Event 30 of the 2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown was a $1,100 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry). A field of 475 entries generated a prize pool of $460,750, demolishing the $100,000 guarantee.

After about 17 hours, Valerie Novak emerged victorious, winning outright for $91,835.

“I’m overwhelmed, grateful,” said a gushing Novak afterward. “I still can’t believe that happened.”

What happened was Novak topping an absolutely loaded final table. Chance Kornuth and Kristen Bicknell boast nearly $15 million in career live tournament winnings according to the Hendon Mob poker database between them, while the rest of the final table adds another roughly $3.5 million to that. Novak, who plays recreationally, only recently got back into the game after taking a break in 2019.

“I started playing again in September, and have been putting a lot of effort into upping my game. A lot more studying, and then applying it to some smaller tournaments. I’ve watched everything that I can on PokerGO.”

At the Lucky Hearts Poker Open in January, Novak finished seventh in the $2,200 No-Limit Hold’em Deep Stack for $27,215 and was determined to make a better showing out of this final table.

“I always seem to be short when I get to a final table. Always. That’s why it never seems to work out. In this case, I was sitting pretty well with chips.”

Novak began the final table second in chips with 44 big blinds and really picked up steam when she picked off a bluff from Kornuth to double up with five players left. She would eventually get heads-up with Kornuth.

“When I saw Chance at the table I thought I had no chance, as silly as that sounds.”

Novak began heads-up play with the chip lead, and found a good spot when she check-raised all on a ten-high board with pocket kings. Kornuth called with top pair and didn’t improve, officially locking up the victory for Novak.

The win marks Novak’s largest career score on Hendon Mob, with the other two coming in the aforementioned event at the 2022 Lucky Hearts Poker Open and a 19th-place finish in the $3,500  Wynn Fall Classic Championship for $41,420 this past October. In addition to her commitment to studying the game, Novak credits family life back home in Maryland for her success.

“I have a family, a job, a grandson, so I just can play when I can. My husband is super ive about me traveling, so I pick like three or four places throughout the year I wanna go to, and spend about two weeks there and kinda focus on the game. It’s just been working out. I’ve definitely seen an improvement in my game since September.”

Place	First Name	Last Name	Prize Amount
1	Valerie	Novak	$91,835
2	Chance	Kornuth	$61,585
3	Duff	Charette	$41,055
4	Maxx	Dansky	$28,175
5	Andrew	Heckman	$21,630
6	Julius	Threadgill	$18,030
7	Robert	Kuhn	$15,055
8	Kristen	Bicknell	$12,085
9	Matthew	Zarcadoolas	$9,125
10	Chad	Pease	$9,125
11	Adam	Hendrix	$7,525
12	Arian	Stolt	$7,525
13	Kyle	Cartwright	$5,945
14	Femi	Fashakin	$5,945
15	Jordan	Semel	$5,945
16	Dan	Bekavac	$5,025
17	Spencer	Alexander	$5,025
18	Sridhar	Sanganngari	$5,025
19	Vinny	Pahuja	$4,240
20	Michael	Nye	$4,240
21	Landon	Tice	$4,240
22	Martinho	Camara	$3,550
23	David	Espindle	$3,550
24	Rich	Alati	$3,550
25	Tarun	Gulati	$3,065
26	James	Calderaro	$3,065
27	Carey	Pickus	$3,065
28	Stephen	Caplan	$2,675
29	Jeremy	Meacham	$2,675
30	Anthony	Ruttler	$2,675
31	David	Castranova	$2,675
32	Kenneth	Nicoletti	$2,675
33	Jacob	Kauffman	$2,675
34	Peter	Nigh	$2,675
35	Ronald	Bell	$2,675
36	Michael	Newman	$2,675
37	Viktor	Kovachev	$2,305
38	Charles	Odenz	$2,305
39	Pablo	Valdivieso	$2,305
40	Don	Flynn	$2,305
41	Steven	McKoy	$2,305
42	Tony	Dunst	$2,305
43	Austin	Farmer	$2,305
44	Will	Failla	$2,305
45	Jeremy	Becker	$2,305
46	Yuval	Bronshtein	$1,965
47	David	Mzareulov	$1,965
48	Vitor	Coelho	$1,965
49	Jesse	Cohen	$1,965
50	Timothy	Capretta	$1,965
51	A.J.	Kelsall	$1,965
52	Carlos	Barbosa	$1,965
53	T.K.	Miles	$1,965
54	Dennis	Zollo	$1,965
55	Athanasios	Polychronopoulos	$1,670
56	Boris	Kolev	$1,670
57	Scott	Weinstein	$1,670
58	Howard	Mash	$1,670
59	Nathan	Steuer	$1,670
60	Les	Ozias	$1,670

$1,100 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 30:  75,000/125,000 with a 125,000 ante
Players Remaining:  1 of 475

Chance Kornuth raised to 275,000, Valerie Novak three-bet to 625,000, and Kornuth called.

