On Friday, the fifth annual World Series of Poker National Championship concluded at Harrah's Cherokee. The event attracted a field of 122 players – a mix of $10,000 buy-in at-large qualifiers and those who earned their way in via the WSOP Circuit – and created a $1.22 million prize pool.
In the end, Loni Harwood defeated the WSOP Circuit's most accomplished player, Alex Masek, in heads-up play to capture the title, the $341,599 first-place prize, and her second WSOP gold bracelet. In 2013, the two-time Circuit ring winner had a career year at the 2013 WSOP — she cashed six times for $874,698, made three final tables, and won a bracelet in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event — but missed the following year so she could be near her ailing mother, who ultimately passed away in 2014.