Evan Sandberg is the new Arizona State Poker Championship winner after outlasting a record field at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, taking home $627,050 in the 20th annual running of the event. The $1,100 buy-in tournament drew 4,018 entries across four starting flights, shattering the previous entry record of 3,546 set back in 2025 and cementing the championship as one of the biggest regional live series stops on the calendar.
A Record Field for a Milestone Anniversary
The Arizona State Poker Championship has grown steadily since its launch two decades ago, but the 20th edition marked a clear leap forward in popularity. With 4,018 total entries spread across four Day 1 flights, the tournament comfortably topped last year’s record and produced a payout structure that stretched from $25,801 for the min-cash at 10th place up to the six-figure paydays reserved for the final table. For a $1,100 buy-in event, a top prize north of $600,000 is a significant multiplier and underlines why regional series like this one continue to draw large fields even outside the bigger festivals.
Sandberg Survives a Short Stack to Close It Out
Sandberg’s path to the title was not a straightforward one. Deep in four-handed play, he found himself down to fewer than 10 big blinds and was forced to shove all in holding A-2 suited. He ran into a flipped pocket nines but rivered a full house to double up and stay alive, a swing that changed the entire complexion of the final table. Sandberg carried that momentum into three-handed play, where he got his stack in with A-K against Brandon Conrad’s pocket fives and again found the river he needed, completing a broadway straight to send Conrad out in third place.
Heads-up play saw Sandberg close out the win against runner-up Jared Rogers, who banked $369,937 for his own deep run through the record field. For Sandberg, a Bay Area native now based in Las Vegas, the win capped off a career that already included over $2.5 million in live tournament earnings and two World Series of Poker bracelets, but one that had been missing a marquee, deep-field title of this size. Sandberg has been known on the regional circuit for putting together consistent deep runs without always closing them out, making Sunday’s final table a notable exception.
The two-hand stretch that decided the title, first the four-handed double-up with A-2 suited and then the three-handed river against Conrad’s pocket fives, is a reminder of how thin the margins can be at the business end of a large-field tournament. Both hands had Sandberg as the underdog on the flop, and both were decided on the final card, the kind of variance that can just as easily end a run as extend it. That he came out the other side with the title rather than a min-cash is part of what made the win feel so significant to him afterward.
An Emotional Final Table
Sandberg did not hide his emotions once the final hand was over, telling reporters at the felt that he could not believe the win had actually happened. He described the moment as getting a monkey off his back, a nod to the years of near-misses that preceded this result, and pointed to mental resilience, particularly during that short-stacked four-handed stretch, as the difference between cashing deep and actually winning. That kind of composure under pressure is exactly the swing spot that separates min-cashes from titles in large-field tournaments, and it is a skill area Poker Pro Academy covers in more depth in its guide to how to play poker under pressure at the felt.
What the Win Means for the Season
Beyond the prize money, the victory also carries meaningful weight in the Card Player Player of the Year race. Sandberg’s win earned him 1,320 POY points, a haul that vaulted him into the top 125 players in the yearlong standings with several months of the season still remaining. Deep runs and titles at high-volume regional series like the Arizona State Poker Championship have become an increasingly important path for players chasing POY points outside of the headline stops on the WSOP and major tour calendars, since large multi-flight fields like this one generate points hauls that rival many mid-major festival results.
A Growing Stop on the Regional Calendar
Talking Stick Resort has hosted the Arizona State Poker Championship for two decades, and this year’s record turnout suggests the series is still finding new growth even as the live tournament calendar becomes more crowded with competing regional stops. A $1,100 buy-in kept the event accessible to a broad range of players while still generating a prize pool capable of paying a $627,050 top prize, a combination that organizers will likely try to replicate as they plan next year’s schedule. With Sandberg’s win now on the board, expect Talking Stick and other regional casinos to lean further into multi-flight structures designed to chase similarly large fields in 2027.
