After a grueling, 10 1/2- hour, marathon battle, John Cynn finally defeated Tony Miles heads-up to capture the 2018 World Series of Poker championship, pocketing a cool $8.8 million in prize money that the 33-year old vows he will not let change him as a person.
“The money is very significant, but I do like to think that I don’t need the money to be happy,” Cynn said, following the victory (h/t ESPN). “But at the same time, practically, it’s going to make things a lot easier — things I want to do in life … even to my parents, this is money that they never could’ve imagined. It’s definitely going to be life-changing.”
There were a number of records set during the World Series of Poker main event final including most hands played heads-up to close out a main event (199) and the most total hands at a main event final table (442).
“We’ve been playing on little to no sleep — the nerves and the angst that you feel at night, it’s almost impossible to get a good night’s rest,” Miles said after the marathon match. “Then you come in here and you have to battle for 12 hours heads-up. It was a war, and it was amazing. I’m sure it’ll go down and be chronicled in history as one of the best heads-up matches ever. I have a ton of respect for him. He’s going to be a great champion, and I’m really happy for him.”
“I’m pretty beat. I’m pretty exhausted,” Cynn, who entered the tournament just shy of $1 million in career earnings and after ponying up a $10,000 buy-in. “I think every day, somehow you get more exhausted but also a little bit sharper just because your adrenaline keeps you going.”
Cynn stood alone in a field of 7,874 players who competed at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, which plays host to the event annually.
Michael Dyer finished third, taking home $3.75 million and Miles earned $5 million for his second-place finish.
Here are the final table payouts, per ESPN.
| PLAYER | PAYOUT |
|---|---|
| 1. John Cynn | $8.8 million |
| 2. Tony Miles | $5 million |
| 3. Michael Dyer | $3.75 million |
| 4. Nicolas Manion | $2.825 million |
| 5. Joe Cada | $2.15 million |
| 6. Aram Zobian | $1.8 million |
| 7. Alex Lynskey | $1.5 million |
| 8. Artem Metalidi | $1.25 million |
| 9. Antoine Labat | $1 million |