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Michael Jukich Wins 2018 WSOP Circuit Baltimore Main Event

34-Year-Old Defeats Field of 513 Entries To Win $165,438 His First Gold Ring

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Michael Jukich has won the 2018 World Series of Poker Circuit Baltimore $1,675 no-limit hold’em main event. The 34-year-old poker pro’s first major live win was the result of an 11th-hour decision to make the journey from his home state of Virginia to the Horseshoe Baltimore Casino.

“It was last minute that I even decided to come,” Jukich told WSOP reporters. “I was playing in my home game, back in Lynchburg, VA on Friday night and I got the okay to come up here and play. They were gonna take action in me. They believed in me and I was pretty confident in myself.”

“I just have to give a shout out to my fiancé, Ashley and my son, Ryker,” Jukich said. “That’s who I do this for.”

Jukich survived to the final table, entering the last nine in second chip position. Despite his large stack, he did not eliminate a single opponent until play got down to three-handed. At that point he called the all-in of James St. Hilaire with the AHeart SuitJClub Suit and found himself up against the 10Spade Suit9Spade Suit. The board came down JHeart Suit7Spade Suit3Club SuitQClub SuitASpade Suit and Jukich made two pair to take roughly a 3-to-2 lead on Jeremy Stein going into heads-up play.

Jukich was able to extend his lead by the time the final hand arose. In the end it was a classic race situation, with all the chips getting in the middle with Jukich holding the 6Diamond Suit6Club Suit and Stein the AHeart SuitKSpade Suit. The QClub Suit4Spade Suit3Spade SuitJClub SuitQSpade Suit runout kept the sixes in the lead, securing the pot and the title for Jukich. Stein hit the rail in second place, earning $102,290.

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:

Place Player Earnings (USD) POY Points
1 Michael Jukich $165,438 840
2 Jeremy Stein $102,290 700
3 James St Hilaire $74,726 560
4 Kyle Adams $55,396 420
5 Christopher Conrad $41,661 350
6 Christopher Caruso $31,780 280
7 Kyle Jensen $24,586 210
8 Paul Fisher $19,291 140
9 Ari Eiblum $15,352 70