With 24 total entries (from 19 players), we broke our previous record and created a $520 prize pool. But the real story was the more aggressive style of play. Many players embraced our suggestions to raise more preflop and to be more aware of their positional advantage (or disadvantage) in each hand. The result was a game of big swings and surprising results.

Strategy Tips Inspire New Approaches

The most dramatic example came from Tania, who hadn’t yet read the tips. Right there at the table, she pulled them up on her phone and within a few hands, she was implementing the aggressive approach that would carry her to the final table table. Her 3rd-place finish could have been even better if not for some tough luck late in the night.

And she wasn’t alone in embracing the new strategies. Hari arrived with a noticeably more aggressive game plan, making bold moves that would earn him his second final table in just three games. And other traditionally passive players were raising more, value betting more, and applying pressure in more spots.

The impact was immediate and visible. The aggressive play led to faster eliminations, deeper final-table stacks, and more interesting play in the endgame.

Early Casualties and Quick Action

The aggressive approach created immediate fireworks. Chris, ironically, became the first victim of his own strategy revolution. In Level 2 with blinds at 75/150, he raised to 450 from early position with J♠️T♠️ and found calls from both Hari and Matt. When the flop came A♠️3♠️5♦️, Chris bet 700 with his flush draw and continued betting all three streets as the board ran out with the 4♦️ and 3♦️. Unfortunately for Chris, Matt held 9❤️2❤️, hit a straight on the turn, and did not hesitate to call Chris’s all-in on the river. That made Chris the first re-entry of the night.

The eliminations continued at a rapid pace. By Level 4, Keriann had been eliminated by Kara, declining to re-enter and finishing the night in 19th place.

Just minutes later, Altaf knocked out Luciano at the Blue Table. Luciano immediately re-entered—a decision that would prove pivotal as he began a historic comeback.

Multi-Table Drama Unfolds

The Grey Table became a hotbed of action in Level 5 when Quang found himself in a massive pot against both Daniela and Thuy. With a final board of Q♠️4♠️4♦️4❤️3❤️, Quang’s 7♦️7♣️ had made a full house, fours full of sevens. Thuy made a smaller full house on the river—fours full of threes—but it wasn’t enough against Quang’s bigger boat. Thuy and Daniela both took advantage of the re-entry option, extending their tournament lives.

Meanwhile, the eliminations continued across the room as Tania busted Crystal on the Red Table, leaving Crystal in 18th place when she chose not to re-enter.

And over on the Blue Table, Luciano claimed his first knockout of the night against Lauren, who chose to re-enter and continue her pursuit.

The Field Narrows

As Level 6 arrived, with the re-entry period over, the aggressive play began claiming some notable casualties, especially on the Grey Table. Christina, the defending Player of the Year and a strong contender for back-to-back titles, found herself on the wrong end of a brutal cooler. With a board reading 4♠️6♦️7❤️8♦️2❤️, Christina held 2♠️2♣️ and hit her set on the river. Unfortunately for her, Kara held a 5 and had made a straight on the turn, sending Christina to the rail in 17th place and ending her POY defense.

Just three minutes later, Thuy eliminated Daniela in 16th place in a hand that perfectly illustrated the importance of aggression. Daniela had flopped top pair but failed to bet, allowing Thuy to catch up when she turned a better pair and then rivered trip jacks. When Thuy bet the river, Daniela called with the worse hand and was out of the tournament.

Then Quang eliminated James in 15th place when his Q❤️4♠️ held against James’s J♣️T♠️ on a J❤️2♦️Q♠️6♠️2♠️ board.

After those three quick eliminations, the Grey Table broke, and the players consolidated onto the two remaining tables.

Shortly after consolidation, Peggy eliminated her closest remaining rival for Player of the Year when she knocked out Kasra in 14th place on the Blue Table. That elimination may have changed the outcome of the POY race.

Luciano’s Revenge Mission Begins

Level 7 marked the beginning of Luciano’s incredible run. After recovering from his early setback, he began systematically dismantling the field with a combination of aggressive play and remarkable timing.

His first victim was Ravina, who busted out in 13th place. But the real fireworks started when Luciano faced off against Altaf again. Luciano flopped two pair against Altaf’s top pair and extracted maximum value by betting the flop, then calling Altaf’s raise. Luciano bet again on the turn and quickly called when Altaf raised all-in. Luciano’s call sent Altaf out in 12th place with a $5 bounty as consolation.

