The Major Series of Poker: The Tour made its debut at Talking Stick Resort in Arizona, crushing a $1 million guarantee three times over. A whirlwind final day culminated in a significant victory for local Arizonan June Kim, who took home a career-best $397,350.
Kim also earned 1,200 points in the Card Player Player of the Year race, a season-long leaderboard presented by CoinPoker. He now sits in a tie for seventh place in the 2026 standings thanks to this breakout win.
On his way to victory, Kim outlasted a field of 3,220 entrants in the $1,100 Diamond Poker Championship, a major event on the MSPT schedule, building a total prize pool of $3,121,900.
“Feels incredible,” Kim told MSPT live reporters following his win. “It was a wild ride all day long, and just a really amazing experience to be able to win in my hometown casino. I want to keep playing, I don’t want this to be over, it was so much fun.”
For Kim, this victory more than triples his previous best live tournament result, a third-place finish in an $1,100 buy-in event during the 2022 Wynn Summer Classic. Kim and Carlton Taylor made a deal heads up, splitting the remaining prize pool via an ICM chop. The $345,649 Taylor received for second place is far and away his career-best result, as well, blowing away his previously top score of $4,500.
It was a long road to victory for Kim, who was one of 345 players to return for the start of day 2 on Sunday, Feb. 1. Kyna England (257th), Steven Jones (232nd), Chad Holloway (143rd), Rich Alsup (86th), Jake Long (71st), and Esther Taylor (53rd) were just a few of the many accomplished in-the-money finishers who fell just short of the final table.
The Path To Victory
Zilong Zhang held the chip lead when the final table was set well into the night. Zhang already had an MSPT title to his name in 2026, having won the MSPT Golden State Poker Championship in mid-January.
Eliminations happened at a rapid pace from the moment the final table began. Zhang continued to build his chip lead as the final table shrank from nine players to five, but Kim held his own. The hand that all but brought the tournament to a close saw Kim’s K♠7♠ battle Zhang’s A♣10♥ for all of Kim’s chips, and almost all of Zhang’s.
Zhang appeared to be on the verge of winning the pot and taking a considerable chip lead, with a 6♠6♦4♥ flop and a turn that kept him ahead. But the 7♦ river gave Kim a winning pair of sevens, and more than 60% of the chips in play. Zhang went out on the next hand, and Kim and Taylor promptly agreed to the ICM deal that ended the tournament.
Along with his first-place prize, Kim also won a $3,500 seat to the MSPT Championship Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood on Nov. 27.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | Points |
| 1 | June Kim | $397,350 | 1,200 |
| 2 | Carlton Taylor | $345,649 | 1,000 |
| 3 | Zilong Zhang | $185,000 | 800 |
| 4 | Lawrence Goldstein | $140,500 | 600 |
| 5 | Jonah Labranche | $117,100 | 500 |
| 6 | Johnny Watson | $93,700 | 400 |
| 7 | Anastassios Leotsarakos | $70,200 | 300 |
| 8 | Douglas Jacoby | $58,500 | 200 |
| 9 | Brett McCollum | $46,800 | 100 |
Photo credit: MSPT.
