Season 17 of the MSPT is back in action this weekend as we've traveled east to Lake Erie to host another $1,110 buy-in, $500K GTD Main Event at the ever-popular JACK Cleveland Casino!

This marks the second trip we have made to JACK Cleveland this season, following the first stop, where MSPT Hall of Famer Umut Ozturk navigated his way through the tough 801-player field, claiming the 2026 Ohio Poker State Championship for his second career title.

MSPT Season 17 JACK Cleveland Ohio Poker State Championship Final Table Results

Starting Flight Outlook

Action on the felt for Day 1a of the MSPT Jack Cleveland $1,110 buy-in, $500K GTD Main Event will begin at 3:15 p.m. local time today.

The standard MSPT structure is in play, with 30,000 starting stacks and blinds beginning at 100/200/200.

Levels will increase every 40 minutes throughout each starting flight, and players receive a 15-minute break after completing every three levels (every two hours of play).

Late registration is open until the start of Level 13, approximately 12:15 a.m. local time.

All Day 1 flights will play until 11% of the field (rounded up) remains, meaning all players who advance to Day 2 will be in the money.

This is a best-stack forward event: If a player qualifies for Day 2 more than once, they may only play the higher chip stack; any lower stack(s) will be removed from play at the start of Day 2 and receive the lowest Day 2 payout.

Player of the Year points will only be awarded for the higher stack. Players will only receive credit for a single MSPT Main Event cash finish

Those unable to find a bag at the end of today will have opportunities to re-enter on Days 1b and 1c on Friday, August 21^st, and Saturday, August 22^nd, with both starting at 12:15 p.m.

All surviving players from the starting flights will reconvene on Sunday, August 23^rd, at 11:15 a.m. and will play until a winner is determined.

A new addition to this season is that each Main Event winner will be awarded a $3,500 seat into the ROCK ‘N’ ROLL POKER OPEN MSPT Championship at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, FL, while the top 64 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!

Race for Player of the Year

The midway point of Season 17 has passed, and the race for Player of the Year is a nail-biter. Sitting atop the tight leaderboard is WSOP bracelet winner Mike Wilklow, who had two back-to-back final table appearances to start the season and added his fifth and sixth cashes on the season earlier this month at the Venetian to climb atop the leaderboard with 5,669 points.

Sitting in a close second is none other than MSPT Hall of Famer Josh Reichard, who catapulted himself into the top three after he claimed the 2026 Iowa Poker State Championship for his third career title last week at Riverside.

Two-time MSPT Champ Mike Estes is the only other player with over 5,000 POY points so far, with the bulk of his points coming after claiming his second State Championship earlier this year in Missouri.

MSPT Season 17 JACK Cleveland Remaining Schedule

The MSPT live reporting crew will be providing live updates throughout the entire tournament, so make sure to tune in!