The poker world is taking note—Scott Stewart is on a hot streak. Just over a month after pocketing $2.5 million at the WPT World Championship, he stormed through the WSOP Circuit (WSOPC) Thunder Valley series, winning not one but two gold rings. Meanwhile, Akbar Zamani took down the Main Event, adding another big title to his resume.
Stewart’s Seventh WSOPC Ring—A Quick Return to Winning
Barely a month had passed since his career-defining WPT victory when Stewart decided to step back into the tournament scene. His first stop? WSOPC Event #11: $600 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Max. The result? Another win.
The event may have been a lower buy-in than the high-stakes games he recently conquered, but that didn’t matter. Stewart played with the same sharp instincts and walked away with his seventh WSOPC ring, along with $16,980.
His winning mindset wasn’t about massive purchases or lifestyle changes. Instead, he joked about buying a Jurassic Park-themed golf cart, proving that despite his growing fortune, he remains grounded.
WSOPC Thunder Valley Event #11 Final Table Results
Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Scott Stewart | Lakewood, CA | $16,980 |
2 | Ed Smith | Twenty-nine Palms, CA | $11,100 |
3 | Robert Mather | Las Vegas, NV | $7,500 |
4 | Paul Richardson | San Ramon, CA | $5,238 |
5 | Ricardo Eyzaguirre | Miami, FL | $3,788 |
6 | Tsz Liu | Corvallis, OR | $2,839 |
7 | Toan Nguyen | Elk Grove, CA | $2,209 |
Stewart Strikes Again—Eighth WSOPC Ring in Just Four Days
Winning one event in a WSOPC series is tough. Winning two? Even tougher. But Stewart did just that.
Four days after his first victory at Thunder Valley, he entered Event #16: $400 No-Limit Hold’em – The Finale. It was a small field—only 78 players—but a win is a win. Stewart outplayed them all, bagging his eighth career WSOPC ring and another $7,290 in prize money.
Now, his total live earnings stand at over $5.5 million, with nearly half of that coming in the last six weeks.
WSOPC Thunder Valley Event #16 Final Table Results
Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Scott Stewart | Lakewood, CA | $7,290 |
2 | Ronnie Malonzo | Roseville, CA | $4,662 |
3 | Evan Price | Concord, CA | $3,120 |
4 | Dan Stavila | Oakland, CA | $2,191 |
5 | Shawn Murray | Mililani, HI | $1,617 |
6 | Kais Mohammad | Yorba Linda, CA | $1,258 |
7 | Yang Lu | Seattle, WA | $1,035 |
8 | Juan Lugo | Manteca, CA | $903 |
9 | Aditya Prasetyo | Cambridge, MA | $838 |
Akbar Zamani Clinches the Main Event Title
While Stewart’s back-to-back wins stole headlines, Akbar Zamani was busy winning the festival’s biggest prize. The WSOPC Thunder Valley Main Event had a $1,700 buy-in and drew 676 entries, generating a prize pool of over $1 million.
Zamani, already known for a $500,000 lottery win in the past, proved that luck isn’t his only asset. He started the final table second in chips and used his aggressive play to dominate heads-up against Antonio Ma. His confidence was evident:
“I love heads-up. I think I had control over him. When we started, I dominated. I knew when was the right time to bluff.”
The victory earned him $187,882, while Ma had to settle for $125,260 as the runner-up.
WSOPC Thunder Valley Main Event Final Table Results
Place | Player | Prize |
---|---|---|
1 | Akbar Zamani | $187,882 |
2 | Antonio Ma | $125,260 |
3 | Noah Curhan | $87,120 |
4 | Michael Lin | $61,645 |
5 | Erle Mankin | $44,390 |
6 | Julian Bonorris | $32,540 |
7 | I Le Wu | $24,290 |
8 | Jiangfeng Yin | $18,470 |
9 | Jose Mas | $14,310 |
What’s Next on the WSOP Circuit?
With the Thunder Valley series wrapped up, the WSOPC moves to its next destination. The Horseshoe Tunica festival is already underway, with its Main Event scheduled for January 31 and February 1.
Meanwhile, players looking for more action can turn their attention to Harrah’s Pompano Beach, where another WSOPC festival will kick off soon.
The circuit never stops. And at this rate, neither does Scott Stewart.