The flop was , Novak checked, Kornuth bet 350,000, and Novak check-raised all in with a covering stack.

“I think my hand is too good to fold,” said Kornuth, who thought for about 30 seconds before he called all in for another 2,800,000.

Novak showed for a pair of kings, leading Kornuth’s for a pair of tens.

The turn was the , giving Kornuth a few extra outs to a straight.

The river was the , safe for Novak to win the tournament outright for $91,835.

Kornuth finished runner-up for $61,585.

A recap of the event will be posted later this morning.

$1,100 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 30:  75,000/125,000 with a 125,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 475

Valerie Novak raised to 300,000 from the button, Duff Charette three-bet all in for about 1,400,000 from the small blind, and Novak called.

Novak: 
Charette: 

The board ran out , no help to Charette, ending his tournament in third place.

Valerie Novak  –  5,750,000  (46 bb)
Chance Kornuth  –  3,750,000  (30 bb)
Duff Charette  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($41,055)

$1,100 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 30:  75,000/125,000 with a 125,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 475

Chance Kornuth raised to 250,000 from the button Valerie Novak three-bet to 500,000 from the small blind, Kornuth four-bet to 900,000, Novak five-bet shoved for about 3,000,000, and Kornuth folded.

Novak showed .

Valerie Novak  –  4,100,000  (33 bb)
Chance Kornuth  –  4,150,000  (33 bb)

$1,100 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 29:  75,000/125,000 with a 125,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 475

Chance Kornuth raised to 250,000 from the button and Duff Charette called from the big blind.

The flop was and Charette check-called 125,000 from Kornuth.

The turn was the and both checked.

The river was the , Charette checked, Kornuth moved all in for effectively 1,050,000 and Charette thought for a little while before he folded, showing the .

Kornuth showed for a pair of jacks.

“You’re just going to ask me later,” laughed Kornuth.

Chance Kornuth  –  5,000,000  (40 bb)
Duff Charette  –  1,050,000  (14 bb)

$1,100 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 29:  50,000/100,000 with a 100,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 475

Valerie Novak raised all in for 1,125,000 from the small blind and Duff Charette thought for a few moments before he called from the big blind.

Novak: 
Charette: 

The board ran out , safe for Novak to double up.

Valerie Novak  –  2,350,000  (24 bb)
Duff Charette  –  3,800,0000  (38 bb)

$1,100 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 28:  50,000/75,000 with a 75,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 475

Chance Kornuth raised to 150,000 from UTG/cutoff, Maxx Dansky three-bet all in for about 1,025,000, and Kornuth called.

Kornuth: 
Dansky: 

The board came , no help to Dansky, ending his tournament in fourth place.

Chance Kornuth  –  4,475,000  (60 bb)
Maxx Dansky  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($28,175)

$1,100 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 28:  50,000/75,000 with a 75,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 475

Duff Charette  –  3,200,000  (43 bb)
Valerie Novak  –  2,475,000  (33 bb)
Chance Kornuth  –  2,275,000  (30 bb)
Maxx Dansky  –  1,550,000  (21 bb)

With four players remaining, the average stack is 2,375,000 (about 32 big blinds).

1st:  $91,835 + Showdown trophy
2nd:  $61,585
3rd:  $41,055
4th:  $28,175

$1,100 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 26:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 475

Chance Kornuth raised to 100,000 from UTG/hijack, Andrew Heckman three-bet all in for 555,000 from the cutoff, and Kornuth called.

Kornuth: 
Heckman: 

The board came , giving Kornuth kings and jacks to eliminate Heckman in fifth place.

Chance Kornuth  –  2,480,000  (49 bb)
Andrew Heckman  –  Eliminated in 5th Place  ($21,630)

$1,100 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$100,000 Guaranteed | Payouts
Level 26:  25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining:  5 of 475

Picking up the action after a flop of Valerie Novak (small blind) check-called 130,000 from Chance Kornuth (cutoff).

The turn was the , Novak led for 250,000, Kornuth raised all in with a covering stack, and Novak called all in for 1,175,000.

Novak: 
Kornuth: 

The river was the , safe for Novak to double with a pair of queens.

Valerie Novak  –  2,950,000  (59 bb)
Chance Kornuth  –  1,800,000  (36 bb)