Mississippi’s IP Biloxi casino played host to the third stop on the 2017/2018 WSOP Circuit schedule. One player did splendidly to eventually win the festival’s Main Event and the lion’s share of the prize pool. Kyle Cartwright, a New Orleans native currently residing in Tennessee, topped the tournament’s field for $118,332 and his career’s seventh WSOP Circuit gold ring.
The Main Event took place over four days, starting off with two flights in two separate days. Cartwright joined the field on Day 1B and secured himself with a good position for Day 2. He dominated action on that day and bagged and tagged the largest chip stack at its end. There were seven players to resume play on the final Day 3 and they were led by Cartwright who had a total of 2.750 million in chips at that point.
It is also important to note that he was the only player to have passed the two-million mark and that his closest ranking competitor, Chris McLean, had 1.475 million at the time cards were thrown in the air for the final day of the Main Event.
Shortly after his triumph, Cartwright told WSOP interviewers that it was part of his Day 3 strategy to play as aggressively as possible. And he did just that – played aggressively, challenging his opponents into dangerous confrontations.
Cartwright could have ended the tournament during four-handed play when all remaining survivors were locked in an all-in hand. However, cards did not run out his way and it was TK Miles who won the pot to gain big momentum and end up as Cartwright eventual heads-up opponent.
Two-handed match kicked off with Cartwright holding 4.66 million over Miles’ 2 million. It was a long duel, with chips going back and forth. While it was Cartwright to dominate action, his final opponent proved to be a tough nut to crack. It took four hours before the name of the winner became known. During the battle, Miles even managed to take the lead for a very short while.
The moment of triumph came when Cartwright raised the button and Miles moved all in for around 2.1 million. Cartwright did not need much time to call and table [As][Kh] against his opponent’s [Ac][10c]. The board ran out [Js][6s][4c][8h][4s], handing Cartwright the pot and the title. Miles collected $73,157 for his runner-up finish.
Previous WSOP Circuit Success
Cartwright admitted that he has not been playing much tournament poker as of lately. However, the player said that when he did break his routine of playing cash games back in Tennessee by entering a tournament, he proved to be rather successful.
The poker pro now has seven WSOP Circuit rings and more than $588,606 in winnings from the festival. What is more, including last night’s victory the player has won three WSOP Circuit Main Events so far.
It is also important to note that Cartwright also has considerable WSOP experience. Back in 2014, the player won a gold bracelet after topping the field of a $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em event for $360,435 in prize money. His WSOP earnings currently amount to $559,157.
