Event #10: $1,700 MAIN EVENT

It only took less than four hours on the final day of the World Series of Poker Circuit Horseshoe Tunica $1,700 Main Event before a champion was crowned. Coming through one of the toughest final tables of the circuit, Lytle Allen captured his first-ever WSOP Circuit ring along with a payday of $144,313.

Allen came into the day as one of the shorter stacks but after a double up on the first hand of the day, Allen never relinquished the chip lead as he soared to a comfortable victory, topping some of the best players on the circuit. It only took one hand for Allen to defeat Bryan Piccioli heads-up who earned over $89,000 for his efforts. Coming into heads-up play with only 17 big blinds, Piccioli jammed all-in with ace-eight suited only to run into the pocket kings of Allen.

Allen was asked what it meant to finally get his first WSOP Circuit ring and he was a little bit shocked, to be honest. "It means a lot to me! I've been working hard to get to this point and to beat the field that I was playing with, they were tough. I feel really good about it."

Allen had to battle his way through the likes of Scott Stewart, defending champion Kyle Cartwright, and a formidable heads-up opponent in Piccioli who all have a long list of accomplishments at the poker table. "My strategy was to come in and just play my game. I figured I was the underdog so I just wanted to get it in with some good cards and they held up. Everything just worked out for me. Everything just went my way."

This will go down as Allen's second-largest score of his poker career after a third-place finish in the WSOP Circuit Hammond Main Event back in 2015 netted him over $161,000. Going forward, Allen said that he will continue playing professional poker but plans on staying in the mid-west area for the most part. "Definitely going to be in Vegas for the summer but I'll try to stay in this area where I can drive to events."

Final Table Results

Day 3 Action

The action kicked off at 12 p.m. local time with the final six players returning to their seats and as mentioned above, the chips got in the middle in a hurry. Allen picked up pocket aces in the very first hand and James Todd Osborne was the unfortunate player to hold ace-king. Allen scored a double up into the chip lead which left Osborne on the short stack.

Osborne managed to battle back, including a couple of double-ups, one against Stewart. It turned out to be a tough day at the table for Stewart who struggled to win pots and eventually found himself below ten big blinds. He finally shoved all-in with ace-nine suited but Cartwright woke up with ace-king. A full house for Cartwright sent Stewart to the payout desk in sixth place.

Five-handed play continued for an hour before Osborne eventually saw his stack dissipate as well. With less than big blinds as well, Osborne moved the last of his chips in the middle with king-eight and found a call from Matthew Higgins with a weaker king. However, Higgins paired his kicker and Osborne was forced to settle for fifth place. It was a good comeback for Osborne who was sitting on just two big blinds during hand-for-hand on the money bubble yesterday.

With four players remaining, Allen continued to pad his lead while the other three jockeyed for position. As the other three players fell to around 20 big blinds, Allen started picking up premium holdings and went on a tear. His first victim was Higgins who jammed ace-seven suited only to be called by Allen's ace-queen. A clean board for Allen boosted his stack to over 10 million chips with just three players left.

Cartwright was looking to go back-to-back in the WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Tunica Main Event and his odds were looking good as the chip leader when the day began. One bad beat that saw Allen flop a set of deuces against Cartwright's pocket kings meant Cartwright had to battle from the short stack. He picked up a suited ace in the big blind but it was no match for Allen's ace-queen once again. Allen turned a straight and Cartwright bowed out in third place.

That left Allen to battle with Piccioli heads-up, a matchup that wouldn't last very long. Piccioli entered the final day as the shortest stack but managed to stay out of the way of Allen who was steamrolling the final table. Piccioli scored some key pay jumps but was ultimately a huge underdog entering heads-up play. Allen's hot streak continued when he picked up pocket kings in the first hand and eliminated Piccioli in second place.

While things have wrapped up here in Tunica, Mississippi, the WSOP Circuit will head off to their next stop in Potawatomi followed by another stop in Tamba Bay. That brings an end to the coverage here for PokerNews but stay tuned for updates from the next live events happening in the poker world.

Lytle Allen opened to 250,000 on the button and was called by Bryan Piccioli in the small blind. Kyle Cartwright jammed all in for 1,845,000 in the big blind and Allen confirmed the count before making the call. Piccioli got out of the way and the two remaining hands were tabled.

