From Dead Last in Chips to WSOP Champ: Adrian "Pile Driver" Buckley Takes Down Millionaire Maker
Five days ago, 27-year-old Adrian Buckley was an unknown face among the 7,275 entrants that took part in the third annual $1,500 buy-in Millionaire Maker. The 2015 World Series of Poker edition created a prize pool of $9,821,250, with $1,277,193 going to the eventual winner. Little did Buckley know, he'd be taking that back home to Colorado.
"It's completely 100% surreal, it makes no sense to me so far," Buckley said immediately after defeating Spain's Javier Zarco in heads-up play. "I don't even know what's going on yet. I feel extremely lucky … I fought through it. It's been crazy. It's been the run of the century, I don't see how it could ever happen. It doesn't make sense, especially to a guy for his first cash. So excited, beyond belief."
Indeed, Buckley's "run of the century" came after he flirted with elimination numerous times. On Day 2, he bagged just 80,000, which made him the third-shortest stack among the 142 survivors. He somehow managed to survive Day 3, albeit dead last in chips among the final 17 players, which included a murderer's row of pros including Andrew "Lucky Chewy" Lichtenberger, Mike Sexton, Erick Lindgren, and Olivier Busquet.
2015 Millionaire Maker Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adrian Buckley | Westminster, CO | $1,277,193 |
| 2 | Javier Zarco | Madrid, Spain | $791,690 |
| 3 | Olivier Busquet | Katonah, NY | $589,569 |
| 4 | Randy Pfeifer | Lancaster, NY | $441,465 |
| 5 | [Removed:321] Siddiqui | Pembroke Pines, FL | $333,038 |
| 6 | David Miscikowski | San Diego, CA | $253,093 |
| 7 | Erick Lindgren | Las Vegas, NV | $193,675 |
| 8 | Justin Pechie | Thompson, CT | $149,238 |
| 9 | Mike Sexton | Las Vegas, NV | $115,890 |
For a full look at Buckley's win, click here.