This was the Minnesota native’s second career WSOP bracelet
The Minnesota poker professional secured the standard-setting victory by defeating Salvatore Dicarlo heads-up in the $1,500 Monster Stack No Limit Hold’em tournament. Held at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas venues, the massive event drew a record-breaking field of 11,933 entries to generate a total prize pool of $12,178,625. This victory marks the largest single cash prize of Alsup’s tournament career and elevates him to second place on the all-time money list for his home state.
Alsup entered the final day of play positioned sixth in chips out of the remaining players but maintained a healthy stack of 65 big blinds. He played a patient strategy early in the session while other final table competitors faced quick eliminations. Early chip leader Kevin Eyster crashed out in seventh place, and Pierce Mckellar followed shortly after in sixth place when his ace-jack fell to the ace-king of Dicarlo.
The ensuing heads-up battle between Alsup and Dicarlo lasted nearly three hours, with a financial swing of $400,000 on the line between the top two spots. Dicarlo held the upper hand through various stages of the final table and built up a four-to-one chip advantage during the duel. Alsup mounted his comeback by using a passive preflop limping strategy and hitting crucial river cards to crack the pocket aces of his opponent multiple times.
The final hand of the tournament concluded when Alsup moved all his chips into the middle, holding ace-seven against the ace-king of Dicarlo. Alsup spiked a seven on the river card to lock up the victory and claim the premier payout. This historic win eclipses his previous career-best tournament cash of $273,430 and adds a second gold bracelet to the one he originally earned during a 2022 tournament event.
