Mark Martin Wins RunGoodGear.com Downstream Casino ($36,218)
Mark Martin is two-for-two on cashes at RunGoodGear.com tournaments the last two months, but the second one was worth a bit more than the first. He outlasted a field of 262 runners to win RunGoodGear.com Downstream Casino for $36,218 a month after cashing in 24th for $1,590 at Hard Rock Tulsa. Martin also won a seat into the World Series of Poker Main Event next year.
Martin sealed the win after a back-and-forth heads-up match with Mike Tang when he busted Tang's aces after an 
flop in a three-bet pot. Tang open-shoved, and Martin snapped it off with 
for a straight draw and top pair. He bricked the 
turn, but a 
river gave him a straight and nearly all of the chips. Martin finished Tang two hands later.
Twenty-six players returned to the venue just outside of Joplin, Mo., for Day 2, all of them guaranteed to walk away with a cash reward after outlasting 90 percent of their Day 1 fields. Well-known tour pro Bernard Lee was one of those notching only a small cash, busting in 23rd early on when he called the overbet shove of Terry Karn, who had limp-called preflop, on a 
flop. Lee had flopped top pair with 
, but Karn had him dominated and held up with 
.
Martin found some early luck when he three-outed Shannan Roberts with 
against 
, giving him a stack of 360,000 at Level 17 (3,000/6,000/100).
Lee's fellow sponsored pro Ben Reason, who came into Day 2 tied for the chip lead, busted 14th, and yet another RunGood pro, Chris Conrad, bubbled the final table in 11th. Conrad's elimination was a brutal one, as he called Tang's four-bet shove with 
and was against 
. The board ran out 
, giving Tang a straight.
The final table kicked off with three quick eliminations. Gene Alloway busted 10th, Ryan Tepen went ninth, and Richard Moore followed them in eighth. Karn bowed out in seventh, giving tour pro Justin Gardenhire a big chip lead by shoving for more than the pot on a 
flop and running into Gardenhire's .
Issac "Rungood" Tucker was next to go, adding to Gardenhire's wealth by shipping the river on a 
board with 
, only to be shown 
for a nut flush.
After Terry Presley went out fifth, Martin busted RunGood pro Michael Sanders in fourth with against 
. Despite the win, Martin went into three-handed play as the shortest stack, just barely behind Tang, while Gardenhire had about half of the chips in play.
After a bit of three-handed play, stacks were close when the biggest pot of the tournament happened during Level 23 (12,000/24,000/4,000). Martin opened for 50,000 on the button and was called by both Gardenhire and Tang. Everyone checked the , and a 
arrived. Gardenhire checked again, and Tang bet 75,000. Martin called, and Gardenhire made it 185,000. Tang came back with 385,000 total, forcing Martin out. Gardenhire tanked for a few minutes, squinting at his opponent's stack before announcing he was all in. Tang called with frightening speed.
"God, he's got queen-eight," Gardenhire said in disappointment.
It was only 
, though, and Gardenhire was ahead with 
for a turned full house. The dealer burned and brought forth the on the river, ruining Gardenhire's boat and giving Tang a winning eights full.
Martin was down about two-to-one in chips when heads-up play began, but he had the lead within a few hands, only to give it right back. The two battled for about an hour before the decisive heads-up hand.
Thanks for tuning in to PokerNews' coverage of another RunGoodGear.com event. This one wraps up the season for the tour, so we'll look forward to the announcement of next year's schedule.