This year’s kickoff event at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit stop in Hammond, Indiana attracted 1,611 players for the largest Circuit field ever assembled. Brett Schwertley ultimately took down the $350 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament for a WSOP Circuit ring along with a $77,000 payday.
Schwertley isn’t just some random Chicago area native who took down an enormous poker tournament, either. Instead, the first event in Hammond marked his fifth Circuit cash of the current season. The 27 year old Omaha, Nebraska resident edged out Florida’s Edward Corrado heads-up. In the final hand of the record-setting tournament, Schwertley moved all-in with Q-3 of hearts on a board reading K-Q-3-6-7 with three hearts for a flush. Corrado called and tabled K-2 offsuit for top pair and landed in second place for $47,000.
Schwertley started the final table in ominous fashion. After coming into the finale as one of the middle stacks, Schwertley saw his pocket aces cracked by pocket jacks to double up an opponent. However, as the old poker adage goes, all you need is a chip and a chair.
The top 171 players finished in the money. Prior to this year, the largest field on the WSOP Circuit numbered 1,412, set in last year’s opening tournament in Hammond.
On cashing for nearly $80,000 in the largest Circuit tournament ever held, Schwertley told WSOP officials, “It does not really change anything for me. But I am very competitive and I plan to play in more events. This is the third straight WSOP Circuit I have attended this year. So, I will keep doing that for a while. I was in good shape with points coming in and now I am the leader here, so far.”
The final table of the mammoth event was actually split into two days. Two hours in, play was disbanded for the night. Seven players returned for Day 3, which lasted about five hours. Here’s how the final 10 cashed out:
1. Brett Schwertley (Omaha, Nebraska) – $77,438
2. Edward Corrado (Naples, Florida) – $47,975
3. Jack Ranallo (Elmwood Park, Illinois) – $36,203
4. Jacob Glanton (South Bend, Indiana) – $27,511
5. Dan Whalen (Chicago, Illinois) – $20,945
6. Daniel Pyszynski (Chicago, Illinois) – $16,090
7. Jason Schroeder (Aurora, Illinois) – $12,530
8. Michael Gassner (Highland Park, Illinois) – $9,848
9. Alex Smith (Wheeling, Illinois) – $7,860
The winner of last year’s kickoff event in Hammond, Joshua Shmerl, banked $70,000. Jason Newman, Poker Room Manager for the Horseshoe Casino in the Indiana city, commented in a WSOP press release, “I’m thrilled that we broke our own record that was set last year at Horseshoe Hammond. But I am not at all surprised since the Chicago poker scene is one of the strongest in the country. We’re absolutely ecstatic with the turnout so far and we expect huge fields in coming events over the next few weeks.”
On October 25th, the very first $10,000 buy-in WSOP Circuit Regional Championship will take place in Hammond. Everyone who makes its final nine will nab a spot in the $1 million prize pool WSOP Circuit National Championship, which will pan out from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas next year. On October 22nd, the Hammond Main Event will kick off. The $1,600 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament will play out over the course of three days.
Stay tuned to Poker News Daily for the latest WSOP Circuit headlines.
