Mark Davis is the latest player to secure a main event title on the World Series pf Poker Circuit. The Birmingham, Alabama resident outlasted a field of 1,402 total entries to emerge victorious in the 2022 WSOPC Harrah’s Cherokee $1,700 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event, earning $334,678 and his first gold ring as the champion.
“It feels amazing. I got in to big-time tournament play right before COVID, but the COVID shut everything down. But this year, getting back into it, I’m basically six for six in deep runs. I’m ‘ON’ now. It’s over!” Davis told WSOP reporters after coming away with the title.
In addition to the money and the hardware, he also secured 960 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. This was his third POY-qualified score of the year, having previously finished as the runner-up in a $300 buy-in event at the Peral River Winter Poker Open for $55,073 and 360 points, and eighth in a $400 buy-in event earlier this series for another $18,599 and 80 points. With 1,400 total points and $408,350 in year-to-date POY earnings, Davis now sits in a tie with Raul Garza for eighth place in the 2022 POY race, which is sponsored by Global Poker.
The final day of this event began with just 19 players remaining in contention and Davis on top of the leaderboard. By the time the unofficial final table of ten was set, he remained in the lead. Davis won a pair of preflop coinflips to eliminate Micahel Cooper (10th – $29,148) and Todd Bartlette (9th – $36,191) to narrow the field to eight.
Pawley Thomas was the next to fall. He got all-in with A-6 leading the Q-5 suited of Kevin Morris, but a queen on the flop gave his opponent the lead. Thomas was unable to improve from there and was sent to the rail with $45,309 for his eighth-place showing.
Nicholas Power ran A-10 suited into the A-K of Adam Ney. Power was unable to come from behind and was knocked out in seventh place ($57,192).
Davis scored his next elimination when he called the all-in of Dale Roesel on a Q
7
6A board with KQ for the nut flush. Roesel held A6 for aces up. The 10
on the river changed nothing and Roesel was sent home with $72,783 for his deep run in this event.
Kevin Morris got the last of his stack in minutes later with 9-6 suited and received a call from Chris George and his A_Q. Morris flopped an open-ended straight draw and a flush draw, while George hit top pair. Morris improved to a pair of nines on the turn, but a blank on the end saw him finish fifth for $93,376.
George continued to surge thanks to picking up AK against the A8 of Scott Dobbs, who three-bet shoved from the small blind over George’s button open. George called and flopped trips to leave Dobbs drawing dead. Dobbs earned $120,760 for his fourth-place showing.
George lost momentum during three-handed play and ultimately fell to the bottom of the leaderboard. In his final hand, he faced a bet from chip leader Adam Ney on a AJ582 board that would put him all-in. George eventually made the call with Q
8 and was shown the 43 for a wheel. George earned $157,423 as the third-place finisher.
Ney took a big lead early on in the heads-up battle after winning a big pot with a turned straight. Davis was able to battle his way back into contention, though, and the two traded the lead a bit before the decisive hand arose. With blinds of 250,000-500,000 and a big blind ante of 500,000, Davis raised to 1,100,000 on the button with A9. Ney moved all-in with 22 and Davis called. The board came down Q897 to give Davis trip nines and the win. Ney earned $206,844 as the runner-up.
Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:
| Place | Player | Earnings (USD) | POY Points |
| 1 | Mark Davis | $334,678 | 960 |
| 2 | Adam Ney | $206,844 | 800 |
| 3 | Chris George | $157,423 | 640 |
| 4 | Scott Dobbs | $120,760 | 480 |
| 5 | Kevin Morris | $93,376 | 400 |
| 6 | Dale Roesel | $72,783 | 320 |
| 7 | Nicholas Power | $57,192 | 240 |
| 8 | Pawley Thomas | $45,309 | 160 |
| 9 | Todd Bartlette | $36,191 | 80 |
Winner photo provided by WSOP.