Jonathan Tamayo won the World Series of Poker main event on Wednesday night, rallying from seventh place in the final table, the first player to claim victory from that position since Pius Heinz in 2011.
The 38-year-old Tamayo, from Humble, Texas, earned $10m and a gold championship bracelet.
“What in the world just happened?” Tamayo asked after his victory in Las Vegas.
Jordan Griff of Scottsdale, Arizona, finished second to earn $6m. Third-place finisher Niklas Astedt of Sweden made $4m.
“Everybody who’s great at poker plays this tournament, and I somehow won it and I still can’t believe it,” Tamayo said. “A lot of us start playing it for the money and then when we get good, we start playing it for the prestige. This is both.”
Tamayo previous best performance at the event came in 2009 when he came 21st and won $352,832. After Wednesday’s win his career earnings stand at $12.3m.
Tamayo shared a house during the tournament with his friend Joe McKeehen, who won the event in 2015.
“Not real life. My roommate’s picture is right there from 2015. We both have banners now,” he said.
Unlike Tamayo, Griff is not a full-time poker player and usually works as a data and analytics supply chain manager. His live tournament earnings before Wednesday amounted to $47,192.
“That’s a lot of money,” said Griff when asked about his plans for his prize. “I’m having a baby in two months so I need to get baby supplies.”
A record 10,112 players entered this year’s event, and the prize pool stood at $94m.
