Maryland State Poker Championship | Three teams reach ICM agreement, Daniel Iachan wins his first career championship trophy

On September 8, 2026, the Maryland State Poker Championship $1,700 Main Event concluded at Live! Casino Maryland. The event attracted 380 players, with the final three – Justin Arnwine, Daniel Iachan, and Aaron Pinson – agreeing to an ICM deal in a deep-stacked situation, ending their championship battle early.

Ultimately, Arnwine took home the highest prize of $86,167, Iachan won $78,112, and Pinson took home $76,221. After the prize money was distributed, Arnwine and Pinson agreed to award the championship trophy to Iachan, allowing the American player, who had run deep in the WSOP Main Event for two consecutive years, to finally win his first live tournament championship trophy.

380 people competed, and the final three all had more than 80BB.

The buy-in for the main event of this year's Maryland State Poker Championship is:

$1,700

A total of:

380 contestants

To participate in the competition.

When only three players remain, their scoreboards are distributed as follows:

All three players started the game at the three-person table with more than 80 big blinds.

Given such a deep scoreboard structure, the championship battle was likely to take a considerable amount of time, while the originally planned first-place prize was as high as:

$111,000

But the match was suddenly paused, and the three players began to discuss the deal.

The three parties agreed to terminate the match early.

After discussion, the three contestants ultimately accepted the ICM allocation plan.

After reallocation:

Arnwine won the highest prize among the three, while the championship trophy became another issue to be decided.

Since Iachan had won many major races but never a live championship, Arnwine and Pinson eventually agreed to give him the championship trophy.

This also allowed Iachan to officially obtain:

First live championship trophy of his career

Iachan: Although it wasn't "fighting to the very end," a champion is a champion.

This trophy holds special significance for Daniel Iachan.

He admitted that if he could fight all the way to the end and win the championship with his own hands, it would feel more complete; but in any case, a championship trophy is still a championship trophy.

Even more coincidentally, Iachan noticed the trophy when he first registered for the competition and had already imagined what it would look like on his bookshelf.

A few days later, the idea actually became a reality.

17th place in the 2025 WSOP Main Event; 96th place in the 2026 WSOP Main Event.

Although this is Iachan's first official live tournament victory, he has already proven his competitiveness in major events.

In the 2025 WSOP Main Event, he fought his way up to:

17th place

In 2026, he once again completed the deep run in the WSOP Main Event, achieving:

96th place

Reachan's confidence in his poker skills has significantly increased after reaching the deep ranks of the world's biggest Main Event for two consecutive years.

He said that, especially after winning the Shenzhen Run again this year, he is even more certain that he can compete with top athletes of different types from around the world.

WSOP Main Event experience makes making decisions at the $100,000 level no longer unfamiliar.

Iachan also mentioned that his two WSOP Main Event runs made him more composed when facing the pressure of high prize money.

When a player has already faced extremely high prize money and elimination pressure in the WSOP Main Event, their psychological burden will naturally decrease when they enter a large regional event with a champion's prize of approximately $100,000.

This experience in major competitions was also an important factor in his ability to make it all the way to the final three.

Justin Arnwine has no shortage of trophies, but he values prize money and EPT entry into the raffle more.

Unlike Iachan, Justin Arnwine wasn't particularly fixated on winning the championship trophy.

Arnwine has accumulated a large number of championships in the local tournament scene and has been described by PokerNews as a local legend, and is even regarded as the unofficial "record holder for most tournament wins".

Following this tripartite agreement, he not only obtained:

$86,167

They also gained entry into a PokerStars EPT pass draw.

For Arnwine, who already has a large trophy collection, leaving the championship trophy to Iachan, who is still waiting for his first title, is an arrangement he is happy to accept.

Caitlyn and Bin Weng changed Arnwine's final table mindset.

When discussing his tournament playing style, Arnwine specifically mentioned two important sources of influence:

• wife Caitlyn

• Bin Weng

Arnwine primarily worked in cash games, focusing mainly on cash games from 2005 to 2019.

Therefore, when he first entered the Final Table, he often focused too much on securing his prize money, tending to fold and wait for other players to be eliminated, often finishing around 5th place.

In 2023, his wife Caitlyn finished as runner-up in the Potomac Winter Poker Open Main Event, which showed Arnwine a different approach to the final table – instead of being overly afraid of being eliminated, it's better to actively strive for the championship.

He then met Bin Weng and embraced a more positive core concept:

If you really want to win, you must be willing to take the risk of losing.

Arnwine said that after adjusting his mindset, his tournament results improved significantly.

As a new father, Arnwine didn't want to stay on the field for too long.

Outside the poker table, Arnwine's life has also undergone significant changes recently.

He and his wife Caitlyn welcomed their daughter this year. The baby is currently about six months old and will soon be learning to crawl.

Therefore, Arnwine now prefers not to be away from home for too long when competing.

This is one of the reasons why he is quite satisfied with the three-way deal: after winning the highest prize, he can end the long five-day battle and go home early to be with his family.

On the day of the six-person finals, Arnwine was the first to be eliminated.

On the final day of the competition, a total of 6 players returned to the Final Table.

Iachan and Arnwine were ranked first and second on the scoreboard at the time.

The first to be eliminated was Robert Salera.

Arnwine received:

KK

For Salera:

TT

Pocket K successfully held onto his lead, while Salera finished in 6th place with $23,000.

Iachan AQ eliminated Lita's A4

Valentin Lita then stated:

A4

All in.

Iachan received:

AQ

Quickly follow up with your bets.

The stronger A card ultimately maintained its lead, and Lita was eliminated in 5th place, taking home:

$31,000

The competition thus came down to four players.

Pinson eliminates Kevin Grabel, officially forming the final three.

Kevin Grabel had his score reduced by both Arnwine and Pinson during the four-player game.

Arnwine once hit three aces on the flop and won a large pot from Grabel.

Pinson then called Grabel's 600,000 bet on the river with two pair, bringing Grabel's chip stack below 1 million.

After several rounds, Grabel held:

44

He went all in with approximately 1,100,000 chips.

Pinson received:

88

and chose to call.

Pocket8 maintained its lead, and Grabel finished in 4th place, earning:

$41,000

Pinson used this opportunity to narrow the scoreboard gap with the top two players, forming the final three.

Maryland State Poker Championship Final Table Results

The remaining prize money was redistributed among the top three winners through the ICM agreement. Daniel Iachan ultimately won the championship trophy.

The three players each got what they wanted, and the five-day main event ended early.

In retrospect, this tripartite agreement resulted in a rather unusual outcome.

Justin Arnwine took home the highest prize of $86,167 and also qualified for the EPT package draw; Aaron Pinson secured $76,221; and Daniel Iachan, in addition to $78,112, finally received his first live championship trophy, which he had been missing for so long.

All three players started the three-player game with more than 80 big blinds, which could have led to a long and intense battle, but the five-day tournament was ended early through an ICM agreement.

For Iachan, this trophy adds a new chapter to his resume after two consecutive years of running the deep end of the WSOP Main Event. Running deep end in major races has already proven his competitiveness, and this time, he can finally officially add "champion" to his record.

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