Lytle Allen:   
Kyle Cartwright:   

Allen once again found himself in a dominating position and the flop of     left him in the lead. The   on the turn gave Allen a straight and the   on the river sent Cartwright home in third place.

Lytle Allen	12,900,000	2,075,000
Bryan Piccioli	1,690,000	-910,000
Kyle Cartwright	0	-2,520,000

Kyle Cartwright raised to 160,000 from under the gun and Matthew Higgins called from the big blind. The flop came     and Higgins check-called a bet of 110,000 from Cartwright.

The turn brought the   and both players checked to the   on the river. Higgins checked again and Cartwright tossed in another bet of 180,000. Higgins looked him up and Cartwright showed    to earn the pot.

In the next hand, Lytle Allen raised to 200,000 and Bryan Piccioli called on the button. The flop fell     and both players checked to the   on the turn. Allen made a bet of 300,000 and Piccioli stuck around to see the   on the river. Allen checked this time and folded when Piccioli pushed out a bet of 560,000.

Lytle Allen	6,910,000	-380,000
Matthew Higgins	2,700,000	-750,000
Bryan Piccioli	2,600,000	450,000
Kyle Cartwright	2,520,000	660,000

Kyle Cartwright limped in from the small blind and Lytle Allen bumped it up to 180,000 from the big blind. Cartwright called and the flop came    . Both players checked and the   landed on the turn.

Cartwright led out for 210,000 and Allen stuck around to see the   on the river. Cartwright fired out another bet of 345,000 and Allen quickly called. Cartwright showed    for ace-high and was disappointed to see that Allen rivered a pair with   .

Lytle Allen	7,290,000	410,000
Kyle Cartwright	2,910,000	-115,000

James Todd Osborne was down to just 250,000 but managed to triple his stack just before the break with ace-king. Coming back from the break, Matthew Higgins raised to 175,000 on the button and Osborne shoved all in for 665,000 in the small blind. Kyle Cartwright folded his big blind and Higgins made the call.

Matthew Higgins:   
James Todd Osborne:   

Osborne held a dominating lead heading to the flop but the dealer fanned the     across the table to give Higgins two pair. The   on the turn and the   on the river was of no help to Osborne who was eliminated in fifth place.

Matthew Higgins	3,450,000	805,000
James Todd Osborne	0	-255,000

The remaining five players are going on their first 15-minute break of the day.

Picking up the action on the turn with the board reading     , Kyle Cartwright and Lytle Allen were heads-up in a pot. There was already upwards of around 700,000 in the middle and the two players got the rest of the chips in the middle on the turn.

Lytle Allen was the player all in and at risk for 3,190,000 but turned over the best hand with    for a set of deuces. Cartwright tabled    for an overpair but was unable to spike a two outer on the   river card. Allen was awarded a full double up and now sits with nearly half of the chips in play.

Lytle Allen	7,150,000	3,920,000
Kyle Cartwright	1,210,000	-3,390,000

Scott Stewart was the shortest stack at the table and saw the blinds coming up in the next hand. Stewart jammed all in for 550,000 from under the gun and Kyle Cartwright just called from the cutoff. The rest of the table folded and the two hands were tabled.

Kyle Cartwright:   
Scott Stewart:   

Cartwright was already in a dominant position and the flop of     put him even further ahead with two pair. The   on the turn gave Cartwright a full house and the   on the river sealed the deal as Stewart was eliminated in sixth place.

Kyle Cartwright	4,600,000	720,000
Scott Stewart	0	-530,000

Matthew Higgins made it 100,000 to go from under the gun and both Lytle Allen and Bryan Piccioli called from the blinds again. The flop came     and Allen led out for 175,000. Piccioli called and Higgins tagged along as well.

The turn brought the   and Allen counted out another bet of 375,000. Piccioli shipped all in for 1,230,000 which got Higgins to quickly fold. Allen asked for a count but decided to lay his hand down as well.

Lytle Allen	3,230,000	-695,000
Matthew Higgins	2,800,000	-75,000
Bryan Piccioli	2,480,000	870,000