Eight Deuce · Tournament #41
Eighteen Players, a Record Pool, and Lee Ugarte Beats Seven of Them Himself
The biggest prize pool the league has ever assembled — and a third straight January won by the same man.
Eighteen players and five rebuys made $1,340 on Friday, more than any Eight Deuce tournament has ever put on the table. Lee Ugarte knocked out seven of them and won $460.
It is his ninth win here, the seventeenth of his career, and the third January in a row he has opened a season by winning it. He also holds the Tournament of Champions, won five weeks ago.
Shawn Miller was second for $450 after a four-minute heads-up match — ten dollars off the win, and his best result in this league since he won one in March 2022. David Doole took third and $245 without a knockout, and Angela Cain was fourth for $185.
Where the money went
| Player | Prize | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee Ugarte | $460 |
| 2 | Shawn Miller | $450 |
| 3 | David Doole | $245 |
| 4 | Angela Cain | $185 |
The undercard
Steve McLean made three knockouts and bubbled in fifth. Eric Denny made four, more than anyone outside the last two, and finished eighth.
Brian Connolly played his first Eight Deuce tournament and went ninth. Paul Coffman was the first player out after two hours and thirteen minutes.
The bigger picture
The pool is the story. $1,340 beats the previous record of $1,200, set in March 2022 and matched last February, and it came from an eighteen-player field — a number the league has now reached four times and never passed.
Lee Ugarte starts on 115.00, the highest single score anyone has posted, because points scale with the size of the field.
| Player of the Year — after #41 | Points | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee Ugarte | 115.00 |
| 2 | Shawn Miller | 76.67 |
| 3 | David Doole | 57.50 |
| 4 | Angela Cain | 46.00 |
| 5 | Steve Sarbaugh | 32.86 |
| 6 | Steve McLean | 30.67 |
| 7 | Lance Cain | 28.75 |
| 8 | Jeff Ferguson | 20.91 |
Eight Deuce #41 — Friday, January 10, 2025. 18 entrants, 5 rebuys, four paid from a $1,340 prize pool. First tournament of the 2025 season; Player of the Year counts each player’s best eight scores.