$1,700 TPC Championship
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 17:  5,000/10,000 with a 10,000 ante
Day 1C Players Remaining:  21 of 161

The last flight always takes longer to get into the money; they have no backup plan or way to re-enter if they bust. So they cruised halfway through Level 17 before making the money with 21 remaining.

Thien Nguyen put more than one million in his bag for the overall chip lead. We will post the complete chip count list and table draw as soon as it is available.

Flight C counts:

Thien Nguyen – 1,052,000 (105 bb)
William Criego – 713,000 (71 bb)
Mike Hernandez – 532,000 (53 bb)
Nathaniel Palombo – 485,000 (49 bb)
Lu Yu – 440,000 (44 bb)
Rafael Reis – 435,000 (44 bb)
Roberto Melo – 381,000 (38 bb)
Frank Menendez – 366,000 (37 bb)
Diego Uez – 340,000 (34 bb)
Carl Carlisle – 279,000 (28 bb)
Mike Ahmad – 233,000 (23 bb)
Dion Jagroo – 199,000 (20 bb)
Jeffrey Trudeau Jr – 194,000 (19 bb)
Joshua Morgan – 159,000 (16 bb)
Jeffrey Hong – 145,000 (15 bb)
Daniel Kasper – 126,000 (13 bb)
Jordan Lowery – 116,000 (12 bb)
William Davis – 108,000 (11 bb)
John Two-Bears – 108,000 (11 bb)
Kevin Blewitt – 59,000 (6 bb)
Kelley Slay – 41,000 (4 bb)

$1,700 TPC Championship
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 13: 2,000/4,000 with a 4,000 ante
Day 1C Players Remaining:  40 of 161

After being the stone-cold bubble last night, Ken O’Donnell is having a better time of it this evening. He leads the field late with 469,000 followed by Carl Carlisle as the only other player over 400K.

We have 40 players remaining, so still a bit of work to get into the money with 21 of them advancing.

Ken O’Donnell – 469,000 (117 bb)
Carl Carlisle – 404,000 (101 bb)
Thien Nguyen – 358,000 (90 bb)
Jeff Trudeau Jr – 327,000 (82 bb)
Dion Jagroo – 311,000 (78 bb)
Roberto Melo – 303,000 (76 bb)
Mike Hernandez – 303,000 (76 bb)

$1,700 TPC Championship
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 12: 1,500/3,000 with a 3,000 ante
Day 1C Players Remaining:  45 of 161

Flight C is down to the last five tables with 45 minutes remaining and another break coming up. They usually finish up before seeing another after Level 15 but they are playing a little more caution this evening with no further flights to join.

We will take a walk among the tables and check for late action deep stacks.

$1,700 TPC Championship
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 9: 800/1,600 with a 1,600 ante
Day 1C Players Remaining:  67 of 161

Registration closed for the final flight of the 2026 TPC Championship with 161 entries, putting the combined total at exactly 300 for the tournament and the prize pool hit $450,000. We will post complete payout information as soon as chips go into bags this evening.

Flight C will continue until 21 players remain and survivors return tomorrow at 11 am for Day 2. Players must bag chips to cash in the tournament.

$1,700 TPC Championship
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 9: 800/1,600 with a 1,600 ante
Day 1C Entries: 153

If you want to jump into the 2026 TPC Championship, it’s time to make your move. We are into Level 9 and registration will close at 5:45 pm after the next break.

The prize pool is up to $438,000 and we will pick up a few more before we close the books on the big game.

$1,700 TPC Championship
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 7: 500/1,000 with a 1,000 ante
Day 1C Entries: 131

Players returned from their seat break with 131 entries in Flight C to put the prize pool over $400,000 with a couple of hours to run it up.

Some friends in the field include Jamie “Beard” Smith, husband/wife Kelley and Kelly Slay (not a typo), Dion Jagroo, Karl Manouchakian, John Two-Bears, Wagner Wysotchanski, John Dolan, TK Miles, A.J. Kelsall, Nick Scholz, Josias Santos, Gabe Fuller, Drew Dodge, Diego Uez, Alex Ivan, Mark Wiser, and Juan Catala.

$1,700 TPC Championship
$250,000 Guaranteed | Structure
Level 5: 300/600 with a 600 ante
Day 1C Entries: 117

We received some sad news this afternoon: Tom McDonald, a long-time regular in the room, passed away overnight, leaving a hole in the Tampa poker community. We lost one of the nicest guys in the game.

Tom’s three biggest tournament cashes came from previous runs in this series, and his top two were in this tournament. He finished third in the 2022 TPC Championship and runner-up in the 2024 version.

In both of those Championship events, Paul Snead took the top spot, and that was something Tom joked about often.

“Have you seen Paul Snead?” he would laugh before entering a tournament. “I can’t beat him.”

Tom also had a fun deep run during the WSOP Super Seniors Event in 2022, which led to lots of laughs and memories he loved sharing.

Rest in peace to a truly kind gentleman and friend to so many in the Poker Room. Our condolences to his friends and family. He will be missed.

$1,700 TPC Championship
$250,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure
Level 1:  100/200 with a 200 ante
Day 1C Entries:  32

As promised, Flight C of the TPC Championship had 32 entries at the start of play, putting the combined total at 171 and the prize pool over the $250,000 guarantee.

Registration and re-entries remain open until the start of Level 10 at 5:45 pm.

$1,700 TPC Championship
$250,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure
Level 1:  100/200 with a 200 ante

The third and final flight of the 2026 Tampa Poker Classic Championship starts at 11 am and we will hit the first milestone right out of the gates. As soon as cards go in the air, the $1,700 buy-in tournament will officially surpass its $250,000 guarantee and the prize pool will continue climbing until we close registration.

Players sit with 40K stacks and all levels last 40 minutes. Late registration and unlimited re-entries are available until the start of Level 10 at 5:45 pm.

Action will continue until 12.5% of the field remains and survivors will advance to Day 2 tomorrow at 11 am.

• $250,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
• Players begin with 40,000 in chips
• Levels last 40 minutes
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 10 (5:45pm)
• Day 1 will end when 12.5% of the field remains
• Championship Structure Sheet

Primary Event Schedule

11AM: Day 1C – $1,700 TPC Championship (Re-Entry)

• $250,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
• Players begin with 40,000 in chips
• Levels last 40 minutes
• Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 10 (5:45pm)
• Day 1 will end when 12.5% of the field remains
• Championship Structure Sheet

Secondary and Satellite Schedule

9AM: $200 Championship Last Chance Satellite (1-in-10)

• Players begin with 10,000 in chips
• Levels last 10 minutes
• Late registration until start of Level 7 (10:10pm)
• Structure Sheet