Poker legend Hoyt Corkins, already the owner of two World Series of Poker bracelets and numerous major titles around the country, won his second World Poker Tour title as well yesterday, when he took down the WPT Southern Poker Championship at the Beau Rivage Casino & Resort.

To earn this most recent $739,486 top prize- officially pushing his lifetime tournament winnings past the $5,000,000 mark- Hoyt had to outlast a total starting field of 208 players including many well established pros like Daniel Negreanu, Kathy Liebert, Gavin Smith and J.J. Liu.

Of all those players, Liu lasted the longest before bowing out in eighth place, at which point all eyes turned to Corkins and the dominant chip lead he was able to ride for nearly the entirety of the final table, before eventually giving it up when play became three handed.  Not long after that, Corkins became the short stack and then it came down to the skill and experience of a seasoned pro to once again regain his lead, after nearly 70 hands of three-handed play.

Corkins lead fluctuated after that point, but to many it seemed the writing was on the wall and sure enough, less than 50 hands later, Hoyt was being interviewed by PokerRoad's Amanda Leatherman as the newest, repeat, WPT champion.

The final table finish positions for the 2010 WPT Southern Poker Championship were as follows:

1st.  Hoyt Corkins- $739,486

2nd.  Jonathan Kantor- $366,643

3rd.  Jerry Vanstrydonck- $196,829

4th.  Jared Jaffee- $135,079

5th.  James Reed- $106,134

6th.  Tyler Smith- $86,837

For more information on this most recent $10,000 buy-in, World Poker Tour event visit www.worldpokertour.com.


Story by Mark Anderson