Rich Dixon Leads the Final Six Players of Event #1: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Rich Dixon leads the final six players of Event #1: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em in the inaugural Stairways to Millions. Joining Dixon at the final table are Justin Saliba, Joseph Cheong, Daniel Sepiol, Mehdi Anooshahr, and Qing Liu round out the final table as the players will enter the PokerGo Studio at 12:00 p.m. on January, 13 with the final table stream set to air at 12:30 p.m. on PokerGo.com.
The 190 entrant field created a prize pool of $190,000, nearly doubling the guaranteed prize pool of $100,000. The remaining six players are all guaranteed at least $7,600, which includes a seat into Event #2: $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em, with the winner taking home $28,500.
Dixon took the chip lead late in the day when he played the biggest pot in the tournament thus far against Anooshahr early in level 20. Dixon three-bet pre-flop and fired on every street getting called by Anooshahr all the way, before tabling pocket aces. They were good when Anooshahr tabled pocket jacks for a missed straight draw, and Dixon let out a shy of relief as he took the chip lead.
Sepiol was down to his last 225,000 in chips after playing the tournament’s second four million chip pot a short while later against Saliba. Still, the Bloomington, Indiana native spun the two big blind stack up to 2.4 million to end the night when he scored a double knockout of Lee Alejandro and Josh Willard to end the night. Sepiol held ace-eight against the pocket sevens of Willard and the ace-king of Alejandro. Both Alejandro and Sepiol found an ace on the flop, but Sepiol binked an eight on the river for two pair and the double knockout.
The 190-entrant field paid the top 28 finishers, with all 28 walking away with a seat into Event #2. Notables walking away with a seat included Brad Owen (28th), Shannon Shorr (24th), Stephen Song (17th), Chance Kornuth (18th), and David Levi (14th). Just missing out on his seat in Event #2 was Callen Bunyan when he ran his king-jack into the kin-queen of Willard to fall in 29th place and burst the Event #1 money bubble.
Click here to view the 2022 Stairway To Millions Structure and Payout Information
| Event #1 Final Table | |||
| Seat | Name | Country | Chip Count |
| 1 | Qing Liu | United States | 3,250,000 |
| 2 | Justin Saliba | United States | 3,900,000 |
| 3 | Joseph Cheong | United States | 2,200,000 |
| 4 | Daniel Sepiol | United States | 2,400,000 |
| 5 | Rich Dixon | United States | 6,500,000 |
| 6 | Mehdi Anooshahr | United States | 725,000 |
When play resumes there is 4:28 remaining in level 20 and the button is in seat 1
The final six players will enter the PokerGO Studio on Thursday, January 13, at 12 p.m. PT with the final table airing on PokerGO.com at 1 p.m. PT.
Connect with PokerGO Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Use code “PGT2022” for $20 off an annual PokerGO.com subscription now!
Final Table Seat Draw and Chip Counts
Seat 1 – Qing Liu
Seat 2 – Justin Saliba
Seat 3 – Joseph Cheong
Seat 4 – Daniel Sepiol
Seat 5 – Rich Dixon
Seat 6 – Mehdi Anooshahr
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Rich Dixon | 6,500,000 |
2,400,000  |
| Justin Saliba | 3,900,000 |
-300,000  |
| Qing Liu | 3,250,000 |
-310,000 |
| Daniel Sepiol | 2,400,000 | - |
| Joseph Cheong | 2,200,000 |
-300,000 |
| Mehdi Anooshahr | 725,000 |
-100,000 |
Lee Alejandro Eliminated in 7th Place and Josh Willard Eliminated in 8th Place ($7,600)
Daniel Sepiol moved all-in for his last 925,000 from early position, and Josh Willard called next to act for his last 325,000. Action folded to Lee Alejandro on the button, and he used a time extension before he called all-in for approximately 800,000.
Sepiol: [Ah8d]
Willard: [7h7d]
Alejandro: [AcKc]
The board ran out [Ad3d2sJs8c], and Sepiol found aces-up on the river to eliminate Alejandro in 7th place and Willard in 8th for $7,600 and move from just over two big blinds to over two million to end the night.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel Sepiol | 2,400,000 |
1,725,000 |
| Lee Alejandro | Busted |
-1,400,000 |
| Josh Willard | Busted |
-750,000 |
Daniel Sepiol Doubles Through Mehdi Anooshahr
Daniel Sepiol jammed in his 225,000 chips from the cutoff and Mehdi Anooshahr called in the big blind.
Sepiol: [Jd2d]
Anooshahr: [jHtH]
Sepiol was dominated but the [9s9c6c2hQh] runout gave him some help on the turn to stay alive, as he hopes to continue chipping up.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Mehdi Anooshahr | 825,000 |
-350,000
|
| Daniel Sepiol | 675,000 |
450,000 |
Justin Saliba Doubles Through Daniel Sepiol
Justin Saliba opened to 800,000 in the cutoff and Daniel Sepiol jammed in the small blind. Saliba called for his 1,950,000 stack.
Saliba: [AhQc]
Daniel Sepiol: [9h9d]
The players were flipping and the [Kc5c3c4cAc] board ran out all clubs to keep Saliba alive with the better flush, as Sepiol is left with under two big blinds.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Justin Saliba | 4,200,000 |
1,925,000 |
| Daniel Sepiol | 225,000 |
-1,325,000 |
Rich Dixon Doubles Through Mehdi Anooshahr
Joseph Cheong opened to 250,000 from early position and action folded to Rich Dixon in the cutoff and he three-bet to 525,000. Mehdi Anooshahr was on the button and called. The blinds folded, and Cheong called.
The flop fell [QdTs9c], and Cheong checked. Dixon continued for 700,000, and Anooshahr called. Cheong folded.
The turn [6d] hit the felt, and Dixon used a time extension before he slid out a bet of 1.2 million. Anoodhahr used a time extension of his own and called.
The river [2s] completed the board, and Dixon moved all-in for his last 500,000. Anooshahr called and tabled [JhJs], but Dixon tabled [AhAc] for a better pair to collect the pot and score the double to over 4.1 million.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Rich Dixon | 4,100,000 |
1,950,000 |
| Joseph Cheong | 2,500,000 |
-550,000 |
| Mehdi Anooshahr | 800,000 |
-1,575,000 |
Josh Willard Doubles Through Daniel Sepiol
Daniel Sepiol jammed in the small blind and Josh Willard called off his 325,000 remaining chips in the big blind.
Willard: [Ad7s]
Sepiol: [Kh5s]
The board ran out [Ts7h5s4sTc] and Willard stayed alive after flopping a better pair and holding.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel Sepiol | 1,550,000 |
-300,000 |
| Josh Willard | 750,000 |
325,000 |
Lee Alejandro Doubles Through Josh Willard
Josh Willard shoved in early position and Lee Alejandro called for his 575,000 chips in the cutoff.
Alejandro: [AhKh]
Willard: [7h7d]
The board ran out [6c5h3hKc8h] to give Alejandro a nut flush for the double and leave Willard with a short stack.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Lee Alejandro | 1,400,000 |
825,000
|
| Josh Willard | 425,000 |
-575,000
|
Jeremy Mintz Eliminated in 9th Place ($5,700)
Action folded to Jeremy Mintz in late position, and he moved all-in for his last 425,000 total. Action folded to Daniel Sepiol in the big blind, and he called.
Mintz: [KcTs]
Sepiol: [KhQh]
The board ran out [8s8c7dJs5h], and Sepiol held the better king-high to eliminate Mintz in ninth place for $5,700.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel Sepiol | 1,850,000 |
800,000 |
| Jeremy Mintz | Busted |
-675,000 |
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