Eight Deuce · Tournament #54

Mac Stops the Streak

A new name on the board at last — and it belongs to one of the winningest players in league history.

Somebody finally did it. After three straight months of the same name at the top, Steve McLean stepped into the smallest field of the season and put an end to it — four knockouts, four hours and ten minutes of work, and $405 for the first Eight Deuce win of 2026 that does not read "Joe Johnson."

And if you are going to break a streak, break it in style. That is Eight Deuce win number five for Mac, on top of the 2022 Tournament of Champions — and, with his Canterberry Poker League record on the ledger, nine career wins. It is his first since September 2024, a nineteen-month wait for a man used to winning. He has not forgotten how.

He had to beat a familiar face to do it. Justin Vaughn pushed him to heads-up and made him work for twelve minutes and thirty-five seconds before Mac closed it out. Justin banks $260, his second top-three of the season after taking third in January, quietly stacking points in a year where consistency might be worth more than fireworks.

Third place and $180 went to Andrew Shier — and would you look at that man's season. Second in January, fourth in March, third here, and four knockouts on the night to boot. He is running out of ways to come close. The breakthrough is coming. It has to be.

Fourth and $135 went to a genuine piece of league history: Rick Mazza, the man who won Eight Deuce #1 — the very first one, January 2021. Mazza added two knockouts here and has been doing this a long time. He is still dangerous.

Where the money went

The undercard

Warren Mervin was the odd man out in fifth, one spot short of the money. The knockout artist nobody will notice on the payout sheet was Shawn Miller, who finished eighth but took four players out with him — the same tally as the champion. Josh Maida took sixth and Joe Rottinghaus seventh. Lee Ugarte was first out, ended by Miller at just under an hour and fifty minutes.

The bigger picture

Johnson did not play, and just like that the season has its second different winner. Johnson still leads the Player of the Year race comfortably on 365.00 points from three tournaments — but Andrew has climbed to second at 179.78, and the gap has stopped growing.

Two winners now hold Tournament of Champions berths, Mac joining Johnson. Eight seats still open, and with the at-large spots going to the highest-rated top-ten players without a win, the men stacking runner-up finishes are building a case whether they break through or not.

Eight Deuce #54 — Friday, April 10, 2026. 15 entrants and 3 rebuys, four paid from a $980 prize pool. Points shown are the Player of the Year standings after four tournaments of the 2026 season.