$

Awarded to date

The Venetian

February 4 - 7, 2026

 
  • Level: 17
  • Blinds: 4000 / 8000
  • Ante: 8000
 
 
MSPT Champ Zilong Zhang Puts on a Clinic to Lead 15 Survivors After Day 1A of the MSPT Season 17 Venetian Poker Bowl X
Created 2/5/2026 12:07:37 AM CST by Anthony Thompson

Day 1a of the MSPT Season 17 $1,600 Poker Bowl X at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, is officially in the books with 132 total entries tallied, and the talented field that entered came to play as action at the tables proved to be eventful from start to finish.

A long day of action was needed to reach 11% of the field as the hard stop of 15 players was reached with 6:30 remaining in Level 17 (4,000/8,000/8,000), with MSPT Champ Zilong Zhang holding on to the top spot with an impressive 834,000.

Zhong put on a clinic throughout the first starting flight, as he sat atop with chip counts all day long, securing a major gap between him and Matthew McEwan, who bagged second in chips with 688,000.

Bagging closely behind McEwen were two-time WSOP bracelet winner John Riordan (675,000) and Jessica Vierling (522,000), while Andrew Rose (371,000) secured the final eliminations of the night to round out the top five stacks of the night.

Eric Smidinger

Others who found a Day 2 berth included Jeremy Becker (329,000), Eric Smidinger (302,000), Scott Downey (273,000), Ben Palmer (205,000), and Tristan Wade (168,000).

Of course, not everyone was fortunate enough to make it through the night.

WSOP Bracelet Winner Mitchell Halverson

Among those to fire and fall in Wednesday’s starting flight included WSOP bracelet winner Mitchell Halverson, Qing Liu, bracelet winner Nick Seward, Jamie Kerstetter, along with fellow bracelet winner Darren Rabinowitz, and MSPT Season 15 Poker Bowl Champ Terry Fleischer were just a few who took their shot at a bag on Day 1a, only to come up short.

MSPT Season 15 Poker Bowl Champ Terry Fleischer

All who have yet to advance will have two more starting flights to jump back in the action.

Day 1b will get underway at 11:10 a.m. on Thursday, February 5th, and Friday, February 6th.

Late registration and re-entries will remain open through Level 9 (approximately 5:55 p.m.) for both flights.

All surviving players from the three starting flights will reconvene on Saturday, February 7th, at 11:00 a.m. and play until a winner is determined.

Join us tomorrow as we continue to bring you all the action and eliminations straight from the tournament floor!

MSPT Venetian Season 17 Poker Bowl Remaining Schedule
Date Time Tournament Chips Blind Levels Gold Card Event
5-Feb 11:10 AM $1,600 Poker Bowl X 1B (2-Day Trophy Event) 40,000 40 Minutes *
5-Feb 4:10 PM $200 NLH Milestone Satellite into $1,600 20,000 20 Minutes
6-Feb 10:10 AM $200 NLH Turbo Milestone Satellite into $1,600 20,000 15 Minutes
6-Feb 11:10 AM $1,600 Poker Bowl X 1C (2-Day Trophy Event) 40,000 40 Minutes *
7-Feb 11:00 AM $1,600 Main Event Day 2 (2-Day Trophy Event) - 40 Minutes *

Stay tuned here on MSPTPoker.com and follow along with all updates as we crown the new Poker Bowl X Champion at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas!

  • Level: 17
  • Blinds: 4000 / 8000
  • Ante: 8000
 
 
End Day 1A Chip Counts
Created 2/5/2026 12:01:35 AM CST by Anthony Thompson

Player Name Chip Count Previous Progress
Zilong Zhang 834,000 801,000
Matthew McEwan 688,000 553,000
John Riordan 675,000 421,000
Jessica Vierling 522,000 461,000
Andrew Rose 371,000 320,000
Jeremy Becker 329,000 267,000
Eric Smidinger 302,000 360,000
Scott Downey 273,000 360,000
Michael Wilson (TX) 232,000 191,000
Ken Bidinger 223,000 117,000
Ben Palmer 205,000 200,000
Zachary McDiarmid 184,000 202,000
Tristan Wade 168,000 194,000
Thomas Black 137,000 172,000
Sergey Brit 135,000 234,000
  • Level: 17
  • Blinds: 4000 / 8000
  • Ante: 8000
 
 
Andrew Rose Drops Wang and Palma with Aces to Burst the Bubble
Created 2/4/2026 11:54:09 PM CST by Anthony Thompson

Photo: Nick Palma

There was three-way action between three-time bracelet winner Michael Wang from middle position, Nick Palma from the hijack, and Andrew Rose from the big blind, with Rose putting both players at risk.

