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Kyle Smith, a family doctor from Bethesda, Maryland, won the Potomac Summer Poker Open $3,000 Main Event, topping a 280-entry field for a top prize of $136,054 after a heads-up deal with Phong Nguyen.
Smith, originally from Michigan, describes himself as a recreational player and even worked at his medical practice earlier on the day of the final table after sleeping only four hours. He said the victory would not change his approach to poker, though it would help financially.
The final table shifted early when Smith faced an all-in shove from start-of-day chip leader Patrick Martorella. After tanking, Smith called with a pair of eights against Martorella’s straight and flush draws, and held on to double up, calling it a potential “biggest punt in tournament poker history” had it gone wrong.
That double-up gave Smith the momentum to build a commanding stack. He later eliminated Martorella in fourth place after his aces and jacks outdrew Martorella’s kings and sevens on the river.
Two-time WSOP bracelet winner Justin Liberto, the field’s most accomplished player with over $8 million in career earnings, finished third after his short-stacked shove was called by Nguyen’s pocket nines.
Heads-up against Nguyen, Smith built a big lead before Nguyen briefly rallied with a flush and a straight. After Smith regained the advantage with a river hand, the two agreed to a deal, splitting roughly $130,000 and $137,000 and sharing the event’s two trophies.
