Even if you're the best player in the tourney, going back-to-back in two 100 player tourneys is a long shot. A long shot with which Chance Kornuth hit a bullseye.
Yesterday, Chance Kornuth won Event #3 at the Stairway to Millions. The day before, he won Event #2.
In each event of the Stairway to Millions, part of the prize money comes in the form of a ticket to the next Stairway to Millions event. These events run every day for 8 days, with the buy-ins roughly doubling from event to event. Everyone who cashes in one event, gets a ticket to the next.
So far Kornuth is still coasting on that first buy-in. In Event #1, Kornuth cashed for $3,800. In Event #2 Kornuth won outright, taking home $51,600. With this third tournament, Chance Kornuth has turned his $1,100 buy-in into six-figures and a freeroll in the Stairway to Millions Event #4: $8,400.
Getting a good run going is hard work according to the poker pro.
"Historically, I have an issue with winner’s tilt, where I’ll play really bad in the next event," Kornuth explained in his post-match interview. "Taking a few minutes to get your mind right and making sure you’re not trying to win too many pots is imperative to doing well in the next one."
Chance'd be a fine thing
Event #3: $4,200 kicked off yesterday with 84 entrants. 19 of those were from players who cashed in Event #2.
Because he won the previous event, Kornuth had to bail out of the TV studio for the final table of Event #2 and head straight into Event #3. He dived across the room and grabbed his seat in Event #3.
“I ran even better in this one than I did in the last one," Kornuth said. "It was pretty incredible. I max late-registered and immediately had chips to play with, and it was smooth sailing the entire way."
He ran his chips up fast ending Day 1 with the biggest stack. The final six players returned for a live-streamed final table in the PokerGO studio at the Aria.
It came down to heads up player with Joseph Cheong, who took home $51,120 for second place. Neither player could hang around for long. Event #4 was already underway. The pace for winners is relentless.
"Chance Kornuth (@ChancesCards) wins again!" wrote PokerGO News. "Kornuth goes back-to-back at Stairway To Millions, winning Event #3 a day after he won Event #2."
You can watch all the action on the PokerGO Youtube channel.
PokerGO Tour Stairway to Millions Event #3: $4,200 complete final table results
| Position | Player Name | Payout* |
| 1st | Chance Kornuth | $80,640 |
| 2nd | Joseph Cheong | $51,120 |
| 3rd | Nathan Zimnik | $40,320 |
| 4th | Mitchell Halverson | $30,240 |
| 5th | Daniel Weinand | $23,520 |
| 6th | Jesse Lonis | $20,160 |
Featured image source: PokerGO
