The poker tournament action has been fast and furious at bestbet Jacksonville during the 2022 Summer Heater series, which ran from Aug. 11-21.
A total of 1,874 entries were made across the 11 tournaments that comprised the schedule, with more than $990,000 in prize money paid out along the way.
The centerpiece of the whole festival was the $1,500 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event. The tournament attracted a field of 374 entries, building a prize pool of $497,420 that was paid out among the top 47 finishers.
After two starting flights and one more day of action, Jacksonville resident Yi Li emerged victorious with the title, the trophy, and the top prize of $101,146.
This was the second-largest score of Li’s career, and it increased his lifetime tournament earnings to more than $450,000. This was not the first time he made a deep run at bestbet Jacksonville, as he also finished fifth in the 2013 Card Player Poker Tour main event at the venue, earning $19,622 for that final-table finish.
A number of recognizable faces were among the last few tables in this event, including recent World Series of Poker $3,000 no-limit hold’em event runner-up Toby Boas (37th), John O’Neal (15th), and Kelley Slay (12th).
Li overcame a final table that included the likes of 2017 CPPT bestbet Jacksonville main event champion Jared Reinstein (9th), Peter Le (5th), 2021 September Sizzler $1,500 event winner Jack Sumner (3rd), and runner-up James Leonard.
Li busted each and every player on the way down from the final six to win the title. In the final hand his J
10
outran the KQ of Leonard, making a king-high straight on a K
97QJ runout to lock up the victory. Leonard earned $67,431 for his second-place showing.
You can watch a replay of the final table action from bestbetLIVE, which is available both on Twitch and YouTube.
Here is a look at the payouts and Card Player Player of the Year points awarded at the final table:
| Place | Player | Earnings (USD) | POY Points |
| 1 | Yi Li | $101,146 | 600 |
| 2 | James Leonard | $67,431 | 500 |
| 3 | Jack Sumner | $49,446 | 400 |
| 4 | Jason Lee | $36,724 | 300 |
| 5 | Peter Le | $27,630 | 250 |
| 6 | Brian Kent | $21,064 | 200 |
| 7 | Thomas Carroll | $16,273 | 150 |
| 8 | Dustin Nelson | $12,742 | 100 |
| 9 | Jared Reinstein | $10,115 | 50 |
The Summer Heater kicked off with a $400 buy-in no-limit hold’em event that featured five starting flights from Aug. 11–13. The tournament attracted a field of 750 entries, building a prize pool of more than a quarter of a million dollars. Eventual champion Bobby Tieu took home $50,801 for the win.
Other notable winners included Raminder Singh, who took down the $260 no-limi hold’em event for his 42nd career title, and Matthew Griffin, who topped a final table that included two-time bracelet winner Yuval Bronshtein to emerge victorious in the $500 buy-in closing event, earning $10,079.
Full results from each of the 11 events of the Summer Heater can be found
About bestbet Jacksonville
The bestbet poker room opened in 2012 with a spacious layout of more than 80 tables, including a VIP room, full-service bar and kitchen, and simulcast area with numerous large screen TVs to see the action.
You can find the card room at 201 Monument Rd, Jacksonville, Florida 32225. Visit the casino website for more information. Follow on Twitter @bestbet_jax.