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Scott Stewart won the $1,700 WSOP Circuit Lake Tahoe Main Event, defeating Tyler Parker heads-up for $125,279 and his ninth Circuit ring. Parker collected $85,336 as runner-up.

Poker.org’s live coverage listed 435 entries remaining at the start of the reported final level. Stewart took control in the decisive heads-up hand when Parker moved all in on the river for 2.785 million effective chips.

Before calling, Stewart deliberated with a bottle of whiskey at the table and said, “Let’s see if the whiskey speaks to me one more time.” His nines full of sixes beat Parker’s queen-high bluff, leaving Stewart with an overwhelming lead before he closed out the title.

Jarod Minghini, Stewart’s best friend and the 2022 Lake Tahoe Main Event winner, was present for the celebration. Stewart said the two became like brothers after he supported Minghini through the death of Minghini’s brother, Bobby; Minghini said, “We’ve been brothers ever since.”

Their shared Lake Tahoe history runs through the 2022 final table. Minghini began that final day with nearly 6 million chips and seven players left, while Stewart had fewer than 2 million. Minghini eliminated Stewart in the first half hour and went on to win the Harvey’s Lake Tahoe Main Event for $153,368.

Bobby Minghini died about two weeks before Jarod won that 2022 event. Jarod entered the tournament saying he would win it for his brother, then dedicated the victory to him. He later created the Bobby Minghini Foundation to support underprivileged children in skiing and snowboarding, and planned to donate 30% of his winnings to it.

Stewart’s Lake Tahoe win followed a rapid rise in his Circuit-ring count. PokerNews reported that he won his seventh ring in a $600 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Max event at Thunder Valley, then captured his eighth four days later in the $400 Finale. His seventh ring came a month and a day after his $2.5 million WPT World Championship victory.