JACK Cleveland Casino

The Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) returned to JACK Cleveland Casino for the first time this season and it was one for the record books.

The $1,110 buy-in, $500K GTD Main Event was one to remember as a total of 1,156 entries (237 from Day 1a; 380 from 1b; 539 from 1c) were tallied, which blasted passed the venue’s previous best field of 1,041 last year and the $1,119,820 prize pool was the largest in an Ohio casino.

After 14 hours of play, it was Illinois native Matthew Eng who navigated his way through to the finish line was for a $168,903 first place prize along with his first MSPT title!

“You know, I really hate driving, but something was telling me to come out here, so I buckled down and made what was a five-hour drive from Chicago and now I'm really happy I did”, Eng stated after his win.

“It feels really good”, Eng continued to say after his victory, “I’ve put a lot of time into this game, and it feels great to walk away with the win.”

The six-figure score was definitely a milestone for the 10-year poker vet as it surpassed his career live earnings, according to The Hendon Mob, and added his first major win to his resume.

“I would just like to thank my fiancé for always being cool and supportive when I play, I did it and I’ll be bringing home the trophy”, Eng added in his closing comments.

MSPT Season 15 JACK Cleveland Final Table Results

Day 2 Action

The final day saw 146 players returned to the felt and the field was stacked with 14 previous champs along with three Hall of Famer’s. With only 117 slated to get paid, a few handfuls of players needed to exit before players reached the money.

Among those to leave empty-handed were Greg Harris, Ronnie Lamb, Mike Suggs, MSPT champ Chris Meyers and MSPT Hall of Famer Rich Alsup, to name a few.

Only one level needed to pass before the Ben Lapointe’s Big Slick was flushed out on the river by James Yantz’s ace-six of clubs to burst the money bubble.

After Lapointe was washed down the stream, the march to the final table started and players began dropping like flies.

With payouts being yelled across the room, MSPT Hall of Famer Rob WazWaz started taking advantage of all the chips being thrown in the middle and was able to become the first player to eclipse the milly mark.

Unfortunately for the Hall of Famer, his hot streak would soon vanish after his flopped two-pair was counterfeited on the turn by Kevin Kerchenski and he fell to the bottom of the counts.

After falling to the bottom of the counts, WazWaz was unable to gain any momentum and was eliminated in 50th place ($3,559) shortly after.

With Alsup and WazWaz gone from the field, Umut Ozturk was the lone Hall of Famer left, but unfortunately for the Season 14 Player of the Year, his stack started to dwindle until his eventual 35th ($4,815) place exit.

After Ozturk’s departure, only seven former champs remained in the field and each would fall along the way with Satish Thakur (32nd Place - $4,815) being first to exit, followed by Bobby Noel (31st Place - $4,815) Abdul Amer (27th Place - $6,382), Alex Cruz (24th Place - $7,614), Ken Baime (17th Place - $10,974), and Chris Moon (12th Place - $15,677).

Final Table Action

Once players took their seats at the final table, a full level passed before the two big stacks got into some heated battles which ultimately saw Kerchenski depart in ninth place becoming the first final table elimination.

Shortly after getting a pay jump, the short stacks started tossing their chips into the middle with Adam Foster picking up a made hand of fives to move all-in with only to run into Ricky Ali’s superior pair of ladies, ending his tournament in eighth place.

Next up was Neal Aulick, who had a couple all-in’s push through until he ran his king-jack into MSPT champ Curtis Vierstraete’s dominating ace-king.

After climbing to second in the chip counts, Ali found himself next on the chopping block after losing back-to-back hands against Nazim Temiz, ending his run in sixth place for $40,313.

After Ali’s exit, Ryan Zickefoose pushed his short stack around until he was finally called by soon to be champ Eng from the big blind.

Zickefoose was behind and he couldn’t complete his flopped Broadway draw, ending his night in fifth place for $52,613.

With four player remining, chips were pretty evenly dispersed until Kyle Gross’s full house of eights and jacks fell short to Eng’s jacks full of nines.

Gross was able to secure one double before his ace-queen off suit was out-flopped by Temiz’s ace-eight, and he took a fourth place finish for $70,660.

After the few Gross hands, three handed action saw Temiz secure a double-up through Eng and he started catching some steam to accumulate the chip lead.

From there, Temiz continued to catch hands and looked down at the best one when Vierstraete got his short stack in the middle holding a made hand of sevens.

Unfortunately for Vierstraete, his pair of sevens weren’t lucky enough to crack Temiz’s pocket aces, and he took a third place finish for $127,000.

Once the former champ made his exit from the tournament field, the heads-up battle started Temiz holding a sizable 7:1 chip advantage against Eng, but he was able to catch a few double-ups to even the playing field.

Eng continued with his aggressive play collecting majority of the pots during the heads-up match until the final hand where he made an incredible call to take home the title along lion’s share for the record-breaking prize pool.

