Andrew Chang Wins Monumental Stack After Five-Way Chop
The shortest stack in the deal still got the trophy after a high-card draw at MGM National Harbor.
Andrew Chang won the Potomac Summer Poker Open $500 Monumental Stack at MGM National Harbor after the final five agreed to a chop and then settled the trophy with a high-card draw. Even as the shortest stack in the deal, Chang ended up posing for the winner’s photo after drawing an ace to clinch the title.
PokerNews reported that Jack Arnal, who held the chip lead when the deal was made, took the biggest share at $22,882. Chang’s locked-in payout was $16,600, which was still enough to leave him with his first career trophy.
The tournament drew 403 entries and built a $167,245 prize pool. As covered in the Aug. 13 report, Shahab Shirazi led the event into Day 2 with 2.2 million chips, the only stack above the 2 million mark, while 52 players returned already in the money.
Day 2 restarted at 11 a.m. local time with about 25 minutes left in Level 23, at blinds of 20,000/40,000 with a 40,000 big blind ante. Levels were stretched to 40 minutes, and the field thinned quickly as Dennis Backhaus went out in 37th, Matt Mullins in 22nd, Kash Corpening in 17th, and Shirazi in 18th.
Chang also picked up queens to bust Linda Swears in seventh, and the final five first paused the clock after Valentin Lita made two queens to send Timothy Conrow out in sixth. The group initially could not agree on a deal, played another 20 minutes, and then revisited the numbers before a 45-minute dinner break, reaching the chop on the second attempt.
Chang had 10 final tables on his resume before this win, including a runner-up finish in Las Vegas in 2024 and a third-place finish in the $3,500 High Roller at the 2023 Potomac Poker Open at MGM National Harbor. He said he had been fortunate to get there and felt lucky to come away with the trophy after the high-card draw.
