Andre Allen Comes Back from One Big Blind to Win RGPS Joplin Main Event ($60,972)
Andre Allen was down to one big blind at one point in the day but climbed back to win the RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) Joplin $600 Main Event for $60,972 and his second RGPS Main Event ring. The victory comes nearly a year after Allen took down his hometown RGPS Kansas City Main Event for a career-best $86,550 and more than a decade after the first RunGood stop in Joplin.
��This one feels good because in 2012 when RunGood first started down here in Joplin, I want to say I was one of the first Kansas Citians here," he told PokerNews in a winner's interview. "And so it feels good to win it in the first place that RunGood started.��
Allen's last ring came after a heads-up chop, but no chop was needed this time around as he defeated heads-up opponent William Fisher and navigated a final table that included Jackson Turrentine (3rd - $27,549), poker vlogger Ashley Frank (4th - $20,568) and David Greufe (7th - $9,228).
RGPS Joplin Final Table Results
| RANK | PLAYER | HOMETOWN | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andre Allen | Kansas City | $60,972 | |
| 2 | William Fisher | Broken Arrow | $37,975 | |
| 3 | Jackson Turrentine | Shawnee Mission, KS | $27,549 | |
| 4 | Ashley Frank | Arizona | $20,568 | |
| 5 | Vincent Meyer | Shawnee Mission, KS | $15,532 | |
| 6 | Lucas Hughes | Buffalo, MO | $11,893 | |
| 7 | David Greufe | Kansas City, MO | $9,228 | |
| 8 | Byron Abernathy | Grove, OK | $7,256 | |
| 9 | Jared Schoonover | Cave Springs, AR | $5,783 |
A Big Blind and Chair
The RGPS Joplin Main Event drew 620 runners for a prize pool of $316,200 as 75 players returned for Day 2. As the field got down to three tables, Allen lost a crucial flip with pocket nines against king-queen to be left with just a big blind and a half.
He managed to run up his stack before it once again came crashing down, but that's nothing new for the Kansas City grinder who had $326,759 in earnings heading into the event.
��I went down to 100k after getting back to 1,200,000. I went down and ran it back up. But that��s my poker. It��s always a rollercoaster ride.��
The four-hour final table featured several hands that players will surely thinking about for days and weeks, beginning with Fisher spiking a set of jacks to crack the kings of Vincent Meyer to begin his run to second place. In another pivotal hand, Frank ran a king-high flush into the ace-high flush of Allen in a cooler made for nightmares.
Another hand that got the whole room's attention took place when Fisher called Allen's double-barrel bluff with ace-high. The hand lit a fire under Allen, who later successfully bluffed Fisher and tabled it proudly.
��When he called me with the ace-high, I moved my chair. Because that fired me up. I knew we were playing poker at that point. I thought he had a pair and was going to call me, but I couldn��t see him calling with ace-high there. And that made me say, OK, I have to play my best poker now.��
After posing with his second RunGood ring and taking a photo with the tournament staff, Allen prepared for a long drive back to Kansas City to see his family.
��It feels good. It feels good to leave them behind and come home and show them that dreams do come true.��
