Joshua Pollock Wins 2022 Legends of Poker for $573,350

Eleven years after finishing fourth in the 2011 Legends of Poker, Joshua Pollock rode a wave of momentum from late in Day 1C all the way to the 2022 Legends of Poker title after defeating Ray Qartomy heads-up for $573,350.

“This tournament was a dream. I ran okay on day one and just ran super well on day two, especially on the last level. I went from one of the bottom stacks to chip leader. Probably this is the best I’ve ever run in a tournament,” Pollock said after the win. “(Ray) is a legend. He has the most WPT Final tables ever. It was awesome playing him heads up. It felt like we were in a home game playing heads-up, and it was really enjoyable.”

Pollock came into the day tied for second in chips with WPT Champions Club Member Matthew Wantman and could only watch as Wantman scored the first two knockouts of the day.

Adam Hendrix would be the first to fall on hand #5 when he turned a royal flush draw against Wantman’s flopped set. The river failed to improve Hendrix, and he headed to the payout cage in 6th place for $119,000.

Three hands later on Hand #8 Lei Lei found himself all-in for 2.1 million with Ace-Jack against Wantman’s pocket kings. A king on the flop sealed Lei’s fate, and he walked away with $156,000 for the 5th place finish.

Not to be outdone, Pollock scored the third elimination in the first 11 hands when on hand #11 Pollock flopped a flush draw against the pocket nines of Aaron Motoyama. Pollock turned a pair of queens and had Motoyama covered by just 175,000 chips. Despite the brutal beat, Motoyama secured his largest career cash with the 4th place finish walking away with $207,000.

With the quick eliminations, Qartomy, Wantmam, and Pollock started three-handed play virtually dead even in chips, and a long battle commenced.

After the early success, Wantman couldn’t get anything going three-handed and would drop to sub 20 big blinds on Hand #69 and would eventually see his last 1.5 million head into the middle on Hand #80 when his ace-deuce ran into the ace-nine of Pollock. Pollock flopped a pair of nines, and Wantman headed to the payout desk to collect his $280,000 for the third-place finish.

Pollock held the lead to start heads-up play, but Qartomy would battle back, eventually taking the chip lead on hand #118. However, the lead would be short-lived if Pollock immediately re-took the chip lead on Hand #119.

The tournament would finally come to a close on hand #129 when Qartomy three-bet shoved his last 10.6 million into the middle holding ace-eight of diamonds against the pocket eights of Pollock. The board ran out queen-high, and Pollock’s eights held to secure the victor.

With the second place finish for $380,000, Qartomy takes the lead in the WPT Player of the Year race with 1,700 points, 300 points ahead of Mark Davis and Alexander Yen.

Pollock, meanwhile, not only walked away with his first WPT title and the $573,350 prize, but with the win, he also secured player of the festival honors. Pollock’s victory also includes a seat into the World Championship at the Wynn Las Vegas in December, but with his first child on the way around the same time, it will be a close call whether or not he fills that seat.

“My wife and I are about to go on a baby moon to Hawaii next week,” Pollock said. “This might be the last live tournament I might play for a while, so this was a good tournament to win. If they can’t differ the seat to next year, we will see if my wife will let me come.”

Photography by Joe Giron / PokerPhotoArchive.com