The eliminations continued when Luciano faced off against Thuy. Luciano flopped two pair yet again, bet the flop, and called when Thuy moved all-in with just A-Q high. The turn brought Luciano a full house for good measure, sending Thuy out in 11th place.

Red Table Survival Stories

While Luciano was bulldozing through the Blue Table, the Red Table provided some dramatic survival stories. Lauren doubled up when she flopped top two pair and moved all-in for her last 5,000 against Kara’s top pair.

Sunil found himself on both sides of crucial double-ups, first surviving with A-Q against Chris’s K-Q, then losing most of that to Matt when his 9-9 couldn’t hold up against Matt’s Q-J after a Jack hit the river.

Sunil’s luck fully ran out when his A-6 couldn’t hold against Matt’s K-9. Both players flopped pairs, but Matt’s pair of Kings held strong against Sunil’s sixes, ending Sunil’s night in 9th place.

Last Eliminations Before the Final Table

Meanwhile, over on the Blue Table, Tania notched a couple of key knockouts to get some momentum heading into the final table. First, she eliminated Lauren in 10th place with A-J against Lauren’s J-T.

Then, Peggy found herself all-in and at risk against Tania. In a dramatic hand, Tania made a straight to bust Peggy’s pair of aces, sending the POY leader out in 8th place with just a $5 bounty to show for her efforts.

This elimination was crucial for the season-long race, as it left three players—Chris, Tania, and Matt—with mathematical shots at stealing the Player of the Year title from Peggy. Each player would need to win the entire tournament to make it happen.

Final Table of Champions

The final table lineup was a who’s who of our regular winners: five former PPC event champions plus Luciano and Hari. With blinds at 2,000/4,000, the chip counts told a clear story: four players had squeaked into the final table on fumes, while three others had healthy stacks to maneuver with.

• Tania: 71,000 (18 big blinds)
• Luciano: 56,000 (14 big blinds)
• Quang: 50,000 (13 big blinds)
• Kara: 28,000 (7 big blinds)
• Matt: 22,000 (5.5 big blinds)
• Chris: 20,000 (5 big blinds)
• Hari: 11,000 (3 big blinds)

The Final Table Massacre

What followed was systematic domination by Luciano, who seemed destined to cruise all the way to the win. First, Hari moved all-in on the turn with 5♦️4♥️, needing a three to complete his straight against Luciano’s J♠️4♠️ on a board of A♠️K♦️2♣️A♥️. The T♣️ river missed Hari’s outs, sending him out in 7th place. That left Luciano as the only remaining player who had not yet won a PPC event. But after knocking out three former champions, he was not intimidated by the five remaining at the table.

In one of the most consequential hands of the night, Chris moved all-in with Q♠️9♠️ and found a call from Luciano. Then, after agonizing for about a minute, Kara made a big call with A♣️Q♦️ and found out that she was dominating both opponents. Luciano showed A♠️6♥️, making Kara about a 50% favorite to triple up. But luck stayed with Luciano as the board ran out K♦️6♦️3♣️5♥️6♣️, giving him trips and eliminating both Chris (in 6th place) and Kara (in 5th place, earning her $25 plus $10 in bounties).

With Chris’s elimination, only two players—Matt and Tania—retained any hope of catching Peggy for Player of the Year.

Four-Handed Fireworks

Four-handed play produced the hand of the tournament. Quang held K♠️T♦️ against Tania’s Q♣️J♥️ on a flop of Q♦️T♠️9♣️. Tania had top pair and an open-ended straight draw, while Quang held middle pair. When Quang bet big on the flop, Tania called, and the 8♠️ on the turn completed Tania’s straight.

Quang—needing a jack to make a bigger straight and likely hoping to push a Tania off of a better hand—moved all-in. Tania quickly called, confident in her hand. But poker is a game of dramatic swings—the J♦️ on the river gave Quang the higher straight and a massive double-up that completely shifted the final table dynamics.

A few minutes later, Matt’s dreams of a comeback POY run ended when his 9♠️9♣️ couldn’t hold against Luciano’s K♦️7♠️. As had become the pattern, Luciano flopped a pair with his King and rivered two pair for extra security. Matt’s 4th place finish (for $50 plus $10 in bounties) was respectable, but it left only Tania with a path to stealing the POY title from Peggy.

With the four short stacks quickly eliminated, the three big stacks prepared for battle.

Three-Handed Drama

Quang’s momentum continued when he doubled up against Luciano. On a 7♣️3♦️3♠️4♥️2♠️ board, Quang’s A♠️4♦️ had turned two pair while Luciano’s Q♦️9♣️ was just queen-high. The double-up left Luciano extremely short-stacked and put Quang in a commanding position.

