Joshua Pollock advanced to his first final table in August 2011 in the World Poker Tour (WPT) Legends of Poker Main Event and finished fourth with a six-figure score. The poker pro has won many competitions since 2011 including two World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelets.
Pollock was among the six final players in the 2022 WPT Legend of Poker $5,250 buy-in no-limit hold 'em main event. He beat 641 opponents to win $573,350 and his first WPT title at the Parkwest Bicycle Casino.
The player informed WPT reporters after the event that it was a dream to him. He didn't have a lot of pressure on day one and easily advanced to day two.
Pollock amazed his fans when he gradually improved his stack position from being among the last in the standings to leading the pack. Besides, it is the largest score he has made in his career and it raised his lifetime poker tournament earnings to almost $2,000,000. The victory earned him 1,680 Card Player Player of the Year (POY)points and it was his first POY-qualified score in 2022.
It improved his position in the 2022 POY race to the top 150. The tournament ran from August 27 to September 1. It had three starting flights, a $3,113,700 prize pool, and exceeded the $2,500,000 guarantee.
The top 81 players won money including J.C. Trans, Ryan Tosoc, Stephen Song, Nam Le, Jordan Cristos, and Michael Wang.
The Final Table's POY Points and Payouts
- Joshua Pollock-1,680 points and $573,350
- Ray Qartomy-1,400 points and $380,000
- Matthew Wantman-1,120 points and $280,000
- Aaron Motoyama-840 points and $207,000
- Lei Lei-700 points and $156,000
- Adam Hendrix-560 points and $119,000
Action on the Final Day
Six players remained early in the final day with Ray Qartomy being in the lead. Yet, Adam Hendrix was the short stack with only 11 big blinds. He was the first finalist to leave the table after doubling up on the day's second deal.
The second elimination occurred three hands after Hendrix's exit. Wantman made a 300,000 min-raise from the cut-off while Lei Lei went all-in for 2,100,000 from a big blind. The former used KHeart SuitKClub Suit to snap call while the latter showed AClub SuitJDiamond Suit.
Wantman flopped kings that held and sent Lei packing in fifth place with $156,000. Aaron Motoyama used 9Heart Suit9Club Suit to mid-raise from under the gun on the 11th hand. Pollock used QDiamond Suit10Diamond Suit to call from a big blind while the flop turned 8Diamond Suit3Club Suit2Diamond Suit.
Pollock check-raised all-in over Motoyama's minimum continuation wager. The latter used a single big blind to call all-in. Pollock later improved to a pair of queens on the QHeart Suit turn making Motoyama urgently need straights.
The 8Spade Suit didn't help Motoyama and he left the table in fourth place with $207,000, being his highest score on the circuit. Also, it raised his lifetime earnings to over $1.2 million. His exit set three-handed play as each remaining player had more than 65 big blinds.
Wantman shoved his remaining five big blinds using A-2 suited from a small blind on the 80th hand. Pollock used an A-9 suited to wake and flopped a nine that made Wantman draw slim. The latter didn't get help from the river and turn thus finishing third with $280,000.
Pollock got a 3:2 stack lead after busting Wantman. But, Qartomy regained the chip lead early in their heads-up battle. Pollock used 8Spade Suit8Club Suit to make a 1,300,000 raise from the button in the final hand.
Qartomy did a 10,600,000 three-bet shove from the big blind using ADiamond Suit8Diamond Suit. Pollock used a pocket pair to call first as the board came 9Heart Suit5Heart Suit4Club SuitJHeart SuitQClub Suit. It secured the title and pot for Pollock as Qartomy took home $380,000 as the runner-up.
