Big attendance for $3,500 Championship pushes prize pool to $1,985,676
The first major poker series offered at Wynn Las Vegas in more than a year drew big numbers, including a $3,500 Championship event that nearly doubled its guarantee.
The $3,500 Championship wrapped up in the early hours of Tuesday morning, and a heads-up chop between the final two players sent both home with upwards of $323k.
Sung Joo Hyun came away as the official winner, earning $323,409 for the win. Runner-up finisher Matthias Auer (2nd - $323,408) took a nearly identical payout, as the two-way agreement between Hyun and Auer left $1 for the eventual winner.
That determination came forth through a best-of-three flip, according to PokerNews live reporting from the event. Hyun won that battle to secure the extra $1, and more importantly the official title of tournament champion.
Wynn Spring Classic $3,500 Championship final table results*
| Place | Player Name | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Sung Joo Hyun | South Korea | $323,409* |
| 2 | Matthias Auer | Austria | $323,408* |
| 3 | Will Failla | United States | $173,240 |
| 4 | Eric Afriat | Canada | $121,450 |
| 5 | Matthew Wantman | United States | $89,842 |
| 6 | Mihai Manole | Romania | $69,588 |
| 7 | David Cabrera Polop | Mexico | $55,291 |
| 8 | Chris Moorman | United Kingdom | $45,760 |
Big names, big turnout at the Wynn Spring Classic
The three-day $3,500 Championship drew 614 total entries. That attendance shattered the $1 million guaranteed prize pool, awarding $1,985,676 total.
The top four finishers all took away six-figure prizes. Will Failla (3rd - $173,240) and Eric Afrait (4th - $121,450) were among those top four runners, followed by Matthew Wantman (5th - $89,842).
Afrait, a three-time winner on the World Poker Tour, marked one of many notable names in the hunt for the $3,500 Championship. Longtime tournament fixture Chris Moorman (8th - $45,760) added another final table appearance to a resume that includes nearly $6 million in career live tournament earnings.
The top 12 finishers included four former WSOP bracelet winners. Among those names were Hyun, Moorman, Ankush Mandavia (10th - 32,815), and Kevin Song (12th - $28,095).
Other big names near the top of the payout ladder included Qing Liu (11th - $32,815). Liu’s results so far in 2021 make him an early contender for live tournament player of the year.
Liu took down the WPT Venetian $5,000 Main Event just six days ago, earning $752,880 just down the street at the Venetian poker room. Liu followed that up with a sixth-place showing in the long-postponed WPT Gardens Poker Championship for $111,795 just two days later, although that result technically counts among Liu’s 2020 poker results.
Other big names in the money for the Wynn Spring Classic $3,500 Championship included Chino Rheem (14th - $24,366), Scott Stewart (21st - $15,919), Zhen Cai (32nd - $12,021), Jeremy Ausmus (33rd - $12,021), and Barry Shulman (34th - $12,021).
Many of the names on the 63-player payout ladder read like a who’s who of poker, and the Wynn Spring Classic $3,500 Championship has to be considered a resounding success. Another $1 million guaranteed event still remains to be played in the series, as Event #15: $1,600 No-Limit Hold’em kicks off March 18.
Featured image source: Twitter
