$

Awarded to date

Riverside Casino

March 26 - 28, 2021
Main Event: 862 Entrants
Winner: Daniel Sepiol
recap_icon

EVENT RECAP

The Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) has come roaring back, and there's been no surer sign of the health of the tour than the state-record turnout of 862 entries that showed up for MSPT Riverside $1,100 Main Event in the tour's first-ever visit there.

Conquering that field after three long days of play was Indiana's Daniel Sepiol. The 27-year-old pro earned a career-best $162,750 that outdistanced his previous personal best of $52K by quite a bit. Playing for big money didn't rattle him at all though, as he said he was comfortable pretty much the whole time.

"I've played a lot of these tournaments and made some deep runs but never really made runs at the final table," he said. "So, it feels good."

Indeed, Sepiol had accrued four cashes on tour, but a ninth-place finish back in January 2019 had been his top placing. Here, he never put himself in danger of fizzling out as he held the chip lead nearly the entire time at the final table.

Sepiol had to deal with several accomplished players as the field wound down, sitting with the likes of Phil Mader and Byron Ziebell. However, they'd fall short of the final table while Sepiol chipped up and carried the lead into the final nine.

Once there, he continued to have things break his way as he won a key early flip against Lester Crew by hitting an ace on the river with Big Slick against pocket eights. As Crew had come in with the third-place stack, Sepiol took control of a third of the chips with eight players remaining.

Jovan Sudar briefly challenged for the lead when he busted Nick Pupillo, who was appearing at his seventh final table on the tour. Sudar couldn't sustain his surge, though, and he handed out doubles to both Kyna England and Jason Crews before bowing out in fourth.

Sepiol, on the other hand, continued to have the key spots go his way. England made a big call blind versus blind with king-nine and was ahead of Sepiol's queen-ten but he found a queen on the flop to bust her and get heads up.

"I ran really, really well all day," he admitted.

His streak of all-in luck finally ended heads up as Crews doubled through him once and then pulled out a runner-runner chop after Sepiol got him all in with two pair against Crews' top pair. That one left Sepiol cursing in frustration, but he won enough of the other pots that it just didn't matter and he busted Crews not long after.

The big score will aid Sepiol as he continues to transition more of his play from online to live. He said he's been playing for a living for about three years, and while he was comfortable playing online during the shutdown, he was eager to get back to cards and felt he could feel and opponents he could see.

"Definitely," he said when asked if he returned to live play as soon as it was available. "I had the itch."

There will be plenty more ahead as he plans to tackle a busy schedule coming up. He's going to start by heading back to Vegas, where he's been grinding since last year. Then, Sepiol and the MSPT will meet up in California for another new event at Sycuan Casino Resort in San Diego. Both will try to keep the momentum going after a hugely successful trip to Iowa.

Click here for more information on the MSPT's next stop, which will be its first-ever in California.

result

The RESULTS

Rank
Player Name
City
State
Amount
Points
1
IN 
$162,781
1,800
2
Clive 
IA 
$100,157
1,600
3
IL 
$73,782
1,500
4
Omaha 
NE 
$55,086
1,400
5
IL 
$41,732
1,300
6
NV 
$31,716
1,200
7
IA 
$24,205
1,100
8
IL 
$19,197
1,000
9
Colana 
IL 
$15,024
900
10
MI 
$11,685
800
11
Novi 
MI 
$11,685
800
12
NE 
$11,685
800
13
Omaha 
NE 
$10,016
700
14
WI 
$10,016
700
15
IA 
$10,016
700
16
Baylis 
IL 
$8,346
600
17
IL 
$8,346
600
18
IA 
$8,346
600
19
IA 
$7,011
500
20
MI 
$7,011
500
21
IN 
$7,011
500
23
OH 
$5,926
400
24
Milan 
IL 
$5,926
400
25
SD 
$4,841
350
26
Warsaw 
IL 
$4,841
350
27
WI 
$4,841
350
28
IL 
$3,672
300
29
IN 
$3,672
300
30
MN 
$3,672
300
31
IA 
$3,672
300
32
MI 
$3,672
300
33
IA 
$3,672
300
34
VA 
$3,672
300
35
IL 
$3,672
300
36
ND 
$3,672
300
37
Dugger 
IN 
$3,005
250
38
IL 
$3,005
250
39
Silvis 
IL 
$3,005
250
40
MO 
$3,005
250
41
MI 
$3,005
250
42
IA 
$3,005
250
43
IA 
$3,005
250
44
Clive 
IA 
$3,005
250
45
SD 
$3,005
250
46
Hudson 
WI 
$2,671
200
47
Roheds 
IA 
$2,671
200
48
SD 
$2,671
200
49
Plano 
TX 
$2,671
200
50
MO 
$2,671
200
51
IN 
$2,671
200
52
MN 
$2,671
200
53
IL 
$2,671
200
54
IA 
$2,671
200
55
KY 
$2,504
150
56
IA 
$2,504
150
57
IL 
$2,504
150
58
IA 
$2,504
150
59
IL 
$2,504
150
60
IA 
$2,504
150
61
IA 
$2,504
150
62
OH 
$2,504
150
63
IA 
$2,504
150
64
Topeka 
KS 
$2,337
100
65
Eagle 
MI 
$2,337
100
66
IL 
$2,337
100
67
IA 
$2,337
100
68
IA 
$2,337
100
69
Blaine 
MN 
$2,337
100
70
MN 
$2,337
100
71
Boone 
IA 
$2,337
100
72
IL 
$2,337
100
73
IA 
$2,254
75
74
IL 
$2,254
75
75
IL 
$2,254
75
76
IL 
$2,254
75
77
Estero 
FL 
$2,254
75
78
IA 
$2,254
75
79
IL 
$2,254
75
80
MO 
$2,254
75
81
IA 
$2,254
75
82
IA 
$2,170
50
83
IL 
$2,170
50
84
SD 
$2,170
50
85
IA 
$2,170
50
86
 
 
$2,170
50
87
IL 
$2,170
50
89
Alton 
IL 
$2,170
50
90
MO 
$2,170
50