WSOPC Event #13: $1,700 MAIN EVENT

Harvey's Lake Tahoe WSOP Circuit Main Event champion Evan Sandberg 

Topping a field of 439 entries, Evan Sandberg has won the WSOP Circuit Main Event at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe, outlasting an incredible final table of talent on Monday that included multiple Circuit Main Event champions, WSOP bracelet winners, and a litany of accolades outside the WSOP.

For his win, Sandberg wins $133,837, his first WSOP Circuit ring (to go with two WSOP online bracelets), and entry into the 2025 WSOP Tournament of Champions.

Sandberg said after the win that he couldn’t have asked for a better place to claim his first piece of live WSOP hardware.

“It feels quite amazing, especially because Lake Tahoe is probably my favorite place to travel for poker, which I can only do once a year. I live in Vegas and I go to Thunder Valley sometimes, but this is the number one spot I’d like to win at, so it makes it extra special.”

The other five players were a thoroughly accomplished group that Sandberg had to outlast including the venerable start of Day 2 chip leader Travis Stenerson (6^th), Two-time WSOP Circuit Main Event champion here in Tahoe Michael Pearson (5^th), 2018 Thunder Valley Circuit Main Event champ Brett Murray (4^th), fellow online bracelet and Circuit ring winner Dann Turner (3^rd), and James Czarnecki (2^nd) who added a runner-up spot to two previous Circuit Main Event final tables.

Despite having that daunting lineup to go through to win, Sandberg relished the opportunity.

“For me, I always enjoy a challenge, so playing with tough competition does make it a lot funner to me. It just motivates me to really play my best.”

Following the elimination of the start of Day 3 chip leader Turner in third place, Sandberg was left with a virtually even heads-up match against Czarnecki, but he quickly trailed nearly 2-to-1 at the first break.

A critical hand once they returned swung the momentum firmly in the eventual champion’s favor and he never looked back.

Sandberg three-bet a Czarnecki’s open with queen-six offsuit, and a surprisingly large pot continued from there.

 Sandberg explained his preflop thoughts on the hand.

“I felt like I wanted to be very polarized, I thought I could maybe get some better hands to fold. I really hate three-bet folding a good hand like queen-jack, I want to call because I have to see a flop, but queen-six, okay, I three-bet, he four-bets, it’s not painful, I just fold.”

Instead, Czarnecki called and the flop came queen-high.

“I thought he looked weak when he raised, (which was) a completely bad read, and post-flop it’s just the money’s going in and I got incredibly lucky.”

Sandberg did so by drilling a six on the turn to give him two pair versus what turned out to be ace-queen for Czarnecki.

“I was already on the flop thinking like, okay I’m probably stacking off unless the turn was really bad. When the turn hit, I essentially had the nuts now, my heart was pumping at that point I’m sure. Really sick.”

Sandberg check-raised the turn and got all in with his two pair holding on to give him the 2-to-1 lead.

Czarnecki couldn’t climb back into the match from there and within an hour, Sandberg was the champion.

Event #13: $1,700 Main Event final table results:

1. Evan Sandberg - $133,841
2. James Czarnecki - $87,977
3. Dann Turner - $59,232
4. Brett Murray - $40,871
5. Michael Pearson - $28,921
6. Travis Stenerson - $21,101
7. Vinny Chu - $15,659
8. Bilguun Odgerel - $11,999
9. Lee Viloria - $9,455
10. David Lucchesi - $7,669

Dann Turner brings the chip lead into the final table of the Harvey's Tahoe Main Event

An absolute fixture of and one of the most well-liked players in the Lake Tahoe / Northern California poker scene, Dann Turner has a list of accolades over a million dollars in tournament earnings long.

But a live WSOP Circuit Main Event title has still eluded him, five times over.

Turner does have an online Circuit event ring to his name, along with a bracelet from the virtual streets, but in five trips to a WSOP Circuit live final table, the ring has eluded him.

That prize can’t be denied a player of his stature forever though and Monday may just be his day if he can outlast a truly impressive list of contenders that stand in his way

Turner enters his sixth career live WSOP Circuit final table with a big chip lead over a tightly packed group that includes James Czarnecki, who returns to the WSOP-C Tahoe final table after a 13-year hiatus. Czarnecki finished 4^th here in 2011 for his largest career tournament score of $37,087 according to the Hendon Mob.

Like Turner, Evan Sandberg has an online WSOP bracelet to his name, in fact he has two. He has one Circuit Main Event final table under his belt as well, finishing 3^rd last year at Horseshoe Las Vegas.

Brett Murray is known in these parts as the “God of Thunder” for being nearby Thunder Valley’s all-time tournament earnings leader, including a WSOP Circuit Main Event title in 2018. He enters the day amidst the pack, but with a laundry list of victories in his nearly $2.5M in career earnings, another is a distinct possibility for him today.

The incredible list of accomplishments at the final table continues with Michael Pearson, who’s a two-time Main Event champion here in Tahoe. Three Main Event titles at the same venue would be an incredible accomplishment, and if he can spin up his fifth-place stack to start the day, he just might do it.

And then there’s the wildcard who built himself a massive day 2 stack and rode it to the final table, Travis Steneron. He entered Day 2 with the lead and built it to a peak of over four million chips, which would be good for second place entering Day 3, but the array of talent surrounding him managed to chip away at his stack. As such, Stenerson will enter Day 3 on the short stack, but just a double-up away from being right within striking distance of Turner.

Event #13: $1,700 Main Event final table seat draw:

• Seat 1: Dann Turner - 6,250,000
• Seat 2: Brett Murray - 2,375,000
• Seat 3: James Czarnecki - 2,925,000
• Seat 4: Travis Stenerson - 1,685,000
• Seat 5: Evan Sandberg - 2,510,000
• Seat 6: Michael Pearson - 1,855,000

Remaining final table payouts:

• 1st: $133,837
• 2nd: $87,977
• 3rd: $59,232
• 4th: $40,871
• 5th: $28,921
• 6th: $21,001 

It's going to be an incredible day of poker with someone taking home a very deserved Main Event championship and PokerOrg will be there to bring you complete coverage until that champion is crowned.