At Oklahoma’s Choctaw Casino Resort, Eric Taylor began 2025 with a noteworthy poker win. Taylor won his first World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) championship on January 20 and took home the $259,721 top prize. His career earnings nearly reached $350,000 with this win, which was a significant turning point in his poker career.
“I’ve been doing this a long time, we have a weekly game. I play quite a bit with a lot of people around here. I was waiting for something like this for a long time. I told myself that I would only play the ones that would make a huge score like this. This one feels pretty great,” Taylor shared after the win.
A Thrilling Tournament with a Big Payoff
Taylor’s victory came in the $1,700 buy-in no-limit hold’em event, which attracted 1,070 players over two starting flights. The total prize pool of $1,621,050 surpassed the $1 million guarantee, with the top 162 players receiving payouts.
By Day 2, the field had narrowed to 111 players, all guaranteed at least $4,430. As the day progressed, notable names such as Quang Pham (ninth), Jared Ingles (14th), and Nathanael Kogel (15th) fell, leaving just eight players to compete for the coveted gold ring. Taylor began the final day in the middle of the pack but quickly made his mark.
The final day of play saw a thrilling heads-up battle between Taylor and Debbie Lee, which lasted a grueling four hours. Taylor’s strategy revolved around timing and patience, noting, “It’s kinda funny, earlier this tournament I was taking a little bit of flak for some of the time I was taking preflop on some decisions. This tournament I was focusing a lot on timing.”
After several chip lead changes, Taylor made a crucial move in the final hand when Lee went all-in preflop with 5
4. Taylor, holding A
2, eventually won with two pair after the final board read K J
10
2 A.
Lee, who earned $173,145 for second place, gave a strong performance, with her career earnings nearing $225,000.
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