2024 Maryland State Poker Championship

$600 Kickoff Event
Day: 2
Event Info

2024 Maryland State Poker Championship

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
q9
Prize
$77,869
Event Info
Buy-in
$600
Prize Pool
$456,704
Entries
892
Level Info
Level
31
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
200,000
Players Info - Day 2
Entries
115
Players Left
1

$600 Kickoff Event

Day 2 Completed

Nick Kocman Captures Biggest Score of His Life in $600 Kickoff Event at the Maryland State Poker Championship

Level 31 : Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Nick Kocman
Nick Kocman

Action has concluded in the $600 Kickoff Event here at the Maryland State Poker Championship hosted by Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland. Nick Kocman has emerged victorious, earning his biggest score to date with a massive payout of $77,869.

The six Day 1 starting flights saw a total 892 entries, 115 of which returned for Day 2. Kocman navigated through the sizable field on his path to capture a majority of the $456,704 prize pool, along with the two trophies to place on his mantle.

PokerNews caught up with Kocman after the win to ask him how he was feeling after taking down the biggest tournament of his life. "Well it's kind of surreal, kind of just taking it all in, getting the photos, seeing my cards, doing the chip push. It hasn't sunk in yet but I cant stop smiling. It's been a really great day, a really great atmosphere, and really appreciate just getting the opportunity to do this today."

Kocman had made a deep run in a World Series of Poker event over the summer, finishing 10th for over $12,000. When asked what it means to him to close this one out, Kocman explained "You know, it means a bunch. Once you get to that first final table, you start to really get an itch and I'm fortunate that I got two within about a month. It usually doesn't happen like that."

Final Table Results

PlacePlayerCountryPrize (USD)
1Nick KocmanUnited States$77,869
2Alan GendelmanUnited States$51,836
3Bradley McFarlandUnited States$38,135
4Lara EisenbergUnited States$28,316
5Eric FlorczakUnited States$21,648
6Michael ZazzeraUnited States$15,985
7Luis NietoUnited States$12,739
8Andrew ChangUnited States$9,591
9Daniel BellisUnited States$7,787
Nick Kocman
Nick Kocman

Day 2 Action

The tournament's structure set a quick pace, with the remaining field that started the day nearly getting cut in half within the first few levels. Even after the three-table redraw, players continued to get eliminated at a rapid fire rate.

The PokerStars sponsored event saw five online qualifiers returning for Day 2, who were all still in the running for a Gold Pass to the NAPT Las Vegas Main Event in November. Only the last player standing would go home with the Gold Pass package, which includes travel, accommodation, and the $5,300 tournament buy-in.

Greg Jackson, Rahul Agarwal, and Joseph Weaver made early exits and it was down to Michael Lavin and Daniel Bellis battling it out for the prize. Lavin and Bellis were sitting at the same table for a good portion of the day, which created an interesting dynamic knowing each other's exact chip counts and moves at all times.

Bellis survived several all ins throughout the day and ultimately came out on top in the last longer duel, when Lavin was eliminated in 18th place. Lavin got it in good, but his ace-ten fell to the ace-eight of Josh Mischel who ended up hitting the nut flush.

Daniel Bellis
Daniel Bellis

Final Table Play

Kocman was the Day 1e chip leader and began Day 2 sitting third overall in the counts. He rode that momentum all the way to the end, where he entered the final table second in chips with 6,400,000, not far behind Alan Gendelman who had 7,850,000.

Kocman showed no signs of slowing down and eliminated Bellis in ninth place when his ace-queen suited held against Bellis' jack-ten suited. He then went on to knock out Andrew Chang in eighth place when he won a flip with pocket eights versus Chang's ace-king.

After losing some small pots, Kocman found a timely double up with pocket queens against Gendelman's pocket jacks to propel himself into the chip lead. His stack increased even further not long after when he made a big hero call on the river to pick off Gendelman's bluff.

