Winston Djonli has long been a familiar face in low- to mid-stakes poker tournaments around Austin, Texas. Over the past five years, he accumulated numerous four-figure cashes and a handful of modest victories, yet a major score had remained elusive—until recently.
Djonli’s breakthrough came just a few weeks ago with a runner-up finish in a $3,000 event for $115,682, effectively doubling his lifetime earnings. Momentum carried him into the $1,700 WSOPC Million Dollar Main Event at Choctaw Casino and Resort in Durant, Oklahoma. Despite starting Day 3 among the shorter stacks, Djonli climbed the ladder, ultimately claiming every chip in play and securing $232,680 along with his first WSOP Circuit Ring.
Calm, Cool, Collected
“Feels great,” Djonli said after his victory. “Honestly, I’m still kind of in that zone of not feeling any emotions fresh off the table. That’s usually how I play poker: I turn everything off and just focus on the cards. I’m sure it’ll hit me in an hour or two.”
Djonli explained that a recent shift in his approach and mindset had contributed to his success. “I feel like I’ve recently come through a breakthrough in how I play and approach the game, and it seems to be paying off.”
The Turning Point
Although Djonli held one of the bigger stacks during much of Day 2, he began the final day fifth in chips among the nine returning players. With six of the nine players starting short-stacked, the field quickly whittled down to the final four in under three hours.
Djonli found himself the short stack among the final four and went all-in against start-of-day chip leader Chris Vickrey. Djonli flopped two outs with pocket sevens against Vickrey’s pair of nines. A miraculous seven on the river not only saved him from elimination but sent Vickrey to a fourth-place finish. Djonli’s composure remained steady throughout the dramatic hand.
“To be honest, I felt pretty composed the whole time,” Djonli said. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous, but I think I handled it well. The more final tables you play, the less nervous you get because you’ve been there before.”
Heads-Up Marathon
Entering three-handed play, Venkat Nagabhairava held nearly two-thirds of the chips, while Djonli was roughly even with Matthew Barnett. Nagabhairava was eliminated in third place after a series of unfortunate hands, setting the stage for a heads-up battle between Djonli and Barnett.
Barnett started with a 2:1 chip lead, but Djonli’s patience and persistence kept him in contention. Over a grueling three-hour duel, Djonli repeatedly regained the lead despite Barnett’s aggressive plays. In the final hand, Barnett raised with pocket aces, but Djonli defended with queen-four suited, flopped trips, and after a series of raises, secured the Main Event victory, fending off a two-outer to claim his first WSOPC title.
Djonli’s triumph marks not only his first major win but also a career milestone, proving that perseverance, patience, and strategic composure can pay off in poker’s high-stakes arena.
