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Phuong “Peter” Ta, a nail salon owner from Bluffton, South Carolina, captured the RunGood Poker Series Golden Expedition Jacksonville $1,200 Main Event title after a final table that stretched past 2 a.m. Ta defeated Corey Major heads-up to secure the win and a $71,353 top prize, the largest payday of his poker career.
The 394-entry field tested Ta early, as he dropped to just 3,000 chips during Day 1b before mounting a comeback that eventually gave him the overall chip lead heading into the final stretch.
Ta, who has played poker recreationally for more than two decades but only began focusing on tournaments in the past year, had previously made deep runs including a final table at the 2021 Wynn Fall Classic and a 14th-place finish in this same Jacksonville event in 2023. He entered this year’s festival with close to $200,000 in lifetime live earnings.
The final table saw several big swings. Antwan Prince, the 2023 champion of this event, started as chip leader but was eliminated in ninth place after Ta rivered a flush against him. Major then went on a tear, eliminating multiple players and building a commanding stack heading into four-handed play.
Sandro Sa and Major traded dramatic pots, including a river five that kept Sa alive and a flush that doubled him against Ta, before Sa ultimately fell in third place to Major’s top pair.
With Ta and Major reaching heads-up play deep into the night, the two agreed to a chip-chop deal leaving $5,000 to the eventual winner. Ta then applied steady pressure and sealed the victory when Major’s short stack failed to improve against Ta’s top pair.