After Lara Eisenberg was eliminated in fourth place, a massive pot ensued between Kocman and Bradley McFarland, who was the chip leader when three-handed play began. Kocman flopped bottom set against McFarland's bottom two pair, which rocketed him to the overwhelming chip leader.

Kocman described this hand as the moment where reality set in that he could win the tournament. "At that point, you have about 22 of the 24 million chips, you don't want to count your eggs before they hatch, but felt pretty good at that point that that could be the time it would happen."

Shortly thereafter, Kocman sent McFarland to the rail in third place when his ace-jack bested McFarland's jack-ten. Heads-up play did not last long at all and the final hand of the tournament occurred when Kocman moved all in on the button and Gendelman called off his last 450,000 chips. Gendelman was ahead with king-five versus Kocman's queen-nine, but Kocman found a queen on the turn to seal the deal and be crowned as the winner.

Nick Kocman
Nick Kocman

When asked about his plans with the money and the rest of the summer, Kocman mentioned "My wife and I are planning a trip to Hawaii. Actually, after I won a little bit of money out in Vegas I said I'll put a little bit towards it. Now I'll probably have to put a little bit more towards the trip this time around but I'm okay with that."

That wraps up coverage of the $600 Kickoff Event here at the Maryland State Poker Championship. Be sure to follow PokerNews as we begin coverage on the $2,200 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event running August 9th through 12th.

Tags: Alan GendelmanAndrew ChangBradley McFarlandDaniel BellisEric FlorczakGreg JacksonJoseph WeaverJosh MischelLara EisenbergLuis NietoMichael LavinMichael ZazzeraNick KocmanRahul Agarwal

Alan Gendelman Eliminated in 2nd Place ($51,836)

Level 31 : Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Alan Gendelman
Alan Gendelman

Alan Gendelman only had 450,000 chips, and Nick Kocman put him all in on the button. Gendelman called from the big blind.

Alan Gendelman: K?5? All in
Nick Kocman: Q?9?

Gendelman was ahead with his king-high, but the board ran out A?4?2?Q?7? and Kocman made the best hand with a pair of queens to eliminate Alan Gendelman in second place.

Player Chips Progress
Nick Kocman us
Nick Kocman
26,760,000
760,000
760,000
Day 1E Chip Leader
Alan Gendelman us
Alan Gendelman
Busted

Tags: Alan GendelmanNick Kocman

Bradley McFarland Eliminated in 3rd Place ($38,135)

Level 31 : Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Bradley Mcfarland
Bradley Mcfarland

Bradley McFarland open jammed for 550,000 from the button, and when it folded to the big blind Nick Kocman, he called to put McFarland at risk.

Bradley McFarland: J?10? All in
Nick Kocman: A?J?

Kocman had McFarland dominated, and after the board ran out 2?9?J?Q?A? Kocman had the best hand with two pair, aces and jacks, to eliminate McFarland in third place.

Kocman now takes a commanding lead into heads play against Alan Gendelman. Kochman having 26,000,000 and Gendelman with only 760,000.

Player Chips Progress
Nick Kocman us
Nick Kocman
26,000,000
3,670,000
3,670,000
Day 1E Chip Leader
Alan Gendelman us
Alan Gendelman
760,000
-440,000
-440,000
Bradley McFarland us
Bradley McFarland
Busted

Tags: Bradley McFarlandNick Kocman

Kocman Wins Massive Pot

Level 31 : Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Nick Kocman
Nick Kocman

Alan Gendelman raised to 425,000 on the button, Nick Kocman flatted in the small blind and Bradley McFarland defended in the big blind.

The flop came 6?5?10?, Kocman checked, McFarland checked, and Gendelman bet 775,000. Kocman called and McFarland moved all in for roughly 12,000,000. Gendelman folded and Kocman made the call, putting himself at risk.

Nick Kocman: 5?5? All in
Bradley McFarland: 6?5?

