Eric Chang won the record-breaking WSOP Circuit Main Event in Texas

Eric "Slick Ric" Chang became the winner of the largest WSOP Circuit Main Event in history, held at TCH Social, Austin. The tournament prize pool exceeded all expectations.

Eric "Slick Ric" Chang claimed victory in the largest-ever WSOP Circuit Main Event, held at the TCH Social poker club in Austin, Texas. He took home $433,670 for first place, and the tournament drew a record number of entrants and a prize pool that exceeded all expectations. WSOP Circuit Main Event at TCH Social: Records and Drama TCH Social poker club in Austin, one of six clubs in the Texas Card House network, became the stage for the biggest WSOP Circuit Main Event in the series’ history. The $1,700 buy-in tournament attracted 2,090 entrants, and the total prize pool reached $3,136,350, far surpassing the $2,000,000 guarantee. Both local regulars and well-known players, including the reigning world champion, battled for the win. The Road to the Final Table: Unexpected Twists On the final day, 18 players returned, including Lukas Jumalon, the 2026 WSOP Main Event champion and recent winner of $10,000,000. This time, Jumalon started the day with a big stack but couldn’t build on his success and finished in 14th place, earning $19,030. Nevertheless, his performance proved that his WSOP victory was no fluke. The final table began with a dramatic moment: Brant Jolly was left with less than a third of a big blind, but in the very first hand picked up pocket queens and doubled up. However, his tournament run ended soon after in ninth place for $40,100. The Final Table: Battle for the Title Kim Stone, a well-known Texas regular, finished in eighth place. She tried to double up with a short stack but lost a classic “coin flip” and took home $51,540. After that, seven players remained at the final table, continuing the fight for the top prize. The next players to exit were: Simon Britton — seventh place and $66,960 Taylor Fortini — sixth place and $87,200 Eric Tang — fifth place and $116,580 Ryan Brown was cruising through the tournament with a big stack, but lost a significant portion of his chips in a hand against Chang, when his top pair lost to a straight made on the turn and river. After that, Brown couldn’t recover and soon lost most of his remaining chips to Venkat Chivukula, getting it in with a weaker ace. Brown ultimately finished in fourth place for $156,455. Key Moments on the Road to Victory With four players left, Eric Chang suffered a major setback: holding a queen-high flush with Q♦6♦, he lost a massive 100-big-blind pot to Anil Jivani, who had a higher flush with A♦10♦. Despite this blow, Chang managed to regroup and get back in the game. When three players remained, Anil Jivani controlled nearly 70% of all chips. However, Chang won a big “coin flip” against Venkat Chivukula, knocking him out in third place ($211,440), and evened the stacks with Jivani heading into heads-up play. In the final battle for the title, Chang and Jivani traded the chip lead for about an hour. Eventually, Chang pulled ahead, and in the decisive hand his Ax9x held up against Jivani’s Ax5x. With that, Chang captured his second WSOP Circuit ring and more than doubled his previous live tournament earnings. Jivani earned $289,110 for second place. WSOP Circuit Main Event Final Table Results at TCH Social 1st place: Eric "Slick Ric" Chang — $433,670 2nd place: Anil Jivani — $289,110 3rd place: Venkat Chivukula — $211,440 4th place: Ryan Brown — $156,455 5th place: Eric Tang — $116,580 6th place: Taylor Fortini — $87,200 7th place: Simon Britton — $66,960 8th place: Kim Stone — $51,540 9th place: Brant Jolly — $40,100 Lukas Jumalon finished in 14th place and received $19,030. Series Results and Significance for the Poker Community The WSOP Circuit series at TCH Social was the club’s second and proved a huge success: all 18 ring events surpassed their guaranteed prize pools. This confirms the growing popularity of poker in Texas and the high level of event organization at Texas Card House clubs. As a result, TCH Social has strengthened its reputation as one of the state’s leading poker venues, and Eric Chang’s victory became a highlight for the entire regional poker scene. What This Means for PPPoker Club Players For PPPoker club members, this news is a great example of how even tournaments with relatively affordable buy-ins ($1,700) can offer huge prize pools and fierce competition. Eric Chang’s experience shows that resilience and the ability to handle setbacks are key qualities for success in multi-level tournaments, where even after major losses you can still come back and fight for the top prize. Moreover, the format and structure of such events — large fields, deep stacks, and lengthy final tables — are very similar to the tournaments regularly held in PPPoker clubs. This means that by practicing online, players can prepare for similar challenges in live series, improving both their technical skills and mental toughness. Finally, the success of series like the WSOP Circuit at TCH Social proves that the poker community continues to grow and evolve. This opens up new opportunities for PPPoker players — both for participating in online tournaments with big guarantees and for stepping onto the live stage, where they can follow in the footsteps of Eric Chang and other poker heroes.