Simon Britton Wins WSOP Circuit Choctaw Main Event for $208,295

• Simon Britton won the $1,700 WSOP Circuit Choctaw Main Event for $208,295 and his first Circuit ring.
• The Main Event drew 793 entries and built a $1,201,395 prize pool.
• Britton had seven WSOP runner-up finishes before this win, including one in a 2024 bracelet event.
• Chan Pelton finished second for $138,800 after Britton closed out heads-up in three hands.

Britton’s road to this ring is paved with silver. In 2024, he finished runner-up in the WSOP $300 Gladiators of Poker bracelet event, a field of more than 20,000 entries. That result paid $253,300 and is still his biggest career cash.

The near-misses kept coming. Since that bracelet event, Britton has reached 17 WSOP Circuit final tables and finished second at six of them, according to PokerOrg.

So the relief was obvious when he spoke to PokerOrg after the win. “I can’t believe it. I’ve worked really, really hard and I’m very, very happy. I’ve gotten six second places for Circuit Rings and a second place for a bracelet, so this one feels so good.”

Winning the Main Event made the first ring sweeter. “I’ve wanted a ring for a really long time,” Britton said. “To win a Circuit Main for my first ring just makes it feel extra special.”

Britton started the final table mid-pack, with Mason Bodnar holding the chip lead. He didn’t stay there long.

Early on, Britton got a five-bet shove through against Bodnar and took over the chip lead. Shoving into the big stack with pay jumps on the line takes conviction. Final table strategy and ICM pressure behind spots like that requires careful consideration.

Bodnar went on to be the first player out, taking ninth for $15,610.

The field kept shrinking from there. Alain Raad finished third for $96,010, which set up a heads-up match between Britton and Chan Pelton.

Pelton gave the final table much of its energy. PokerOrg described him as talkative, and he kept the table lively.

Britton admitted the old doubts crept in once the match reached two players. “Obviously when I got heads-up, the idea of coming second creeps up in your mind after getting so many second places. But I closed it out in three hands.”

Three hands. After seven runner-up finishes, he gave the streak no room to breathe. Pelton collected $138,800 for second place.

Britton had plenty of respect for the man across the felt. “The guy was hilarious… He’s really good. It’s nice to be able to beat somebody that I think is really good at poker.”

His mindset at the table was simple. “I didn’t come here to get ninth, I didn’t come here to get eighth, I came here to win,” Britton said. “Every time I play I come to win.”

Britton also had the largest and loudest rail at the final table, per PokerOrg. He was quick to credit them.

“We have some of the best young players out there,” Britton said. “To have them sitting here, watching and supporting me and cheering me on means the world.”

Choctaw is one of several WSOP Circuit stops, and the Circuit has worked with host partners to encourage women-only events. PokerOrg now lists Britton’s career earnings at $1,065,922.

The bracelet chase is a separate story. Britton came within one spot of gold in 2024. You can track upcoming bracelet events on the WSOP schedule.

The Main Event is the headline title at any Circuit stop, and Britton won the biggest event of the Choctaw series against 793 entries.

The bigger story is what the ring ends. Seven second-place finishes across bracelet and Circuit events is the kind of record that follows a player around. Britton answered it by closing heads-up in three hands.

If you’ve ever finished second with a title in sight, you know how that stings. Britton finally gets to feel the other side.