The turn landed the 3? and the river brought the 10?. Kocman's full house, fives full of tens, propelled him into a huge chip lead three-handed.

Player Chips Progress
Nick Kocman us
Nick Kocman
22,330,000
11,480,000
11,480,000
Day 1E Chip Leader
Alan Gendelman us
Alan Gendelman
1,200,000
-2,560,000
-2,560,000
Bradley McFarland us
Bradley McFarland
1,125,000
-10,875,000
-10,875,000

Tags: Nick Kocman

Lara Eisenberg Eliminated in 4th Place ($28,316)

Level 31 : Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Lara Eisenberg
Lara Eisenberg

Bradley McFarland raised to 450,000 from under the gun and Lara Eisenberg three-bet shoved all in from the big blind for about 2,500,000, putting herself at risk. McFarland made the call.

Lara Eisenberg: A?5? All in
Bradley McFarland: J?J?

The board ran out 7?4?7?2?8? and Eisenberg's impressive tournament run came to an end.

Player Chips Progress
Bradley McFarland us
Bradley McFarland
12,000,000
6,100,000
6,100,000
Lara Eisenberg us
Lara Eisenberg
Busted
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Bradley McFarlandLara Eisenberg

Eisenberg Saved By the River

Level 31 : Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante

Lara Eisenberg opened all in from the button for 2,095,000. Then Bradley McFarland three-bet all in from the small blind, which got a quick fold from the big blind, leaving the two players heads up with Eisenberg at risk.

Lara Eisenberg: K?J? All in
Bradley McFarland: 5?5?

It was a flip for Eisenberg's tournament life, and when the board ran out Q?Q?7?10?9? she rivered a straight to secure herself the double up.

Player Chips Progress
Bradley McFarland us
Bradley McFarland
5,900,000
-1,450,000
-1,450,000
Lara Eisenberg us
Lara Eisenberg
4,520,000
-190,000
-190,000
WSOP 1X Winner

Tags: Bradley McFarlandLara Eisenberg

Level: 31

Blinds: 100,000/200,000

Ante: 200,000

Eric Florczak Eliminated in 5th Place ($21,648)

Level 30 : Blinds 80,000/160,000, 160,000 ante
Eric Florczak
Eric Florczak

Eric Florczak raised to 350,000 on the button, and when it folded to Bradley McFarland in the big blind, he made the call.

The flop came 8?10?9? and McFarland bet all in for Florczak last 940,000. Florczak quickly made the call to put himself at risk.

Eric Florczak: A?10? All in
Bradley McFarland: 7?2?

Florczak was ahead with his top pair-top kicker but would need to fade the open-ended straight draw of McFarland. The 9? on the turn was a safe one for Florczak, but the river was the 6? to give McFarland the straight and eliminated Florczak in 5th place.

Player Chips Progress
Bradley McFarland us
Bradley McFarland
7,350,000
850,000
850,000
Eric Florczak us
Eric Florczak
Busted

Tags: Bradley McFarlandEric Florczak

Kocman Makes Hero Call on the River

Level 30 : Blinds 80,000/160,000, 160,000 ante
Nicklas Kocman
Nicklas Kocman

Nick Kocman raised to 350,000 from under the gun and Alan Gendelman defended in the big blind.

The flop came Q?5?10? and both players checked to the 9? turn.

Gendelman check-raised to 850,000 over Kocman's bet of 275,000 and Kocman called.

The river landed the Q? and Gendelman fired out a sizable bet of 2,200,000, prompting Kocman to go into the tank.

Kocman eventually made the call and Gendelman flashed the K?, indicating that he had king-high. Kocman tabled K?9? for two pair, queens and nines, to scoop the pot.

Player Chips Progress
Nick Kocman us
Nick Kocman
10,850,000
3,750,000
3,750,000
Day 1E Chip Leader
Alan Gendelman us
Alan Gendelman
3,760,000
-4,390,000
-4,390,000

Tags: Alan GendelmanNick Kocman