Three years after his first World Series of Poker Circuit Main Event win in Lake Tahoe, Michael Pearson came back to do it again. The two-time Circuit champion topped a field of 424 entries to win $133,285 and his second career gold ring.
Pearson is a poker player from San Francisco with over $600,000 in earnings. This score is his second-biggest after his $153,191 Lake Tahoe Circuit Main Event win in 2016. Of Pearson’s seven WSOP Circuit Main Event cashes, two of them are outright wins.
Coming in to Day 3, Pearson sat in 7th of 10 players, but that was after coming back from being down to four big blinds on Day 2. When asked about the overall feel of the final table, Pearson was surprised at the pace of play and acknowledged the caliber of the remaining field. “It was tough. I did not like my seat draw at all. I just tried to be patient. Chips moved surprisingly fast at the beginning of the day.”
The money up top in tournaments will always mean a lot to players, but some value trophies and rings just a bit more. Not Pearson though. “Don’t give a shit,” he said. “I gotta drive home, so celebrations are gonna kind of have to wait. Honestly I’m not in the mood to party. I’d rather just get good rest,” explained Pearson.
When asked what he will do with the money, Pearson was humble in his response. “I don’t really need a lot of money other than what enables me to keep playing poker. I don’t really care about fancy things or whatever. I’m going to look for things to donate to. There’s a lot going on in the world. A lot of people doing good projects that are underfunded.”
In the final hand, Pearson held a three-to-one lead over Kottler and the two got all of their chips in the middle. Kottler tabled ace-queen, but needed to improve against Pearson’s ace-king. The board ran out dry and Pearson locked up his second WSOP Circuit Main Event ring along with $133,285. Kottler earned himself $82,379 for his runner-up finish, adding to his $1.5 million in career earnings.
The Main Event brought in 424 entries, and the top 64 players made the money. Familiar faces finishing in the money included Joe Brindle (4th - $44,058), Nick Pupillo (7th - $19,182), Lee Markholt (8th - $14,972), Dustin Fox (13th - $7,802), Joey Weissman (21st - $5,465), Neil Scott (28th - $3,624), Alex Greenblatt (30th - $3,624), Sam Cosby (34th - $3,000), Kyle Cartwright (38th - $2,804), Wendy Freedman (39th - $2,804), Arish Nat (40th - $2,804), Giuseppe Pantaleo (43rd - $2,804), Vincent Moscati (52nd - $2,668), and Jarod Minghini (58th - $2,668).
Official Final Table Results
1st: Michael Pearson - $133,285 + Circuit ring + 2020 GCC Seat
2nd: Jeremy Kottler - $82,379
3rd: Charles Coultas - $59,824
4th: Joe Brindle - $44,058
5th: Mitch Garshofsky - $32,911
6th: Joshua Burkhalter - $24,942
7th: Nick Pupillo - $19,182
8th: Lee Markholt - $14,972
9th: Wes Nally - $11,864
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