Another day, another tournament win for Chance Kornuth, who took down PokerGO's Stairway to Millions Event #3: $4,200 No-Limit Hold'em on Saturday for $80,640.
The Chip Leader Coaching founder, fresh off one of his best years ever in live tournaments, has now won two straight events in the series. He also won at the final table Friday in the $2,150 buy-in tournament, good for $51,600.
Last year, he finished second to Ali Imsirovic for the Global Poker Index Player of the Year award, a year in which he won his third World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet. He's already off and running in 2022. Kornuth now has over $9.2 million in live tournament cashes.
Back-to-Back Champ
Immediately after taking down Friday's final table, Kornuth spun up a stack in Event #3, and then bagged a massive chip lead by the end of the session. With six players remaining out of the initial 84 entrants, he was the favorite to go back-to-back.
Given how hot he's been running lately, it's no surprise how dominant he performed at the final table, even against some tough competition. Kornuth wasn't the only player at the final table who has been crushing it during the first ever Stairway to Millions series.
Joseph Cheong finished runner-up for $51,120. He also scored a third-place finish in the $1,100 series opener, won by Daniel Sepiol.
Stairway to Millions Event #3 Final Table Results
Although Kornuth entered the final table with a big advantage, it wasn't all smooth sailing for him on Saturday. Cheong and Nathan Zimnik both caught up to his stack and gave him a run for his money.
But when heads-up play began, Cheong needed to overcome a 2-1 chip disadvantage. Kornuth would grind down his opponent's stack quickly and then took them all on the final hand with trips against two pair. The full final table results were as follows:
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chance Kornuth | $80,640 |
| 2 | Joseph Cheong | $51,120 |
| 3 | Nathan Zimnik | $40,320 |
| 4 | Mitchell Halverson | $30,240 |
| 5 | Daniel Weinand | $23,520 |
| 6 | Jesse Lonis | $20,160 |
Each of the top 12 finishers cashed and, like every Stairway to Millions event, received a free entry into the next tournament, an $8,400 buy-in event that started Saturday afternoon at Aria. That tournament had 56 entries, including Kornuth, eight of whom will cash and then advance to Sunday's $15,800 buy-in contest. Both Kornuth and Cheong had been eliminated before the money bubble burst.
The series is leading up to the $102,000 finale starting January 19. Players had an opportunity to work their way up from the $1,100 Event #1 buy-in all the way up to the six-figure series closing event by cashing in each tournament along the way. That said, no player has cashed in all four events, so no one will go from Step 1 to Step 8 unschathed.
Stairway to Millions Full Schedule
| Date | Buy-In | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 12 | $1,100 | $100,000 |
| Jan. 13 | $2,150 | $100,000 |
| Jan. 14 | $4,200 | $100,000 |
| Jan. 15 | $8,400 | $200,000 |
| Jan. 16 | $15,800 | $300,000 |
| Jan. 17 | $25,100 | $500,000 |
| Jan. 18 | $52,000 | $500,000 |
| Jan. 19 | $102,000 | $1,200,000 |
