Elizabeth, IN (22 May, 2023) - The WSOP circuit Southern Indiana Main Event has reached its end after three days of play, which saw 406 entries create a $615,090 prize pool and end with one champion.
That one champion was Michael Scarborough of Cincinnati, who won his first ring along with the $123,587 top prize earnings. This win is the second largest in his poker career and the largest since 2011, with this amount of money officially moving him above the $1 million mark in career earnings.
Dedicating the Win
But this victory had a taste of bittersweetness for Scarborough as he dedicated the win to someone very important in his poker career and his life.
"I want to dedicate this to my best friend, who just passed away in October. He was my best poker friend, he would travel all around with me to the tournaments, and he would be here today. His name is Sean Loring. The most amazing person in the world. So many people know him in poker. He was my best friend, my biggest fan, he had my back. We traveled together for the last ten years. So obviously, I just wish he could be here for this" he said through emotion and a few tears.
Scarborough said that having a big win like this brought all of the emotion back, as it was his first big win since his friend passed away. "I have had some personal struggles as well lately with health issues, and I lost my job. So this win is a big blessing for me; I just wish Sean could be here to see it".
A remnant of Loring can be seen with Scarborough in his winner's photo as he noted that it was his late friend's hoodie.
Action of the Day
The day began with six players after a carryover from last night. Play started slowly before William Watkins became the first player to exit, as he would be taken out in sixth place.
Bryan Reisner gathered the biggest score in his poker career with a fifth-place finish shortly after that.
The start of day chip leader Keven Stammen could never really get much going today, and he would eventually be knocked out in fourth place.
The three-handed play turned into the story of the day as the three remaining players all went up and down in chips back and forth for a couple of hours, with some miraculous survivals from Jeffrey Copeland, who's charmed run would eventually run out in third place.
Scarborough started heads-up play vs Luke Graham with two-thirds of the chips and eventually put Graham to the test on the first hand. He finished the job only a few hands later to make for a short heads-up duel.
That wraps up coverage of this man event and of the 2022-2023 WSOP Circuit. Thank you for following along all season long!