This wraps up our coverage of, yet another record-breaking tournament so make sure you join us when we make our way back to the Venetian, Las Vegas for back-to-back events for the Poker Bowl February 6th - 10th!

After a limped-pot, the dealer dropped a flop and Nazim Temiz check-called a 800,000 bet from Matthew Eng.

The turn brought the and Nazim wasted little time getting his 8,800,000 stack in the middle and Eng decided to gamble after counting out his chips.

Nazim Temiz:
Matthew Eng:

Eng made the correct call and the river secured him his first MSPT title while Temiz finished runner-up for 127,000.

Matthew Eng - 34,680,000
Nazim Temiz - Eliminated

For the first time this season, the MSPT is headed to Riverside Casino in Riverside, IA from March 14th - 17th!

A series of $70 and $265 satellites will feed into the $1,110 buy-in MSPT250 Main Event, which requires players be 21+ to play.

The tournament, which boasts a $300K GTD, will offer three starting flights with Day 1a beginning at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 14th.

Day 1b will take place at the same time on Friday, March 15th, with Day 1c following suit on Saturday, March 16th.

The surviving players from all starting flights will return at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 17th, to play down to a winner.

Also, on that Sunday, there will be a $360 NLH Last Chance Showdown Event beginning at Noon.

Curtis Vierstraete raised all in and was called by Nazim Temiz.

Curtis Vierstraete:
Nazim Temiz:

Vierstraete didn’t like seeing Nazim roll over the best made hand and the runout sent him home in third place for $127,000.

Nazim Temiz - 30,180,000
Matthew Eng - 4,500,000
Curtis Vierstraete - Eliminated

Matthew Eng raised all in for 4,900,000 from the small blind and MSPT champ Curtis Vierstraete looked him up from the big.

Matthew Eng:
Curtis Vierstraete:

Eng was behind holding two live cards with nothing changing after the flop hit the felt.

The turn made things interesting as it gave both players straight draws, but the river was the savior for Eng as it secured him another double-up.

Nazim Temiz - 21,000,000
Matthew Eng - 10,000,000
Curtis Vierstraete - 3,500,000

Matthew Eng open-jammed 2,550,000 and Nazim Temiz called from the big blind.

Matthew Eng:
Nazim Temiz:

Eng didn’t like seeing he was dominated but the flop did give him some hope with a gutshot straight draw.

Luckily for Eng, the dealer turned the completing his straight and the river secured his double-up.

Nazim Temiz - 21,000,000
Matthew Eng - 4,900,000

After losing majority of his stack in a full house over full house and securing a double, Kyle Gross got his 1,700,000 stack in the middle from the big blind after Nazim Temiz raised the cutoff and was called.

Kyle Gross:
Nazim Temiz:

Gross had Temiz dominated until the flop hit the felt pairing Temiz’s eight.

The turn left Gross needing a lucky lady on the river to stay alive, but the completed the board and eliminated him in fourth place for $70,660.

Nazim Temiz - 9,000,000
Kyle Gross - Eliminated

Matthew Eng was all in preflop for 2,500,000 from the button and Kyle Gross called from the big blind.

Matthew Eng:
Kyle Gross:

Eng was at risk needing help and found it when the flop fell giving him top two pair.

The turn was an even better sight for Eng as it improved him to a full house and the river secured his double-up.

Matthew Eng - 7,925,000
Kyle Gross - 6,425,000

For the first time this season, the MSPT is headed to Hollywood Casino in St. Louis, MO, to host the Missouri State Poker Championship Series February 15th - 25th!

A total of 18 trophy events will take place which includes a $360 NLH Regional event that boasts a $100K guarantee during the opening weekend (February 15th - 18th).

The Regional event will host three starting flights, and the following trophy events will feed into the headlined $1,110 Main Event running from Thursday, February 22nd, through Sunday, February 25th, which features a $300K Guarantee for its three starting flights.

In its inaugural event held at the start of last season, Minnesota native Umut Ozturk claimed the top spot out of an 865-entry field to earn his first MSPT title along with a six-figure score while Jeff Sauer secured the defending champ title after he outlasted 734 runners en route to a $142,396 payday.

Who will be next to add their names to the list of aforementioned champions?

The MSPT live reporting crew will be on hand to provide live updates as the answer to that question is determined.

Action folded to Ryan Zickefoose who raised all in for 1,275,000 from the button and Matthew Eng looked him up from the big blind.

Ryan Zickefoose:
Matthew Eng:

Zickefoose was at risk and behind with a king appearing in the window on the flop which gave both players Broadway draws.

Unfortunately for Zickefoose, neither the turn nor the river were the cards he wanted to see, and he made his exit in fifth place for $52,613.

Matthew Eng - 7,500,000
Ryan Zickefoose - Eliminated