Andre Allen Comes Back from One Big Blind to Win RGPS Joplin Main Event ($60,972)
Article written by Connor Richards via PokerNews / Photos taken by Rachel Winter via 8131 Media
Andre Allen was down to one big blind at one point in the day but climbed back to win the RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) Joplin $600 Main Event for $60,972 and his second RGPS Main Event ring. The victory comes nearly a year after Allen took down his hometown RGPS Kansas City Main Event for a career-best $86,550 and more than a decade after the first RunGood stop in Joplin.
“This one feels good because in 2012 when RunGood first started down here in Joplin, I want to say I was one of the first Kansas Citians here," he told PokerNews in a winner's interview. "And so it feels good to win it in the first place that RunGood started.”
Allen's last ring came after a heads-up chop, but no chop was needed this time around as he defeated heads-up opponent William Fisher and navigated a final table that included Jackson Turrentine (3rd - $27,549), poker vlogger Ashley Frank (4th - $20,568) and David Greufe (7th - $9,228).
RGPS Joplin Final Table Results
| RANK | PLAYER | HOMETOWN | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andre Allen | Kansas City | $60,972 | |
| 2 | William Fisher | Broken Arrow | $37,975 | |
| 3 | Jackson Turrentine | Shawnee Mission, KS | $27,549 | |
| 4 | Ashley Frank | Arizona | $20,568 | |
| 5 | Vincent Meyer | Shawnee Mission, KS | $15,532 | |
| 6 | Lucas Hughes | Buffalo, MO | $11,893 | |
| 7 | David Greufe | Kansas City, MO | $9,228 | |
| 8 | Byron Abernathy | Grove, OK | $7,256 | |
| 9 | Jared Schoonover | Cave Springs, AR | $5,783 |
A Big Blind and Chair
The RGPS Joplin Main Event drew 620 runners for a prize pool of $316,200 as 75 players returned for Day 2. As the field got down to three tables, Allen lost a crucial flip with pocket nines against king-queen to be left with just a big blind and a half.
He managed to run up his stack before it once again came crashing down, but that's nothing new for the Kansas City grinder who had $326,759 in earnings heading into the event.
“I went down to 100k after getting back to 1,200,000. I went down and ran it back up. But that’s my poker. It’s always a rollercoaster ride.”
The four-hour final table featured several hands that players will surely thinking about for days and weeks, beginning with Fisher spiking a set of jacks to crack the kings of Vincent Meyer to begin his run to second place. In another pivotal hand, Frank ran a king-high flush into the ace-high flush of Allen in a cooler made for nightmares.
Another hand that got the whole room's attention took place when Fisher called Allen's double-barrel bluff with ace-high. The hand lit a fire under Allen, who later successfully bluffed Fisher and tabled it proudly.
“When he called me with the ace-high, I moved my chair. Because that fired me up. I knew we were playing poker at that point. I thought he had a pair and was going to call me, but I couldn’t see him calling with ace-high there. And that made me say, OK, I have to play my best poker now.”
After posing with his second RunGood ring and taking a photo with the tournament staff, Allen prepared for a long drive back to Kansas City to see his family.
“It feels good. It feels good to leave them behind and come home and show them that dreams do come true.”
