WSOP 2015: Jeff Tomlinson Wins $5k NL Eight Handed For $567,724

A total of 493 players entered the WSOP $5k NL Eight Handed tournament (Event #25) and after four days of intense action it was high school football coach Jeff Tomlinson who eventually triumphed over the field to claim the prestigious gold bracelet, as well as a top prize worth $567,724. Following his impressive performance Tomlinson commented:
“I didn’t expect to win this thing. But I don’t really fear anybody. I’m a pretty competitive guy. As guys started dropping, I was like, ‘Oh my god.’”
The $5k No Limit Hold’em Eight Handed event created a prize pool worth $2,317,100, and amongst the notable pros subsequently seeing a return on their investment was Olivier Busquet in 32nd ($13,578), Eugene Katchalov in 26th ($13,578), Shaun Deeb in 22nd ($16,219), Jesse Sylvia in 18th ($16,219), and Joseph Cheong in 16th ($19,672).
The final table was equally as well stacked, and featured such big name pros as Dan O’Brien, Anthony Zinno, Jonathan Little, Jonathan Jaffe, Dominik Nitsche, and Pierre Milan. However, Jeff Tomlinson refused to be intimidated by his formidable opponents, and later commented:
“Before the final table started, one of my buddies told me – ‘do you know that guy?’ He won a few bracelets. That one of there? He wrote a poker book. Me? Hey, I’m a football coach. I don’t have any fear. I mean, I’m here to play my game. It doesn’t mean I’ll win ten gold bracelets, but from the moment I sat down I knew I could win.”
Eventually, Jeff Tomlinson would then go on to outlast all the pros, including defeating French player Pierre Milan heads-up, to claim a WSOP bracelet. With one of his life-time goals achieved, the Palm Beach Gardens football coach says he would now like to see his team win a state title, as well as the Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl.
Final Table Results:
1 Jeffrey Tomlinson $567,724
2 Pierre Milan $350,994
3 Dominik Nitsche $220,657
4 Jonathan Jaffe $158,373
5 Andrius Bielskis $115,507
6 Jonathan Little $85,616
7 Anthony Zinno $64,484
8 Dan O’Brien $49,331