Kyle Smith, a family doctor from Bethesda, Maryland, put in a full shift at his medical practice on four hours of sleep — then went and won the Potomac Summer Poker Open $3,000 Main Event at MGM National Harbor for $136,054.
- Kyle Smith won the $3,000 Main Event at MGM National Harbor on August 17-18, 2026.
- He beat a 280-entry field for $136,054 after a heads-up deal with Phong Nguyen.
- Smith is a practising family doctor — he worked the morning of the final table on four hours' sleep.
- A hero call with pocket eights against chip leader Patrick Martorella was the turning point.
- His previous career-best was $51,000; his total live earnings were around $90,000 before this.
The Potomac Summer Poker Open wrapped up at MGM National Harbor with one of the more unusual champion stories of the summer. Smith, originally from Michigan and now running a family practice in Bethesda, did not take the day off before the biggest final table of his life. He worked it.
"I'm a recreational player. I got up and went to work this morning after sleeping four hours last night."
— Kyle Smith
The Call That Won the Tournament
Smith's day turned early at the final table, when chip leader Patrick Martorella moved all in and Smith looked down at pocket eights. Martorella had straight and flush draws — a coin flip with the tournament hanging on it.
"What was going through my mind is, if I call this off and I'm wrong, it's one of the biggest punts in tournament poker history."
— Kyle Smith on the pivotal hand
He called, he held, and the double-up changed the shape of the final table. "It gave me a lot more confidence and patience," Smith said. "I didn't feel like I needed to be in a rush." He kept repeating the same instruction to himself as the day wore on: "I told myself to just be patient and play my game. It's easy to feel like everything is slipping away."
A Deal — and a Split Trophy Cabinet
Heads-up against Phong Nguyen, the two players struck a deal worth $136,054 to Smith and $130,000 to Nguyen. They split the hardware too: Smith took the glass MGM National Harbor trophy, Nguyen the black BetMGM trophy.
Justin Liberto finished third for $83,320, while Martorella — the chip leader whose shove Smith called — took fourth for $60,640.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Smith | US | $136,054* |
| 2 | Phong Nguyen | US | $130,000* |
| 3 | Justin Liberto | US | $83,320 |
| 4 | Patrick Martorella | US | $60,640 |
| 5 | Jonathan Moritz | US | $48,544 |
| 6 | Chris Kiani | US | $37,204 |
| 7 | Nicholas Verderamo | US | $28,132 |
| 8 | Kevin Kwak | US | $20,118 |
| 9 | Casey Hatmaker | US | $14,902 |
*denotes heads-up deal
Back to the Practice on Monday
The $136,054 comfortably beats Smith's previous career-best, the $51,000 he banked for finishing runner-up in a Mystery Bounty event at the 2023 Potomac Poker Open. Before this week his total live earnings sat at roughly $90,000 — the Main Event title more than doubled that in an afternoon.
It is not going to turn him into a full-time grinder, though. "It might make a few differences financially," Smith said, before making it clear that the family practice in Bethesda is still the day job.
"It's so exciting. The money means more than the trophy, but it's fun saying you took down a field of 280 people."
— Kyle Smith, Potomac Summer Poker Open Main Event champion
