Andrew Hurst, from California, was crowned the champion of the $235 Black Chip Bounty after outlasting a field of 297 entrants. He took home $7,250, along with a RIU trophy and a platinum pass freeroll seat.

The final table was a roller coaster for Hurst as were his emotions after taking down the tournament.

”I feel Exhausted, wired, happy. It will probably take a while to hit.”

It is not his first time at Run It Up, but it is the first RIU series he will be attending from start to finish, and he plans to play everything that is on schedule.

”I love Run It Up! The people are great, the atmosphere is great. Things keep getting better every year. The production is amazing. I came out last October for the Main Event and final tabled the $125 Stud-8/Omaha-8, but this is the first time I come for the whole series. It’s my first real series. I’m playing whatever is tomorrow. I’m planning on playing everything. I’ve played everything so far since the Turbo Kickoff.”

Although Hurst doesn’t play poker for a living, card games were always a big part of his life.

”I used to be a magic player. I used to play magic the gathering competitively in college. I was friends with Reuben Bresler and he was like, hey! You should start playing poker you could make more money doing it. I was like alright, fine, and this is how it all started.”

Although he does not play for a living, poker is his passion. If he’s not working, he’s playing.

”I’m an IT manager in Santa Monica. But I play a lot. I play at least 30 hours a week. Anytime I’m not at work. I usually play two nights a week in cash games and then two days a week tournaments online.”

Hurst’s plan with his cash prize was clear: ”Keep grinding. I just wanna keep playing poker for the most part. I don’t have plans to buy stuff.”

Here is a look at the full results:

1st: Andrew Hurst – $7,520
2nd: Jeffrey Trettewerb – $4,950
3rd: Theodore Wallace – $3,400
4th: Christopher Johnson – $2,343
5th: Amir Ghasemkhani – $1,600
6th: Thomas Seefeld – $1,115
7th: Kristopher Evans – $800
8th: Tim Urain – $600
9th: Ori Kossonogi – $450
10th: Corey Novak – $450
11th: Daniel Chuprun – $380
12th: Patrick Carroll – $380
13th: Hayden Fortini – $330
14th: Ken Webster – $330
15th: Marc Jacobus – $290
16th: Kevin Hale – $290
17th: John Harris – $260
18th: Michael Triveit – $260
19th: Stuart Kerridge – $260
20th: Justin Granata – $260
21st: Thinh Yo – $245
22nd: Scott Hoffer – $245
23rd: Jagadeesh Vallabhaneni – $245
24th: Darell Jones – $245
25th: Nicolas Burnett – $235
26th: James Brundige – $235
27th: Michael Murphy – $235
28th: William Burford – $235