With Quang now holding about 200,000 chips (50 big blinds) compared to Luciano’s 30,000 (7.5 big blinds) and Tania’s 28,000 (7 big blinds), it appeared that Quang’s chip lead and experience might secure his first victory in almost three years.

But the final eliminations would prove that luck, not chip counts, sometimes determines tournament winners. With 8♦️8♣️, Tania moved all-in against Luciano’s Q♥️J♦️ and seemed likely to double up and get back into the game. But Luciano hit yet another river card as the board ran out K♠️9♦️2♥️7♣️J♥️ to give Luciano another knockout, eliminating Tania in 3rd place for $75 plus $15 in bounties. That officially secured Peggy’s Player of the Year title.

The Miracle Heads-Up Comeback

Even with that knockout, Luciano still faced an uphill battle heading into heads-up play. Quang held a commanding 3.5-to-1 chip lead (200,000 vs 55,000). Quang’s chip advantage and edge in experience were two huge obstacles to Luciano completing a comeback. But for Luciano, it was just another opportunity to defy the odds.

The first crucial all-in came with about 120,000 chips in the middle. Quang held top pair against Luciano’s flush draw with one card to come, making him an 80% favorite to end the tournament. The flush hit on the river, giving Luciano a complete double-up and new life.

If that escape was lucky, the second was nothing short of miraculous. With approximately 225,000 chips in the middle—nearly all the chips in play—Quang held two pair against Luciano’s gutshot straight draw. This time, Quang was a 90% favorite to win the tournament, but the straight card hit the river, leaving Quang with just 25,000 chips (2.5 big blinds) while Luciano held 230,000 (23 big blinds).

The final hand was anticlimactic after such drama. Luciano flopped top pair against Quang’s middle pair, and this time there would be no miracle river card for the underdog. Quang’s tournament ended in 2nd place, earning $105 plus $15 in bounties for a total of $120.

Two Champions Crowned

Luciano’s victory was complete: $150 for first place plus an incredible $50 in bounties for his 10 knockouts (a single-game PPC record that included eliminating eight PPC tournament winners). His journey from early elimination to complete domination represents one of the most impressive individual performances ever at the PPC. (And the numbers support that claim: Luciano’s win earned him the largest number of Power Points ever earned in a single game, boosting him 5 spots in our all-time leaderboard and vaulting him all the way up to #6 in our 5-game hot streak rankings.)

The results also created massive movement in the Player of the Year standings. Luciano jumped 12 spots to #2, while Quang moved up 11 positions to #8. Both players dramatically increased their starting chips for our Main Event freeroll to end the season.

But it was Peggy who officially locked up her POY win, marking her first season award in three years at the PPC.

Season Finale Awaits

The October 25 Main Event promises to be our most exciting tournament yet. With the PPC funding $20 bounties on all eight event winners/survivors from this season—Thuy, Kasra, Rob, Shealyn, Matt, Tania, Peggy, and now Luciano—the target list is extensive. 

Early RSVPs are already coming in, and a new record field might be in sight. After these last two surprise performances, you don’t want to miss what may be a shocking conclusion to the season.

Take Your Game to the Next Level

Seeing the positive impact of our strategy tips on this tournament? Want to get in on the action?

If you want similar success at the Main Event, now’s the time to level up your game. Start with our first two strategy articles that proved so effective: Preflop Aggression: Why You Should Raise More explores why to be more aggressive with your preflop strategy, while Position is Power: How to Use Table Position to Your Advantage teaches you to recognize how important your position at the table is to your preflop hand selection.

Our latest post, Poker Math Made Easy: The Rule of 4 and 2 shows you how to easily estimate your chances of hitting the card you need to improve your hand.

But we’re just getting started. Our next round of essential strategy pieces will cover how to play from the most challenging positions in poker—the blinds—as well as how to handle a short stack when the blinds get big. As more of our group takes a more aggressive approach, these spots will get tougher to navigate, so we want to prepare you for the next evolution in our games. 

Plus, we’ll continue our “Poker Math Made Easy” series to answer questions like “How often should I expect a pocket pair?” and “How likely am I to win this all-in?”

Don’t let the competition pass you by. The players who made some adjustments gained a clear edge this time—make sure you’re one of them for the season finale.

And if you have any strategy questions you’d like answered or any suggestions for topics for us to cover in the future, leave a comment below or send a message to Chris. He would be happy to cover any topic that would help improve your game.