Thomas Kornechuk Wins WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley for $193,439; Denies Brett Murray Back-to-Back Titles
The 2019 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Thunder Valley wrapped up on Monday with the stop��s $1,700 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event, a tournament that attracted 608 entrants and generated a $921,920 prize pool.
After three days of play, Thomas Kornechuk, a 57-year-old software engineer, made a name for himself by capturing the title for $193,439, his first gold ring, and a seat into the 2019 Global Casino Championship. In the process, he stopped defending champ Brett Murray from going back-to-back, sending him out the door in second place.
It was hard work paying off for Kornechuk, who just started taking poker seriously.
"I've followed a few different coaches. I've studied a lot of scenarios with them. I've read books about mental preparedness, specifically poker. And I've tried to apply that,�� he told WSOP officials after the win. "My game plan was to be conservative as much as possible, and apply pressure when I saw openings to do so. I was looking for a couple of tells that I saw. I attacked those. I think that's what changed for me.��
WSOPC Thunder Valley Main Event Final Table Results
| Position | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Kornechuk | Auburn, Washington | $193,439 |
| 2 | Brett Murray | Santa Rosa, California | $119,644 |
| 3 | Jeremy Joseph | Buffalo, New York | $87,488 |
| 4 | Yifu He | Sunnyvale, California | $64,921 |
| 5 | Tony Bracy | West Sacramento, California | $48,847 |
| 6 | Chris Tham | San Francisco, California | $37,259 |
| 7 | Ryan Jaconetti | Las Vegas, Nevada | $28,813 |
| 8 | Paul Richardson | San Ramon, California | $22,586 |
| 9 | Paul Camby | Guernville, California | $17,943 |
| 10 | Paul Chai | Santa Clara, California | $14,443 |
The top 62 Main Event finishers made the money including former LFG Podcast guest Valentin Vornicu (13th - $11,722), Craig Varnell (23rd - $6,881), Matt Affleck (40th - $3,592), Ricky Guan (45th - $3,592), Randy Lew (50th - $3,270), and Ping Liu (57th - $3,012).
WSOPC Thunder Valley Main Event Final Table Action
According to updates from the event, Kornechuk got off to a hot start at the final table by eliminating Paul Chai in tenth place. It happened when Chai jammed from late position with queen-nine suited and Kornechuk woke up with aces in the small blind. The pocket rockets held and Chai had to settle for $14,443 in prize money.
Kornechuk then dispatched Paul Camby in ninth �C the result of the latter��s sixes failing to win a flip against the former��s ace-queen �C and then notch his next knockout with six remaining. That is when Chris Tham got it in with king-jack and failed to get there against Kornechuk��s Big Slick suited.
Kornechuk wouldn��t earn another knockout until the final one. It happened in Level 34 (100,000/200,000/30,000) when Murray got his short stack all in with the 4?3? and was behind the 7?4? of Kornechuk. The board ran out 8?4?9?7?2? and Murray took home $119,644 for his runner-up finish.
It was a great performance for Murray, who in September of last year won the WSOPC Thunder Valley Main Event for $151,145. Amazingly, he came up just one spot shy of defending that title.
WSOPC Thunder Valley Side Event News
Also winning a 2019 Global Casino Championship seat was Adam Dunkle, a 45-year-old general contractor out of Clovis, California. He did so after winning the Casino Champion title with 115 points. That included topping a 103-entry field to win Event #3: $400 NLH for $10,197 and his first career ring.
Prior to that he finished fourth out of 1,522 runners in Event #1: $400 NLH The Opener for $29,940, and after placed runner-up in Event #9: $400 No-Limit Hold'em for $7,995.
Also doing well at the stop was Stephen Song, who bested a 74-entry field to win the $3,250 High Roller for $75,480. It marked his second gold ring and gave him 50 points on the Global Casino Championship leaderboard, which moved him into first place with 265 points on the season.
��I was grinding pretty hard to get a [Global Casino Championship] seat, but at this point, I have locked one up,�� said Song. ��These [WSOP Circuit] stops are great, especially ones with high rollers. Small field tournaments are way more fun because you get to make the FT way more often.��
Here��s a look at all those who won rings at the Thunder Valley stop.
WSOPC Thunder Valley Ring Winners
| Event | Winner | Entries | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $400 NLH The Opener | Ryan Grant | 1,522 | $86,644 |
| Event #2: $400 NLH Multi-flight | Gregory Fils | 237 | $13,630 |
| Event #3: $400 NLH Single Entry | Adam Dunkle | 103 | $10,197 |
| Event #4: $400 H.O.R.S.E. | Omar Mehmood | 62 | $7,162 |
| Event #5: $400 NLH 6-Handed (1 Day) | Erle Mankin | 113 | $11,184 |
| Event #6: $400 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better | Eric Estoque | 101 | 10,000 |
| Event #7: $400 Monster Stack | David Valdez | 686 | $46.411 |
| Event #8: $250 Seniors | Mark Crusha | 154 | $8,318 |
| Event #9: $400 No-Limit Hold'em (1 Day) | Minh "Danny" Nguyen | 140 | $12,937 |
| Event #10: $3,250 High Roller | Stephen Song | 74 | $75,480 |
| Event #11: $1,700 Main Event | Thomas Kornechuk | 608 | $193,439 |
| Event #12: $400 Pot-Limit Omaha (1 Day) | Kennii Nguyen | 106 | $10,295 |
| Event #13: $1,125 No-Limit Hold'em 8-Handed | Jarod Minghini | 135 | $37,782 |
The next WSOPC stop is already underway at Horseshoe Tunica. PokerNews will bring you a recap of the stop��s $1,700 Main Event upon its completion.
Photos courtesy of WSOP Circuit.
