Eric Bunch Goes Wire to Wire to Win RGPS Tulsa Main Event

The $800 Main Event of the RunGood Poker Series at the Hard Rock Casino and Hotel Tulsa has concluded. This event attracted 472 entrants across three Day 1 flights, generating a prize pool of $330,400. The 56 players who returned for Day 2 secured a minimum cash of $1,248, with the grand prize set at $65,829. That top prize was awarded to Eric Bunch, who triumphed over Harold Harvey in heads-up play, claiming his first RunGood Poker Series ring.

Bunch entered Day 2 with the overall chip lead after bagging 844,000 on Day 1a. When asked about his mindset for the day, Bunch said, “My main focus was just to make sure I kept playing well and not stress about bad beats or things I can’t control.” He successfully maintained that focus, consistently finding himself at the top of the leaderboard throughout the day, essentially going wire-to-wire in the tournament. This win marks one of the top five scores in Bunch’s poker career, contributing to his impressive total of over $1,500,000 in tournament earnings. Bunch also said after his victory “I love the RunGood stops, they run great events, I’ll definitely be back in January.”

Finishing in second place was Harvey, who now boasts over $100,000 in tournament earnings. He took home $43,906, marking a new personal best for him.

Final Table Results

Early Day Action

A total of 58 entrants qualified for Day 2, including Matt Rogers and Melinda Hettick, who both bagged chips from two different Day 1 flights. Hettick finished in 51st place, receiving two minimum cash payouts for her efforts. Rogers earned a minimum cash for his smaller stack and $1,437 for his 45th-place finish.

Defending champion Todd Tucker, who won the RunGood Poker Series Main Event back in January, was in the mix on Day 2. Unfortunately for Tucker, he could not defend his title, as he was eliminated in 38th place, earning $1,669.

The field included two World Series of Poker bracelet winners: Michael Perrone and Brian Green. Both players were eliminated back-to-back, finishing in 24th and 23rd place, respectively, each earning $2,336 for their efforts in the event.

Day 1b chip leader Timothy Hicks was eliminated on the final table bubble, despite going all in pre-flop and flopping a set of fives. Unfortunately for Hicks, his opponent managed toriver a flush, sending him out in 10th place with a payout of $6,586.

Final Table

The first two casualties at the final table occurred quickly. Derrick Yegge lost a classic flip, finishing in ninth place. Right behind him was Isaac Cramer, who couldn’t improve against his opponent’s big slick while holding ace-ten suited.

Action slowed down after the first two eliminations until Savannah Mora (seventh) and Iman Alsaden (sixth) were eliminated back-to-back, both unable to improve while being dominated by a superior ace.

Our eventual champion eliminated Rob Noce in fifth place after flopping the nuts in a blind-versus-blind all-in preflop encounter. This decisive hand solidified the champion’s momentum as he continued to build his stack.

Jason Wiske lost a massive pot to Bunch, who made a flush on the river to beat Wiske’s two pair. Wiske then hit the payout desk in fourth place after losing a race with his pocket eights to his opponent’s ace-queen.

Finishing in third place was Han Lam, who was short-stacked during three-handed play. He was ultimately knocked out by the champion when Bunch turned a wheel.

Heads Up Play

Entering heads-up play, Bunch held approximately 12,000,000 of the 14,160,000 chips in play. It didn’t take long for Bunch to grind Harvey down to about 600,000 chips before they eventually got all in. Bunch had king-five against Harvey’s jack-three, and as the board ran out, both players made a flush on the river. However, Bunch’s flush was the larger one, allowing him to claim the title.

That concludes our coverage here in Tulsa. But be sure to follow PokerNews for live updates and coverage from poker tournaments around the globe.