Michael Wang:
Nick Palma:
Andrew Rose:

Rose found aces at the perfect time, as the runout secured him the double elimination to end play for the evening.

Andrew Rose - 371,000
Nick Palma - 0
Michael Wang - 0

  • Level: 17
  • Blinds: 4000 / 8000
  • Ante: 8000
 
 
MSPT World Rankings!
Created 2/4/2026 11:38:23 PM CST by Anthony Thompson

ARE YOU IN THE MSPT 6️⃣4️⃣ FOR $20K❓DON’T WAIT❗️

The TOP World-Ranked MSPT Players as of December 2, 2026, will compete in a HEADS UP FREEROLL tournament at the 2026 MSPT Winter Poker Classic at Running Aces Poker Tournaments for $20,000❗️

Players will be seeded by rank❗️Only Top 6️⃣4️⃣ get in❗️

Full List: https://msptpoker.com/statistics/WorldRanking.aspx

  • Level: 17
  • Blinds: 4000 / 8000
  • Ante: 8000
 
 
James Set Up by John Riordan
Created 2/4/2026 11:27:56 PM CST by Anthony Thompson

Photo: Kenna James

Kenna James was all-in on a board from the button and was called by two-time bracelet winner John Riordan from the hijack.

Kenna James:
John Riordan:

It was bad news for James, as he was already drawing dead to Riordan’s set of deuces, and the river ended his night.

John Riordan - 421,000
Kenna James - 0

  • Level: 16
  • Blinds: 3000 / 6000
  • Ante: 6000
 
 
Anderson Felted
Created 2/4/2026 11:10:08 PM CST by Anthony Thompson

Photo: John Riordan

WSOP bracelet winner Francis Anderson toseed out his last 51,000 from the button, and he was met with a call from two-time bracelet winner John Riordan from the small blind.

Francis Anderson:
John Riordan:

Anderson was behind and in need of some help, but none came on the runout, ending his night.

John Riordan - 205,000
Francis Anderson - 0

  • Level: 16
  • Blinds: 3000 / 6000
  • Ante: 6000
 
 
Check Out Episode 12 of the MSPT Podcast!
Created 2/4/2026 10:57:48 PM CST by Anthony Thompson

📺 WSOP bracelet winner Chad Holloway & MSPT Season 12 Player of the Year Kyna England discuss Kyna's trip to Black Hawk, playing with Faraz Jaka, the Player of the Year race, and so much more!

Watch here ⬇️

  • Level: 16
  • Blinds: 3000 / 6000
  • Ante: 6000
 
 
Full Chip Counts
Created 2/4/2026 10:41:14 PM CST by Anthony Thompson

Player Name Chip Count Previous Progress
Zilong Zhang 566,000 499,000
Matthew McEwan 553,000 325,000
Jessica Vierling 461,000 165,000
Eric Smidinger 360,000 148,000
Scott Downey 360,000 287,000
Jeremy Becker 267,000 280,000
Nicholas Palma 245,000 89,000
Sergey Brit 234,000 160,000
John Riordan 221,000 295,000
Zachary McDiarmid 219,000 230,000
Ben Palmer 204,000 101,000
Tristan Wade 194,000 147,000
Michael Wang 192,000 291,000
Michael Wilson (TX) 191,000 265,000
Thomas Black 172,000 280,000
Reza Sheykhi 155,000 225,000
Kenna James 150,000 157,000
Esther Riordan 147,000 250,000
Paul Martin 118,000 122,000
Ken Bidinger 117,000 263,000
Andrew Rose 115,000 122,000
Ryan Stiner 70,000 115,000
Francis Anderson 51,000 62,000
Frank Lagodich 0 85,000
Anthony Marquez 0 126,000
Joseph Curcio 0 140,000
John Morgan 0 70,000
Matthew Schulte 0 87,000
  • Level: 15
  • Blinds: 3000 / 5000
  • Ante: 5000
 
 
MSPT Champ Schulte's Late Run Comes to an End
Created 2/4/2026 10:25:35 PM CST by Anthony Thompson

Photo: Matthew Schulte

MSPT Champ Matthew Schulte was all-in preflop from the small blind and was called by Nick Palma from the big blind.

Matthew Schulte:
Nick Palma:

Schulte rolled over the better hand, but Palma connected on the flop to take the lead.

The dealer then turned the to keep things spicy, but the completed the board on the river to end Schulte’s Day 1a.

