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It's been a record-breaking year for former accountant turned professional poker player, Spencer Champlin. Back in April, Champlin took over the top spot on Maine's all-time money list with total lifetime earnings of $3,100,000, according to The Hendon Mob. Champlin worked a desk job before turning pro eight years ago, and the road grinder says it's been working out for him ever since.
Champlin can add another trophy and six-figure score to his list of accomplishments after parlaying a $560 satellite into a win at the opening event of the 2024 Poker Masters presented by PokerStars NAPT. Champlin defeated fellow satellite-winner Jessica Vierling in heads-up play to take down Event #1: $5,100 No-Limit Hold'em for $160,475 in prize money, and his first ever PGT Tour cash and title. This was also Champlin's third-largest career score and fifth career six-figure score.
The 131-entrant field created a prize pool of $655,000, with the final six players guaranteed a payday of at least $32,750. Among those to cash were David Coleman, Ryan Riess, Alex Foxen, Vladas Tamasauskas, Chris Hunichen, Isaac Haxton, and Matthew Wantman.
Action got off to a quick start as poker pro Nicholas Seward was eliminated on the first hand of final table play. Seward got it in good against Champlin in blind vs blind action, but his ace-king suited would fall to Champlin's queen-three offsuit after Champlin spiked a queen on the river, sending Seward home as the sixth-place finisher.
After doubling through Vierling early on, Zachary Grech was eliminated in fifth place after his flopped pair of sixes couldn't fade the river ace of Dylan Linde. Grech would take home $39,300.
It was an unlucky turn for Dan Shak, who coming off a PGT Mixed Game Series win earlier this year, is still looking for his first Poker Masters win. Shak's tens were in great shape to double through Vierling's nines, but Vierling was able to spike a nine on the turn in order to send Shak out the door in fourth place for $52,400.
Tournament pro Dylan Linde started the day second in chips and would knock out Grech in fifth, but ran into trouble when Champlin's ace-four out flopped Linde's ace-queen in an all in pot, giving Champlin the double and leaving Linde with the low stack. Linde would go broke a few hands later when he shoved queen-six suited from the small blind, only to run into Champlin's king-queen offsuit in the big blind. Champlin would go on to make trip kings and eliminate Linde in third place for more than $72,000.
Vierling started heads-up play with more than a two-to-one chip lead over Champlin, and at one point would have him near dead after running his top pair of queens into Vierling's pocket aces. But he was able to claw his way back with some well-timed luck in a few key hands. One being an all-in pot where Champlin found himself dominated with queen-jack offsuit against the king-queen offsuit of Vierling. Champlin would spike a jack on the turn to stay alive, and after some volleying of the chip lead back and forth, everything came to a head when Vierling picked up ace-jack off suit in the small blind and shoved right into the ace-queen suited of Champlin. Vierling would try and return the favor, even going so far as to use Champlin's trick of "pre-congratulating" him, as he did to her on the queen-jack hand, but it would not work as Champlin went on to make two pair to secure his first PGT title.
2024 Poker Masters Event #1: $5,100 No-Limit Hold'em Final Table Payouts
| Place | Name | Country | Payouts | PGT Points |
| 1st | Spencer Champlin | United States | $160,475 | 160 |
| 2nd | Jessica Vierling | Germany | $98,250 | 98 |
| 3rd | Dylan Linde | United States | $72,050 | 72 |
| 4th | Dan Shak | United States | $52,400 | 52 |
| 5th | Zachary Grech | United States | $39,300 | 39 |
| 6th | Nicholas Seward | United States | $32,750 | 33 |
Poker Masters Purple Jacket Leaderboard
Following today's win in Event #1, Spencer Champlin sits atop the leaderboard with 160 PGT points.
| Rank | Player | Points | Wins | Cashes | Winnings |
| 1 | Spencer Champlin | 160 | 1 | 1 | $160,475 |
| 2 | Jessica Vierling | 98 | 0 | 1 | $98,250 |
| 3 | Dylan Linde | 72 | 0 | 1 | $72,050 |
| 4 | Dan Shak | 52 | 0 | 1 | $52,400 |
| 5 | Zachary Grech | 39 | 0 | 1 | $39,300 |
| 6 | Nicholas Seward | 33 | 0 | 1 | $32,750 |
| 7 | Isaac Haxton | 26 | 0 | 1 | $26,200 |
| 8 | Matthew Wantman | 26 | 0 | 1 | $26,200 |
| 9 | Eshaan Bhalla | 20 | 0 | 1 | $19,650 |
| 10 | Tamas Lendvai | 20 | 0 | 1 | $19,650 |
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