In a massive field, Ryan Jones would hardly draw attention. The North Carolina native has a WSOP Circuit ring but, until recently, hadn’t made much of splash. Jones made a name for himself at the World Series of Poker Circuit Rio, however, when he beat 944 other entrants and took home the biggest cash of his career in the Main Event and won a second ring for his jewelry box.
Ninety-nine places were paid out in the event, which featured a $1.5 million prize pool and saw big names like Ari Engel and Brett Shaffer bust in the money. It was a tough loss for Engel, who was going for his ninth WSOP Circuit ring, which would have tied him for a record-high.
At the final table, Jones was the first to score an elimination when he made a boat with aces and eliminated Cody Pack. Jones’ luck continued when his A♢,K♡ managed to overcome Engles’ Q♧,Q♡ and increase his lead.
Jones was dealt aces again and made the best of them when Engels flopped a queen, handing Jones 100 big blinds before he exited in eighth. A three-way saw Jett Schencker go all-in with calls from Jeremy Joseph and Jones, and it was Joseph who managed to use his pocket queens to double up against Jones’ A♤,K♤ to send Schencker home.
Muruz Yohannes sent the next two players packing, then Martin Zamani and Anthony Utnage were eliminated next, for a total of $123,166 in winnings.
Jones got back in the game against Michigan’s Nikolai Sears when he opened from the button and Sears shoved all in. Jones called with a lesser A♧,10♢ to his opponent’s A♢,J♡, but when a life-saving 10 arrived on the flop he managed to take control of almost half the chips in play. Sears earned just under $100K for finishing fourth. Next, Joseph shoved all in with eights, but Jones pulled the same A,10 hand as before and it was down to heads-up play.
Jones had a 3-1 lead going into heads-up but managed to lose it to his opponent, Muruz Yohannes, after a few bad bluffs. Toward the end, he retook the lead and when Yohannes tried to shove with an 8,7 suited, and Jones called with pocket queens to seal the deal.
Final table results:
- Ryan Jones – $269,327
- Muruz Yohannes – $166,585
- Jeremy Joseph – $122,954
- Nikolai Sears – $91,996
- Anthony Utnage – $69,698
- Martin Zamani – $53,468
- Jett Schencker – $41,519
- Daniel Engels – $32,645
- Cody Pack – $25,969
Featured photo credit: WSOP
