Artur Papazyan scored $341,830 with his victory, taking his live winnings total to almost $2 million
Artur Papazyan has added another impressive result to his poker résumé, taking down the WSOP Circuit Main Event at Commerce Casino on May 20 and banking $341,830. With this win, the Los Angeles-based player pushed his live tournament earnings to nearly $1.8 million.
The $1,700 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event drew 1,554 entries, building a prize pool of more than $2.3 million. The top 187 finishers earned payouts, with the final table featuring a mix of local talent and well-known names. Papazyan entered the final nine with the chip lead and never gave it up, steadily building his stack and eliminating opponents one by one.
This tournament marks the first time Papazyan had entered the final table as a large chip leader, and he said that experience was new for him. He relied on his years of poker experience rather than any formal tournament training and said he had fun managing the advantage throughout the day.
His run to the title included eliminating poker pro Phil Laak in sixth place in a dramatic hand where Papazyan’s pocket eights beat Laak’s pocket deuces. Later, he busted Adam Swan in third to set up the final battle with Luis Concha.
The heads-up match began with Papazyan holding a slight lead, though Concha quickly doubled up. The momentum shifted again in the final hand, when Papazyan’s pocket fours cracked Concha’s pocket tens. A four on the turn gave Papazyan a full house and sealed the win.
Concha earned $232,038 for second place, a result that puts his career earnings near the $500,000 mark.
Papazyan, already a two-time World Poker Tour champion, can now add a WSOP Circuit gold ring to his collection. This win ranks as the third-largest score of his career and further cements his place among Southern California’s most accomplished players.
