Akbar Zamani, a rookie with only one prior recorded cash, stunned the field by winning the WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley Main Event, earning his first WSOPC ring and a career-high $187,882 payday. Meanwhile, poker veteran Faraz Jaka added another trophy to his collection, shipping the MSPT Black Hawk Main Event for $127,849, further cementing his legacy.
Akbar Zamani Ships 2025 WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley Main Event
Rookie Akbar Zamani shipped the 2025 World Series of Poker Circuit Thunder Valley Main Event, taking home his first circuit ring and a career-high $187,882 payday. Zamani previously had tournament cash of $1,211 and hit the jackpot in his second live tournament to bring his live earnings to $190k.
The $1,700 no-limit hold’em main event attracted 676 entries, generating a total prize pool of $1,024,140. The impressive $1 million prize pool was distributed among 102 players, with the top 2 finishers collecting a six-figure sum. Of the 676 entries, rookie Akbar Zamani bluffed them all with his unorthodox play to secure the coveted circuit ring.
Zamani defeated Canada’s Antonio Ma in the heads-up, sending him out in 2nd place for a career-best live cash of $289,391. Whereas WSOP circuit regular Noah Curhan rounded out the podium adding a career-high $87,120 to his live earnings.
2025 WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley Final Table Payouts
| Rank | Player | Payout |
| 1st | Akbar Zamani | $187,882 |
| 2nd | Antonio Ma | $125,260 |
| 3rd | Noah Curhan | $87,120 |
| 4th | Michael Lin | $61,645 |
| 5th | Erle Mankin | $44,390 |
| 6th | Julian Bonorris | $32,540 |
| 7th | I Le Wu | 24,290 |
| 8th | Jiangfeng Yin | 18,470 |
| 9th | Jose Mas | 14,310 |
Source – WSOP Blog
Faraz Jaka Takes Down 2025 MSPT Black Hawk Main Event
A month after winning the SHRPO $10k NLH Deep Stack event, Faraz Jaka kicked off his 2025 by shipping the 2025 MSPT Black Hawk Main Event for a whopping $127,849 payout. The American poker coach has now pushed his live earnings past $8.1 million, showcasing his remarkable poker skills.
A total of 636 players were seated inside the Bally’s Black Hawk Poker room, competing for the 1st place prize and MSPT trophy. The impressive turnout ended up crushing the guarantee, paying out a massive $614,420 to the top 65 finishers.
As the final table kicked on Day 2, Faraz Jaka single-handedly dominated the final table with his top-notch poker play. He cleared half of the final table field and eventually defeated Zach Gutierrez in a grueling heads-up battle. Gutierrez picked a career-best $77,952 for his 2nd-place finish. Michael Banducci finished on the podium to collect an impressive $58,000.
2025 MSPT Black Hawk Main Event Final Table Payouts
| Rank | Player | Payout |
| 1st | Faraz Jaka | $127,849 |
| 2nd | Zach Gutierrez | $77,952 |
| 3rd | Michael Banducci | $58,000 |
| 4th | Umut Ozturk | $43,032 |
| 5th | Caden Coleman | $32,430 |
| 6th | Kelly Mahana | $24,322 |
| 7th | Ross Babel | $18,710 |
| 8th | Mike Wheeler | $11,226 |
| 9th | Dianwei Sun | $11,226 |
Source – MSPT Blog
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