After 12-hours of play on Day 2 of Contenders Weekend at Hard Rock Tulsa, it was Stephen Culpepper left standing on the playing field to bank $37,761 on to his career stats.
"I've been playing the RunGood Poker Series for a while," an overjoyed Culpepper said after a short hour of heads up play. "This is my first win and hopefully not the last."
Culpepper, who topped a field of 559 entrants, came into the day third in chips after being named Day 1B chip lead. Throughout the day he found smooth seas to sail through to the final table where he pushed the pace to bring the pressure on his opponents. After an hour of heads up play, Culpepper and Dane Dycus got in their near even stacks into the middle which saw Culpepper leaving with the pot.
The very next hand was a shove from Dycus's remaining stack and a quick call from Culpepper who found his A♣K♠ up against 5♣2♣. With the A♠ in the window, Dycus was left drawing to a gut shot or runner runner. Neither scenario occurred sending Culpepper the title, seat, and cash.
Stephen Culpepper: A♣K♠
Dane Dycus: 5♣2♣
Board: Q♥3♦A♠J♣5♠
On top of a career best score to 50x his lifetime career earnings, Culpepper also wins a seat to RGPS ProAm in Las Vegas, Nevada at the end of the year in the PokerGO Studio.
NEXT UP: Contenders Weekend Council Bluffs, Iowa (August 4th - 7th)