short stacks bowed out fairly quickly and in sequential order. Brendon Kaufman fell in eighth place, followed shortly by Alex Cruz and Eric Bunch in seventh and sixth places respectively. Then, a deviation from the trend occurred when start-of-day chip leader DavisSoskin fell in fifth place after struggling to find cards at the right time.

Brad Ruben was on the hunt for the unprecedented--back-to-back WSOP Circuit Main Event wins--and got off to a hot start, climbing up the chip counts quickly. Unfortunately, Ruben's hard work ended up for nought as a blind vs. blind confrontation with Will Berry left him on the short stack.

The nail in the coffin came soon after, courtesy of Chad Lousberg. Ruben committed the remainder of his chips with the A♠ 5♠ and found himself dominated by Lousberg's A❤️ 9❤️.

Ruben's back-to-back dreams evaporated as the board ran out 9♠ 10♦️️ 5❤️ Q♣ Q♠ to end his day in fourth place.

Glendinning seizes the moment

Lousberg may have scored the knockout, but the chips he won ended up in Berry's stack not long after.

The three remaining players saw the Q❤️ 2♠ 3♣ flop. Berry, facing two checks, bet from the button--only to face a raise from Lousberg in the small blind. Glendinning got out of the way and Berry matched the raise, taking the two players to the 10♣ turn. Lousberg moved all-in and Berry snap called, tabling Q♠ Q♣ for top set. Lousberg was drawing slim with the J♣ 4♣, needing a club to win the pot. The river brought a blank 5♠ to end Lousberg's run in third place.

The heads-up battle between Berry and Glendinning saw the former hold the chip lead to start. A quick double, however, gave Glendinning the edge, but only slightly. The final hand ended the tournament in sudden, unexpected fashion.

Glendinning defended his big blind against Berry's pre-flop raise and the players went to the flop of K♦️️ J♣ 10♣. Berry bet, Glendinning called. The turn came the 8♠ and Berry fired out once more with a sizable wager. Again, Glendinning made the call. The river brought the 7♠ to complete the board and Berry moved all-in.

Glendinning had him covered, barely, and took about thirty seconds to make the call, tabling K♣ 3♣ for just top pair. Berry showed his Q♣ 2♠--a missed draw--and Glendinning scooped the pot to win the tournament.

The WSOP Circuit rolls on with upcoming stops at Thunder Valley Casino and Horseshoe Tunica later this month. Check in with PokerOrg and the Instant Feed for all the latest updates on the action.

WSOPC Choctaw Main Event payouts