The $200 Tag Team Championship at the 2025 Free Poker Network (FPN) Desert Dash-for-Cash National Championship reached its conclusion with the father and son team of Brett and Austin Emerick of Indiana taking home $1,000 and the coveted Tag Team Belts.
The Greazy Pickle representatives also won entry into Sunday's Desert Dash-For-Cash Championship Main Event, where participants will spar for a piece of the $100,000 cash prize and $10,000 in Mystery Bounties.
Brett Emerick, who owns the Indiana bar and told PokerNewshe taught his son poker, started things off before letting Austin navigate the final table, culminating with flopping the nut flush against heads-up opponent David Batzler.
"He's never won an event like this so I (figured) I'd give him a chance," the elder Emerick said in a winner's interview.
The event was a family affair as the final table also included the mother-son duo of Lester Hauglid and Susan Hauglid.
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| Place | Player | Poker Club | Prize (In USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brett Emerick - Austin Emerick | Greazy Pickle | $1,000 |
| 2 | David Batzler - Michael Webb | Putters Vegas | $500 |
| 3 | Darin Murphy - Brad Bornburg | Cedar Inn | $300 |
| 4 | Lester Hauglid - Susan Hauglid | Billy Club/Sherwood Bar | $200 |
| 5 | Andrew Vossen - Clyde Johnson | Muddy Cow | $200 |
| 6 | Richard Hoag - Emily Niehaus | Mayfield | $200 |
| 7 | Magdiel Reyes - Daniel Kummrow | N/A | $200 |
| 8 | Ryan Herr - Brandon Timok | N/A | $200 |
| 9 | Luc Ciaranca - Deborah Kinney | N/A | $200 |
The FPN Tag Team Championship drew 149 teams or 298 total players. That's an increase from the 123 teams who played the May 2024 Tag Team edition that saw the duo of Noel Batres and Paul Hamann winning the $1,200 prize.
The duos in the FPN Tag Team event Saturday included fathers and sons, mothers and sons, couples and friends, and everything in between. Players swapped in and out regularly and anyone who wasn't at the table was close by drinking, chatting and sweating the action.
Action moved so quickly that the blinds were adjusted to 30 minutes. As the event reached the final two tables, one player revealed that he "took out some friends," including "the guy I'm rooming with."
There was a rapid-fire bubble as the teams of Hideki Takafuji and Ayaka Muraishi and Kenneth and Lori were eliminated in a dramatic double knockout.
Before the clocks could pause, the team of Luc Ciaranca and Deborah Kinney went out in ninth place as the Hauglid made a full house to head to the streamed final table in fashionable style.
The pairings of Ryan Herr - Brandon Timok, Magdiel Reyes - Daniel Kummrow and Richard Hoag - Emily Niehaus were the first to go at the final table followed by Andrew Vossen and Clyde Johnson representing the Muddy Cow.
Team Hauglid followed suit before Darin Murphy and Brad Bornburg bowed out to make way for a short heads-up battle that saw the Emericks coming out on top.
That wraps up PokerNewscoverage of the $200 Tag Team Championship. We'll be back on-site in the morning for the long-awaited Desert Dash-For-Cash Championship Main Event.
*Lead photo courtesy Free Poker Network