The MSPT returned to JACK Cleveland Casino for the second time this season, hosting a four-event series which was headlined the $1,110 buy-in, $500K GTD Main Event.
A total of 602 entries (165 from Day 1a; 198 from 1b; 238 from 1c) were tallied and on Sunday, 69 players returned to Day 2 action to take their stab at the $582,440 prize pool.
Of those 69 players, five were past champs on their quest for their second Main Event title and after 13 hours of play, Bobby Noel did just that as navigated his way through a tough field to claim the $122,345 first place prize along with his second MSPT title!
“It feels really nice,” Noel said after his victory, “The heads-up battle was really tough, he was a tough opponent, but I had a good run of cards, and I thought I played pretty good throughout the day.”
Noel came into the final day with a below average chip stack while his heads-up opponent Kyle Gross, started with the least amount of chips having just four big blinds to start the day.
Both players were able to maneuver their way through to the final table which saw Noel holding the sizeable chip lead, while Gross sat mid-pack.
Noel knew his hunt for his second title he had to go through Gross, who was also looking to improve off his fourth place finish he took here earlier in the year, but the two didn’t really get into a battle until five-handed action which ended with Noel whishing he may have played the hand a little differently.
“Earlier I had the nut blocker when he had the flush and I kind of regret doubling him up,” Noel continued, “But everything seemed to work out well afterwards.”
Ater the double-up, Noel kept his composure and was able to clap back at Gross to reclaim the chip lead, which eventually lead to his securing his second, one that is very meaningful to him.
“The money is nice but the title to me was honestly more important,” Noel said in his closing statement.
With the victory, Noel now has 11 MSPT Main Event cashes totaling an impressive $486,482.
Day 2 Action
With 63 slated to get paid, just six players needed to exit before players reached the money.
WSOP bracelet winner Katie Kopp came into the final day looking to catch some steam sitting at the bottom of the chip counts but ended up being the first elimination of the day.
Others who followed Kopp out the door empty-handed included Kyle Parks, Patrick Coughlin, Mitch Gasiorowski, and Giovanni Ciarlariello. With players dropping like flies, Eric Ladny found himself all in holding Big Slick before play could reach the hand-for-hand process.
After the bubble burst, just five MSPT champs remained in the field which included two MSPT Hall of Famer’s but unfortunately for Umut Ozturk (61st Place – $2,213), Chris Moon (48th Place - $2,329), Jon Lewis (47th Place – $2,329), and Josh Reichard (46th Place - $2,329), they all had their day cut much shorter then hoped on claiming a second MSPT title.
After the former champs made their exits, the march to the final table continued, and others to fall along the way, albeit with a payday were WSOP bracelet winner Satoshi Tanaka (42nd Place - $2,504), Ian Richardson (24th Place - $4,251), Scott Hubert (17th Place - $5,824), WSOP bracelet winner Billy Kopp (13th Place - $6,989), and Frank Lagodich (10th Place - $8,736).
Final Table Action
Once the players returned from their dinner break, action picked right up after short stack Thomas Della Volpe got it in from the small blind holding king-five off suit only to have soon to bet two-time MSPT champ Noel roll over a dominating king-queen. Della Volpe was unable to pull ahead and became the first final table elimination.
Shortly after, Jake Turkall got his chips in good holding a made hand of kings only to have Gross flop a set of nines to send him to the rail in eighth place.
Next on the chopping block was Ken Rutledge who was unable to complete his flush draw as he departed in seventh place while Michael Pempin quickly followed Rutledge to payout desk in sixth place for $23,297.
After a full level of double-ups, Ken Wasik found himself on the wrong side of a cooler holding a made hand of kings only to run into Andy Manchen’s pocket aces as he took home $30,869 for his fifth place efforts.
With four players remaining, the chips in play were evenly disbursed between them until Dan Wolf was put into a tight spot by Manchen and called of his stack holding a top pair of kings.
With his tournament life hanging in the balance, Wolf saw he was behind after Manchen rolled over a turned two-pair, and he was unable to pull ahead as his ended his tournament in fourth place for $40,770.
Three-handed action saw Manchen hold just over half of the chips in play but ended up losing his momentum and ended up taking a third place finish for $54,749.
From there, the heads-up match saw a little back-and-forth tussle until Noel started chip away at Gross which eventually led to him shipping his second MSPT title and payday good for $122,345 while Gross finished runner-up for $75,135.
This wraps up our coverage of another eventful tournament, so make sure you join us when we make our way to FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek, Michigan for their $1,110 Main Event May 16th - 19th!