The Topeka tournament pitted 70 of the regions top players in a battle for the first Championship Title of the 2010 Season. It did not disappoint. After nearly 9 hours of competition, Sturgeon was the last player standing. Kansas Poker News publisher Stew 'Chicago Mike' Bishop observed the action and complemented Sturgeon on his tremendous achievement: '...Mike had a tough road to victory. He was short-stacked at the beginning of the final table and with 6 players left it looked like he might be heading for the exits... When other players may have been a bit complacent, Mike shifted gears and start dictating the action. When luck broke his way the chips followed...'

Originally a single-table player, Sturgeon has been competing in tournaments for over 5 years and has found his favorite game to be No-limit Texas Holdem. Mike described his keys to the Topeka victory as: 1) Being patient; 2) Waiting for the cards to come then betting right; 3) Not going on tilt when he makes a mistake or his cards don't come. '... I played tight at first', he said, 'I didn't overbet unmade hands'. As for a memorable hand that made a big difference, Sturgeon recalled: '... I was all-in with a pair of 8's vs. 2's. My opponent hit trip deuces on the flop but I made runner-runner to hit a flush. There were 7 players left and that chipped me up a bit. Then I started catching some hands...'

'Mike faced a great final table', commented Bishop, 'they really made him earn it'. Ed Boos was runner up, Randy Speakman finished 3rd, and Topeka veteran Timm Thacker was 4th. Rounding out the final table were: Cheryl Reitmeyer, Dallas Huzarevich, Kyle Stueven, Craig Matthews, Lori Brese, and 2008 Kansas Mixed Games Grand Champion Tony 'River T' Stevens.A pictorial of the 2010 Topeka Poker Championship can be found at this link.

After nearly 3 months of City Championships and other qualifying tournaments across the state, 55 of Kansas' top players met Dec. 13th to decide it all at the 2008 Kansas No-Limit Poker Championship. When the final hands were dealt, Tony Stevens and Jason Barrett claimed top honors, winning the No-Limit Mixed Games and No-Limit Texas Holdem.

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