Ryan Stiner Goes Back-To-Back In Arizona State Poker Championships

A total of 3,646 entries have been made in the past two editions of the Arizona State Poker Championships $1,100 buy-in no-limit hold’em event at the Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, AZ. There were 1,580 that turned out in 2022, and 2,066 this year. Incredibly, one player managed to come out on top of both massive fields: Ryan Stiner.

The hometown hero has now earned $483,592 dollars in this event over the past two years, accounting for the cast majority of his $542,057 in lifetime tournament cashes. He secured $221,200 for his inaugural title run last year, and topped that with new career-best payday of $262,392 this year.

This was Stiner’s second title of the year, having also won a $500 buy-in event at the same venue back in March for another $39,992. These two wins this year have been enough to put him within reach of the top 250 in the 2023 Card Player Player of the Year race standings, which are presented by Global Poker.

Stiner told Tiffany Michelle, who was covering the event for Talking Stick Resort, that he predicted this title defense earlier on in this year’s tournament.

On Day 1C of this year’s tournament, the Arizona State Poker Championship’s defending champion, Ryan Stiner, told #poker room manager (Tom) that he’d be here shaking his hand on the final day (again)….. and he never stopped believing he could… and would.

@TS_Resort pic.twitter.com/a43f7bMEc2

— The Arena Poker Room (@ArenaPokerRoom) August 22, 2023

This event featured three starting flights from Aug. 18-20, and then two more days of action to play down to a champion. At the end of day 2, the field had been narrowed to just ten contenders with Stiner in the lead.

Stiner only added to that lead, scoring the first five knockouts at the final table according to social media posts from the venue. He took a sizable chip lead into heads-up play with Mark Graffius, who managed to mount a comeback early, only to run into a monster in the final hand.

He held Q9 on a board of 85536 for a queen-high flush. All of the chips went in, and Stiner showed 88 for a flopped full house to earn the pot and the title.

Graffius earned $203,501 as the runner-up finisher, far and away the largest score yet on his tournament resume.

Another social media post from Talking Stick Resort showed a vocal rail for Stiner. They chanted his name as he unleashed some celebratory dance moves after successfully defending his title.

Scottsdale’s Ryan Stiner does the unimaginable and beats a field of 2,066 to WIN the Arizona State Poker Championship BACK TO BACK years @the_real_stiner scores a $262,392 payday from the $1100 buy-in tournament.#pokernews #poker #scottsdale pic.twitter.com/DpAT9pxqx1

— The Arena Poker Room (@ArenaPokerRoom) August 22, 2023

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

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