After a marathon day of poker, Derek Bowers of Alliance, Ohio is the first-ever champion of the RunGood Poker Series Cleveland Main Event, an $800 buy-in tournament that attracted 712 entries.
He defeated Donald Mullen in a short heads-up match to conclude a nearly 16-hour day of poker at the JACK Cleveland Casino to claim a $86,560 first-place prize, the RunGood Series champions ring, and a trip to Las Vegas plus entry into the RunGood Pro-Am this December.
The $86,560 is the second-largest score of Bowers’ career, which has seen him now amass over $800,000 in tournament earnings after his win this weekend. It’s his first recorded live win since 2014 according to the Hendon Mob.
“It feels good. It feels good to just win a tournament,” he said. “It’s been a long time and it feels good to just get the monkey off my back.”
RGPS Cleveland $800 Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Derek Bowers | United States | $86,560* |
| 2 | Donald Mullen | United States | $61,410* |
| 3 | Paul Campbell (OH) | United States | $60,000* |
| 4 | Nicholas Lanzi | United States | $33,895 |
| 5 | Anthony Carbone | United States | $25,545 |
| 6 | Michael Volk | United States | $19,155 |
| 7 | Raymond Ezzie | United States | $14,735 |
| 8 | Joe Gugliotta | United States | $11,790 |
| 9 | Stephen Stock Jr | United States | $8,840 |
*denotes adjusted payouts
Bowers came into Day 2 with the second-largest stack in play after claiming the chip lead on Day 1c with 565,000 chips. He’d turn that into over 21 million chips and the title by the time the night was done.
With two tables remaining, Bowers still sat second in chips behind only Paul Campbell, who fell in third place, but he still had to work his way through a talented remaining field that included two-time WSOP bracelet winner Sean Troha, who fell in 14th place, and Western New York star DJ MacKinnon, who bowed out in 11th.
Once the final table was reached, Bowers got right to work on building himself a chip lead as he immediately eliminated Stephen Stock Jr.
His stack would swing a bit as the night wore on, but he seemed fresh throughout play even deep into the night as play concluded at 3:30 a.m. local time.
“I’m fine. I could probably play another day if I had to. I’ve played four days straight before. It’s been a long time, but yeah, I think I could.”
As play got down to four-handed, that’s when Bowers took control, first eliminating Nicholas Lanzi with an aces-versus-queens preflop cooler, then with the lead he used his stack well, scooping two million chips uncontested after a rare four-bet at the final table.
Following Campbell’s elimination in third place, Bowers had an over 3-1 chip lead heads-up and made short work of Mullen to claim the title and the ring.
Bowers’ win concludes PokerNews’ coverage of the inaugural RGPS Cleveland Series which has been a tremendous success here at the outstanding JACK Cleveland Casino.
RGPS JACK Cleveland Winners
| Date | Tournament | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, September 25 | $420 Opener NLH | 392 | $139,160 | Jack Corrigan | $30,735 |
| Sunday, September 25 | $300 NLH | 171 | $41,040 | Tyler Mitchell | $6,795 |
| Sunday, September 25 | $300 PLO | 67 | $16,080 | Nathan Walter | $5,000 |
| Monday, September 26 | $200 Seniors (50+) | 189 | $30,080 | Charles Brunn | $4,684 |
| Monday, September 27 | $300 Limit Omaha Hi-Lo | 66 | $15,840 | Mathew George | $5,555 |
| Tuesday, September 27 | $200 Ladies Event | 81 | $12,960 | Maria Jones | $4,170 |
| Tuesday, September 27 | $200 Ambassador Bounty | 206 | $32,960 | “Boston” Rob Mariano | $8,615 |
| Thursday, September 29 | $250 PokerGO Studio Ticket | 243 | $50,000 | Ryan Mayer | $12,250 |
| Sunday, October 2 | $800 Main Event | 712 | $491,280 | Derek Bowers | $86,560 |
| Sunday, October 2 | $400 Black Chip Bounty | 104 | – | Michael Ritz | $5,105 |
Survivor’s “Boston” Rob Mariano Wins RGPS JACK Cleveland Bounty Ring Event