And Were Off! Justin Lapka Gets WSOP Circuit Season Underway With Choctaw Victory
One down, (at least) 17 more to go!
The first stop on the highly-anticipated 2024/25 WSOP Circuit season has crowned its Main Event champion, with Justin Lapka winning his third WSOP Circuit Ring in Choctaw.
Lapka topped a 1,017-player field and defeated Gregg Merkow heads-up to win $252,282 and a seat for the 2025 WSOP Tournament of Champions.
Lapka came into the final day fifth in chips but worked his way back into the mix to clinch his first live piece of WSOP hardware after two online bracelets and two online WSOPC rings.
WSOP Circuit Choctaw $1,700 Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Payout (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Lapka | United States | $252,282 |
| 2 | Gregg Merkow | United States | $168,169 |
| 3 | Zachary Baron | United States | $118,278 |
| 4 | Mack Khan | United States | $84,475 |
| 5 | Kalyan Chivukula | United States | $61,281 |
| 6 | Nicolas Splawn | United States | $45,165 |
| 7 | Derek Normand | United States | $33,828 |
| 8 | Tim Faro | United States | $25,754 |
| 9 | Kaleb Harwell | United States | $19,936 |
Winner’s Reaction
Lapka told reporters following his victory that after the World Series of Poker, he was planning to take some time away from poker. But he eschewed the break in favor of the largest victory of his career.
“…winning this Main Event just kind of means the world”
“Live’s been really frustrating for me," he said “In my ten-year career, my biggest score was like the Main Event for $70k or something, and there have been times that I just wanted to give up playing live.
“There’s always been the bigger buy-ins and then I lose, lose, lose, come home play online, and build it back up with smaller buy-ins.
“So coming here and winning this Main Event just kind of means the world.”
Justin Lapka’s Top 5 Results
| Date | Event | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2024 | WSOPC Choctaw $1,700 Main Event | 1st | $252,282 |
| Oct 2023 | WSOP Online $5,300 High Roller | 1st | $106,068 |
| July 2021 | WSOP Online $400 NLH 8-Max | 1st | $75,371 |
| June 2018 | WSOP $1,000 Online Championship (Hybrid) | 5th | $65,392 |
| July 2022 | WSOP $10,000 Main Event | 155th | $62,500 |
Final Table Action
Twelve players resumed play on the final day from a field of 1,017, and by the time the final table was reached start-of-day chip leader Kalyan Chivukula was still atop the pile.
Chivukula was quickly overtaken by Lapka, and had to contend with a Kaleb Harwell doubling through him, but Chivukula would have the last laugh, sending Harwell home in ninth.
Lapka then sent both Tim Faro and Derek Normand to the wrong side of the rail as Chivukula contended with yet another player — Zak Baron — doubling through him. Nicolas Splawn, a member of ‘TheOnTiltBoys’ vlogger group, was eliminated in sixth before Chivukula’s run ended in fifth at the hands of Lapka.
Lapka was on a roll now, cracking the pocket pair of Mack Khan to eliminate him, before picking up pocket aces to send Baron home in third.
Heads-up play started with Lapka holding an over 4:1 chip lead, and he made short work of Merkow to secure victory and his third WSOP Circuit ring.
What’s Next for the WSOP Circuit
With WSOPC Choctaw now in the books, the tour travels to North Carolina and California in August.
From August 1-12, Harrah’s Cherokee plays host for the next bunch of circuit-ring chasers before heading to Graton Resort & Casino in Rohnert Park, California (August 15-26) for another injection of poker action.
The WSOP International Circuit season is also underway, with its first stop in Tallinn, Estonia done and dusted, where Aurimas Stanevicius reigned supreme in the WSOPC Tallinn Main Event for €167,900.
The next leg of the international cicuit offering swaps Europe for North America, where a twelve-day (August 7-19) poker fiesta awaits at the Deerfoot Inn and Casino in Calgary Canada.
Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He now works as Managing Editor. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.
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