Nick Marchington was a wide-eyed, 21-year-old rookie on the poker scene when he made his first major final table, taking seventh place in the 2019 WSOP main event for $1,525,000. He may not have been quite ready for the big stage back then, but on Sunday under the lights of the North American Poker Tour main event final table, the British poker pro proved to be more than capable.
“I was a spring chicken, especially in tournaments,” Marchington admitted. “I was very inexperienced in poker, and now in life and in poker, I feel a lot more experienced. I’ve been doing this for a living now for six years, and I felt a lot more ready for the whole experience of a final table.”
The British poker pro steamrolled the competition on the final day, ultimately becoming the last man standing from an initial field of 895 in the $5,000 buy-in tournament at Resorts World Las Vegas.
“It really was a dream,” Marchington told PokerStars reporters. “It’s one of the most fun experiences I’ve had playing poker,” Marchington said after clinching the title. “Obviously, everyone loves to come in being the chip leader, and I was very lucky to be able to maintain the chip lead and not even come close to losing it for pretty much the whole final table.”
Marchington banked $765,200 for his second shot at glory, topping a field of 895 in the $5,000 buy-in event at Resorts World Las Vegas. The British poker pro now has $3.35 million in career tournament earnings.
New highlight of my poker career. Feel so grateful I’ve been able to call this a job for 5 years now. Through the highs and lows I feel blessed. Thanks so much for the support family & friends https://t.co/PZD1AGgaCU
— Nick Marchington (@NickMarchington) November 11, 2024
The tournament, which was the North American Poker Tour’s second at Resorts World in as many years, featured three starting flights and five days of action. The final 127 players finished in the money, earning a minimum payout of $8,900.
Sami Bechahed, a former poker dealer who won last year’s NAPT main event for $268,945, made another run in 2024, this time taking home $17,100 for 37th place.
Other notables who went deep included Upeshka De Silva (45th), Kitty Kuo (43rd), David Peters (42nd), Darren Rabinowitz (40th), Jeffrey Farnes (36th), Eric Blair (31st), Justin Lapka (29th), Justin Liberto (24th), Jonathan Tamayo (23rd), Brian Yoon (21st), Maria Konnikova (14th), David Baker (13th), Jared Jaffee (12th), Matthew Wantman (10th), Matt Affleck (8th), and Brock Wilson (7th).
The final day began with six players remaining before Marchington showed short-stacked Masato Yokosawa the door. The Japanese player earned $155,550, which gives him $1.6 million for his career.
Joel Micka then added to his stack significantly, taking out an anonymous player in fifth with pocket nines and then busting Marco Johnson in fourth with pocket tens. Johnson, a two-time bracelet winner, earned $262,900 for his final table appearance.
The final three players traded chips for a bit, but Marchington remained firmly ahead, and he stayed ahead thanks to a fortunate runout against four-time bracelet winner Jeff Madsen.
Marchington jammed from the small blind with A-10 and Madsen woke up with pocket queens behind him. The board looked great for a double up, but the A
hit the river to instead send Madsen to the rail with a $341,750 consolation prize. Madsen now has $7.1 million in career live tournament earnings.
Although three-handed play lasted nearly two hours, heads-up play only took one deal of the cards. Sitting on a 4:1 lead, Marchington completed from the button and Micka checked his option before a flop of J
6
5.
Marchington bet, and Micka called. The turn was the 3 and Marchington bet again. Micka called and the river was the 2
. This time Marchington shoved, and Micka quickly called with 5 4 for a straight. Unfortunately for him, Marchington had turned the nuts with 7 4 to drag the final pot.
Micka pocketed $478,450 for his runner-up finish, his third major second-place showing in a live PokerStars event. The American pro also has runner-up showings in the 2008 LAPT Costa Rica main event and the 2013 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. He now has $2.1 million in career earnings.
This was Marchington’s second victory of the year, having won the GUKPT Coventry event for $189,062. He now sits in 53rd place in the Card Player Player of the Year race.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | *POY |
| 1 | Nick Marchington | $765,200 | 1,824 |
| 2 | Joel Micka | $478,450 | 1,520 |
| 3 | Jeff Madsen | $341,750 | 1,216 |
| 4 | Marco Johnson | $262,900 | 912 |
| 5 | Anonymous | $202,250 | NA |
| 6 | Masato Yokosawa | $155,550 | 760 |
| 7 | Brock Wilson | $119,650 | 608 |
| 8 | Matt Affleck | $92,000 | 456 |
| 9 | Yang Li | $70,800 | 304 |
*Photo by PokerNews – Matthew Berglund