Jake Wilding
For the first time this season, the MSPT (Mid-States Poker Tour) traveled to Riverside Casino to host its $1,110 Main Event, and the turnouts did not disappoint.
A total of 672 entries were tallied (74 from Day 1a; 240 from 1b; 358 from 1c) were tallied through three starting flights and generated a $650,340 prize pool.
On Sunday, 81 players returned for Day 2 action, and after roughly 12 hours of action it was former poker dealer Jake Wilding who walked away on top to win the $133,320 first-place prize and his first MSPT title.
“I’m in shock”, Wilding said after the win, “I never had a deep run like this before, so it’s crazy that the first one is a winner”.
Wilding, a former dealer who hasn’t pitched some cards for roughly five years, had plans to deal this tournament but decided to play it instead.
“I was going back-and-forth between the two but knew I would be missing out if I didn’t play and am obviously happy with the decision I made”.
It was a grind for the new champ as the victory didn’t come easy with two MSPT Hall of Famer’s at the final table but luck did play a role on the outcome.
“I never lost a race in during tournament”, Wilding continued to add, “I never lost when I was ahead, and I won a few times when I was behind so I couldn’t have asked for much more”.
MSPT Season 15 MSPT Riverside Final Table Results
| Place |
Player |
Prize |
POY |
| 1st |
Jake Wilding |
$133,320 |
1,700 |
| 2nd |
George Dietz |
$81,308 |
1,500 |
| 3rd |
Rich Alsup |
$60,482 |
1,400 |
| 4th |
Loren Rice |
$44,873 |
1,300 |
| 5th |
Josh Reichard |
$33,818 |
1,200 |
| 6th |
Mark Fink |
$25,363 |
1,100 |
| 7th |
Steve Dill |
$19,510 |
1,000 |
| 8th |
Ian Nelson |
$15,608 |
900 |
| 9th |
Kevin Berthelsen |
$11,706 |
800 |
Day 2 Action
With 72 slated to get paid, a few handfuls of bodies needed to drop before players reached the money.
The final day started off with a bang after Keerat Bawa flushing out Scott Vetter for the first elimination of the day while DJ Buckley, WSOP bracelet winner John Reading, and MSPT champ Ken Komberec were amongst the others to leave empty handed.
After Komberec was hooked by fellow MSPT champ Joe Matheson, the hand-for-hand process begun, and only a few hands passed before 2022 Iowa State Poker champ Craig Trost was eliminated on the bubble, starting the march to the final table.
With the remaining players left in the money, the fast-paced action hit a new gear with players dropping like flies while other making moves to gain chips.
Eliminations continued like wildfire, those to fall along the way, albeit with a payday were Sarah Stefan (33rd Place - $2,861), Loki Abboud (20th Place - $5,593), two-time MSPT champ Ken Baime (16th Place - $6,503), MSPT champ Mo Nuwwarah (13th Place - $7,804), and Andros Ioakimides (10th Place - $9,755).
Final Table Action
Once the player took their seats, action picked right up with Kevin Berthelsen being set-up by George Dietz to become the first final table elimination.
A few hands later, Dietz would notch another KO under his belt after he won a race against short stack Ian Nelson and Steve Dill followed him to the payout desk after he succumbed to the same fate against MSPT Hall of Famer Josh Reichard.
After Dill’s elimination, action slowed down for a few levels before Mark Fink lost a race with pocket fours against Jake Wilding’s Big Slick, eliminating him in sixth place.
With chips continuing to shuffle, Reichard then found himself at the bottom of the counts and got his short stack in the middle from the big blind with king-jack off against Wilding holding an ace.
Reichard found himself needing to find a pair but was left drawing dead after Wilding turned his ace and ended his Main Event run in fifth place finish for $33,818.
Four-handed action saw fellow MSPT Hall of Famer Rich Alsup finally wake-up with a hand at the final table as he was able to find a double with pocket against Loren Rice who was dispatched in fourth place for $44,873 shortly after.
The chips were pretty evenly dispersed between the three remaining players until Alsup got his chips in the middle holding a suited Big Slick, only to have Wilding roll over a pair of kings. Alsup was unable to pull ahead and made his departure in third place for $60,482.
The heads-up match saw Wilding holding majority of the chips in play, and he only needed one hand before he out-kicked Dietz in second place ($81,308) enroute to becoming the newest MSPT Riverside Main Event Champion