Eight Deuce · Tournament #59

Joe Johnson Ties the Record and Locks Up Player of the Year

Seven knockouts, a 27-minute heads-up duel with Shawn Miller, and a fourth win of the season that ends the Player of the Year race with a tournament to spare.

Joe Johnson came into #59 already running away with the season, and he left with the whole thing wrapped up. Seven knockouts. Four hours and 26 minutes in the chair. A heads-up battle with Shawn Miller that ran 26 minutes and 45 seconds before Joe closed it out for $370. It is his fourth Eight Deuce win of 2026, and all four of his Eight Deuce wins have come this year. Four in a single season ties the league record, and he still has a tournament to play. It is also his first win since March, from a man who already owns three Denny Poker Tournament wins.

Shawn Miller made him work for every chip. Shawn knocked out three players, including Josh Maida and Sean Denny, the last two standing between him and heads-up, and took $240 for second. It is his first cash since he won #56 in June.

Maida took third and $165 without a single knockout. He outlasted ten players and let the action come to him until Shawn finally caught up with him. It is his first cash of the season, after fifth in March and sixth in April.

Sean finished fourth for $125, and fourth is becoming his address. He was fourth at #56 in June, fourth at #57 in July, fourth at #58 in August and fourth again here — four tournaments this season, four fourth-place finishes. He did not go quietly, either: his four knockouts were second only to Joe on the night.

Where the money went

The undercard

The bubble belonged to Andrew Shier, fifth and one place out of the money, sent home by Joe. It is still his fourth top-five finish of the season, after second in January, fourth in March and third in April. Warren Mervin, fresh off his win at #58, went out sixth, also at Joe's hands. Joe was behind the tenth-place exit of Eric Denny too, and he started the damage early: Brian Connolly was the first player out, and Joe was the one who sent him.

The bigger picture

The Player of the Year race is over. Joe sits on 535.30 points from seven tournaments, 237.95 ahead of Warren in second. To catch him, Warren would need more than 250 points from #60 alone — nearly double the most anyone has ever scored in a single regular-season tournament, the 130 Joe himself put up at #52. The title is Joe's.

Nine tournaments in, the season has six different winners: Joe, Steve McLean, Eric, Shawn, Juan Lopez and Warren. All six have a seat in the Tournament of Champions. Joe's three extra wins open three at-large seats, which go to the highest-ranked players in the final standings without a win. If the season ended tonight, those seats would belong to Andrew, Brian and Jeff Ferguson. One tournament remains.

Eight Deuce #59 — Friday, September 18, 2026. 13 entrants and 4 rebuys, four paid from a $900 prize pool. Points shown are the Player of the Year standings after 9 tournaments of the 2026 season, counting each player's best 8 results.