Nick Palma - 185,000
Matthew Schulte - 0

  • Level: 15
  • Blinds: 3000 / 5000
  • Ante: 5000
 
 
Join Us for the MSPT Festival at Riverside Casino March 17th - 22nd
Created 2/4/2026 10:13:19 PM CST by Anthony Thompson

♠️♦️MSPT FESTIVAL ♣️♥️

🚨🚨🚨$3,500 MSPT Championship Seat ADDED to Main Event 1st Place

📍: Riverside Casino & Golf Resort - Riverside, IA
🗓️: March 17-22, 2026
💰: $500K GTD Main Event
🃏: 6 Gold Card Events
🏨: https://msptpoker.com/.../book-today-for-mspt-festival-at...

Event Schedule: https://msptpoker.com/showpdf.aspx?eventID=509msptpoker.com

 
 
Legend:  #  - Main Event   #  - Player of the Year  H  - Hall of Fame  G  - Gold Card   M  - MAJOR Wins
 
Player Name
Chips
Progress
 
City
State
Country
Zilong Zhang
11x Main Event Champion
11x Gold Card Winner
834,000  
33,000 
 
NV 
688,000  
135,000 
 
CA 
675,000  
254,000 
 
NV 
522,000  
61,000 
 
WA 
371,000  
153,000 
 
NV 
329,000  
62,000 
 
Tampa 
FL 
302,000  
58,000 
 
CO 
273,000  
87,000 
 
CA 
232,000  
41,000 
 
Ponder 
TX 
223,000  
106,000 
 
 
 
205,000  
3,000 
 
NV 
184,000  
35,000 
 
Chico 
CA 
168,000  
26,000 
 
FL 
137,000  
35,000 
 
NV 
135,000  
99,000 
 
CA 
0  
Busted 
 
NJ 
0  
Busted 
 
Bronx 
NY 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
AZ 
0  
Busted 
 
NV 
0  
Busted 
 
Denver 
CO 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
Spain 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
PA 
0  
Busted 
 
CA 
0  
Busted 
 
NV 
0  
Busted 
 
NM 
0  
Busted 
 
AZ 
0  
Busted 
 
MI 
0  
Busted 
 
CA 
Matthew Schulte
11x Main Event Champion
0  
Busted 
 
 
Canada 
0  
Busted 
 
NV 
Daniel Sepiol
11x Main Event Champion
0  
Busted 
 
IN 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
Canton 
OH 
0  
Busted 
 
NV 
0  
Busted 
 
AK 
0  
Busted 
 
CA 
Brad Gafford
11x Main Event Champion
0  
Busted 
 
CA 
0  
Busted 
 
CA 
Michael Berk
11x Main Event Champion
0  
Busted 
 
IN 
0  
Busted 
 
NV 
0  
Busted 
 
CA 
0  
Busted 
 
NV 
0  
Busted 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
NV 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
Terry Fleischer
11x Main Event Champion
0  
Busted 
 
NV 
0  
Busted 
 
NV 
0  
Busted 
 
NV 
0  
Busted 
 
CA 
0  
Busted 
 
MN 
0  
Busted 
 
NV 
David Berger
11x Main Event Champion
0  
Busted 
 
Denver 
CO 
0  
Busted 
 
MT 
0  
Busted 
 
NV 
0  
Busted 
 
FL 
0  
Busted 
 
WY 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
NV 
0  
Busted 
 
RI 
0  
Busted 
 
 
 
0  
Busted 
 
AZ 
0  
Busted 
 
Spain 
 
Spain 
0  
Busted 
 
OR 
0  
Busted 
 
AK 
Antonio Vargas
11x Main Event Champion
22x Gold Card Winner
0  
Busted 
 
CO 
Anthony Scarborough
11x Main Event Champion
0  
Busted 
 
SD 
0  
Busted 
 
NV 
Rank
Player Name
City
State
Country
Amount
Points
LEVEL & TOURNAMENT INFO
Level
17
Blinds
4,000 / 8,000
Ante
8,000
Entries
132
Players Remaining
15
Average Chip Stack
352,000
Total Chips
5,280,000
LEVEL INFO
Level
17
Blinds
4,000 / 8,000
Ante
8,000
TOURNAMENT INFO
Entries
132
Players Remaining
15
Average Chip Stack
352,000
Total Chips
5,280,000
TOP 10 CHIP COUNT
RANK
PLAYER
CHIPS
834,000
688,000
675,000
522,000
371,000
329,000
302,000
273,000
232,000
10 
223,000
SEASON TOP 10 POY POINTS
RANK
PLAYER
POINTS
3,600
2,850
2,400
2,250
1,950
1,863
10 
1,800