For the first time in tour history, the MSPT traveled to Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, to host the inaugural $1,100 Diamond Poker Championship MAJOR Event, and the turnout was another for the record books.
The $1,100 buy-in, $1,000,000 GTD Main Event was one to remember, as an MSPT record, outside of Las Vegas, of 3,220 entries were tallied, generating a mouth-watering $3,121,900 prize pool.
After an action-packed weekend, it was June “Oh Geez” Kim who emerged victorious to claim his first MSPT MAJOR title along with a career-best $397,950 first-place prize.
“Feels incredible”, Kim said after his comeback victory, “It was a wild ride all day long, and just a really amazing experience to be able to win in my hometown casino, I want to keep playing, I don’t want this to be over, it was so much fun.”
The win marked Kim’s largest career score, and with it, he also received a $3,500 seat into the MSPT Championship Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open (RRPO), which will be held at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida, Nov. 18 – Dec. 2, boasting a $2,000,000 GTD Main Event!
MSPT 2026 Diamond Poker Championship Final Table Results
| Place |
Player |
Prize |
POY |
| 1 |
June Kim |
$*397,950 |
2,850* |
| 2 |
Carlton Taylor |
$*345,649 |
2,850* |
| 3 |
Zilong Zhang |
$185,000 |
2,700 |
| 4 |
Larry Goldstein |
$140,500 |
2,550 |
| 5 |
Jonah LaBranche |
$117,100 |
2,400 |
| 6 |
Johnny Watson |
$93,700 |
2,250 |
| 7 |
Anastassios Leotsarakos |
$70,200 |
2,100 |
| 8 |
Doug Jacoby |
$58,500 |
1,950 |
| 9 |
Brett McCollum |
$46,800 |
1,800 |
Final Day Action
The final day came back with all 345 players already in the money, so action kicked right into gear with players like MSPT Poker Bowl Xl Champ Anthony Scarborough, Dennis Stevermer, Hayley Hanna, and MSPT Champ Justin Lynch all falling in the first batch of eliminations.
Season 12 Player of the Year Kyna England
The rush of players to the payout line continued with Season 12 Player of the Year Kyna England, (257th Place $2,300), 2023 WSOP Main Event runner-up finisher Steven Jones (232nd Place $2,300), Brad Sailor (188th Place $2,800), and WSOP bracelet winner Chad Holloway (143rd Place $3,300), all had their final day cut much shorter than anticipated.
WSOP Bracelet Winner Chad Holloway
With the march to the final table in full swing, others to fall along the way albeit with a payday, were MSPT Hall of Famer Rich Alsup (86th Place - $5,000), Season 16 Player of the Year Jake Long (71st Place - $6,600), Esther Taylor (53rd Place - $9,400), MSPT champ Mike Estes (30th place - $14,000), along with three-time MSPT Champ Nick Barksdale (21st Place - $16,400), and Season 8 Potawatomi Champ Dan Goepel (16th Place - $21,100).
Three-Time MSPT Champ Nick Barksdale
Final Table Action
The final 10 players then took their seats at an unofficial final table, and it took one full level before John Ciccarelli would lose a race to Golden State Poker Champion Zilong Zhang, making him the official final table bubble.
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Brett McCollum
After Ciccarelli hit the deck, the final table bodies started dropping like wildfire as start-of-day chip leader Brett McCollum was flushed out the door in ninth place by Johnny Watson, while Doug Jacoby followed him to the payout line in eighth place for $58,500.
The fast-paced final table action would continue after Anastassios Leotsarakos pair of ladies was shot down by Watson’s two Cowboys, while Watson would become the next victim after his luck ran out to Zhang’s turned full house, as he took a sixth-place exit for $93,700.
Jonah LaBranche
Rising star Jonah Labranche would be next on the chopping block after he failed to crack Carlton Taylor’s pair of sixes, as he took a fifth-place exit for $117,100, and Taylor would then send Larry Goldstein home in fourth place ($140,500) shortly after an ICM deal was declined by soon-to-be champ Kim.
“I wanted to keep playing”, Kim stated, “This opportunity doesn’t come along very often, and I’ve made deals in the past where it ended up biting me, so I just wanted to play for the trophy”.
Even sitting at the bottom of the chip counts, Kim was the only one to decline the ICM deal, but he was able to win all-in, after all-in to finally take the chip lead after he sent the Golden Poker State Champion Zhang home in third-place for $185,000, while Taylor took a second place finish for $345,649, and Kim claimed the inaugural Diamond Poker Championship trophy!
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This wraps up our coverage of yet another record-breaking tournament, so make sure you join us when we make our way back to the Venetian Las Vegas, February 4th - 7th, for the infamous $1,000,000 GTD Poker Bowl X!