The inaugural RunGood Poker Series stop at Lodge Card Club in Austin delivered everything poker fans hoped for—and more. After a marathon final day that stretched beyond 13 hours, Jose Garcia emerged victorious in the RGPS Passport Austin $600 Main Event, etching his name into the history books as the event’s first-ever champion.

Garcia battled through a massive field of 1,018 entries to lock up the title, taking home $88,007 along with the coveted RGPS ring and trophy.

“I’m very happy,” Garcia said after the win. “It feels good.”

RGPS Austin Main Event Final Table Results

The final table featured a stacked lineup of American players, all chasing the six-figure top prize. Here’s how the payouts played out:

• 1st: Jose Garcia – $88,007

• 2nd: Andrew Robinson – $61,547

• 3rd: James Black – $40,069

• 4th: Kyle Stein – $29,069

• 5th: Kevin Easterling – $22,149

• 6th: Matthew Costentino – $17,804

• 7th: James Cazin – $14,742

• 8th: Thomas McCutcheon – $11,706

• 9th: Zachary Evers – $8,691

Garcia’s Roller-Coaster Path to the Title

Garcia’s road to victory was anything but smooth. Late on Day 1a, he appeared poised to carry a healthy stack forward, sitting on around 800,000 chips with only a handful of players left to bag. That changed quickly after losing a sizable pot to an ace-high call from David Kim, followed by another costly hand that dropped him to just 271,000 by day’s end.

“I could have come into Day 2 with a big stack,” Garcia reflected.

Still, Garcia regrouped on Day 2 and did just enough to reach the final table—albeit as the short stack with 455,000 chips. Momentum shifted fast. By the first break, he had surged to over 2 million, then survived a failed bluff against Matthew Costentino before doubling through James Cazin.

Garcia knocked out Cazin in seventh place when his pocket nines held against ace-king, then scored a crucial double through chip leader Andrew Robinson to climb past 11 million chips. After briefly slipping back with a loss to James Black, Garcia rebounded once again, doubling with pocket queens against Robinson during three-handed play.

A bold three-barrel bluff with ten-high proved to be the turning point, forcing Robinson to fold and handing Garcia the chip lead. From there, Garcia closed the door—eliminating both Robinson and Black to seal a memorable win.

PokerNews PowerStack Event Adds More RGPS Austin Highlights

Earlier in the week, the RGPS Passport Austin $200 PokerNews PowerStack event attracted 201 entries, generating a $31,557 prize pool. The tournament played down to five players, who agreed to an ICM deal before continuing to battle for the title and ring.

When the dust settled, Roger Franco claimed victory and $4,673, along with valuable PokerNews PowerStack leaderboard points.

That win vaulted Franco into second place on the leaderboard, just five points behind current leader Lucas Drummonds.

RGPS Austin PokerNews PowerStack Top Finishers

• 1st: Roger Franco – $4,673 (55 points)

• 2nd: Travis Moran – $4,100 (38.5 points)

• 3rd: Tyler Parker – $3,900 (27.5 points)

• 4th: Jimmy Lujan – $3,700 (24.2 points)

• 5th: Japneet Chawla – $3,500 (20.9 points)

With record-breaking fields, dramatic storylines, and a packed card room from start to finish, RGPS Austin set the bar high for future stops—and Jose Garcia made sure his name will always be tied to its debut success.