Phuong Ta Wins RGPS Jacksonville Main Event

Phuong “Peter” Ta converted his Day 2 chip lead into the crowning achievement of his poker career, defeating Corey Major heads-up to capture the RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) Golden Expedition Jacksonville $1,200 Main Event at bestbet Jacksonville. Outlasting a 394-entry field in a marathon final table that wrapped up well past 2:00 a.m., the Bluffton, South Carolina nail salon owner secured a signature RGPS championship ring and the top payout of $71,353.

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From 3,000 Chips to RGPS Jacksonville Champion

Ta’s path to the winner’s circle was anything but smooth. During Day 1b, his tournament life hung by a thread when his stack cratered to just 3,000 chips. “I lost 90 percent of my money. I got down to 3,000, then I got a triple up, then I got a double up,” Ta recalled after bagging the overall lead heading into Day 2.

Although he has played poker recreationally for over two decades, Ta shifted his focus specifically to tournaments over the past year. He previously made the final table of the 2021 Wynn Fall Classic in Las Vegas for $67,000, reached the final table of a WSOP Circuit Main Event in Cherokee, and placed 14th in this exact event at bestbet Jacksonville in 2023. Arriving with nearly $200,000 in Hendon Mob live earnings, he was hungry for a trophy. “He said he was going to win one this year. But lately he’s been going bad, and he was like, buddy, not good, not good,” a friend on his rail remarked. An elated Ta reflected after his breakthrough: “A lot of fun. A little tired, but a lot of fun. All the people are good players. I love to play with them.”

Day 2 Exits and Final Table Action

Fifty players returned for Day 2, but the field trimmed rapidly. Early departures included WPT champions Blake Ellinghaus (48th) and Josh Adkins (22nd, whose set was cracked by Sokol Curri’s straight), Kelley Slay (47th), 2024 runner-up Ricky Patel (45th), Chris Conrad (39th), his wife Katerina Lukina (37th), and Caleb Powell (32nd). Andrew Difeo (15th), Sean Etheridge (14th), and Edward Mroczkowski (12th) bowed out shortly before Mike Scalice bubbled the final table in 10th place.

Defending 2023 champion Antwan Prince entered the final table with the chip lead at 1,950,000, but his momentum vanished when Ta rivered the nut flush against him. Prince was soon sent packing in ninth place for $7,908 after his failed to outrun Major’s . Mary Darnell, who turned a $200 Flip & Go satellite seat into an eighth-place finish worth $10,434, exited next when Curri turned a flush against her top pair of aces.

Major’s Surge and Ta’s Heads-Up Triumph

Major took control of the table, cracking Grant Palmer’s with a turned Broadway straight in seventh place before eliminating Afnan Chowdhury in sixth and Curri in fifth. Controlling roughly 65% of the chips in play, navigating short-handed spots rewarded disciplined ICM poker tournament strategy. Ta halted Dustin Bennett’s run in fourth place by turning two pair, leaving three contenders battling through wild swings.

Sandro Sa doubled through Major with pocket aces against pocket jacks, but Ta rebounded by hitting a river flush with against Sa’s . Sa then spiked a river five with against Major’s , only to bust in third moments later when his could not overcome Major’s flopped top pair with .

Ta entered heads-up play holding 7,725,000 to Major’s 4,100,000. Major briefly took the lead after flopping trip kings, prompting the exhausted finalists to agree to an even chop while leaving $5,000 and the ring to play for. Ta then dialed up relentless pressure, whittling Major down to 2,025,000. On the deciding hand, Major shoved with and Ta called with an ace; an ace on the flop left Major drawing dead by the turn, sealing Ta’s signature victory.

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Source: PokerNews Online

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