Sycuan Casino Resort

Derrick Yamada Wins First MSPT Title for $72,777

The $1,110 MSPT Main Event at Sycuan Resort and Casino saw a total of 393 players put their hats into the ring to win an MSPT trophy. Only 45 of those entrants were able to secure a minimum payout and after just over 10 hours a new champion has been crowned.

It was California’s Derrick Yamada who took down his first MSPT trophy worth $72,777. “I just love the game, I love the thought process that goes into the game,” the newly crowned MSPT champion said after his win. “I’ve gone through a few spurts of playing poker professionally, there have been times where I haven’t played it as much and times where I have played it more.”

With three tables left, Yamada was down to the shortest stack in the tournament with eight big blinds. “I was between eight and twenty big blinds for five hours,” he said referring to his time on the shorter stack “but all stacks have value to them and there is a correct way they need to be played.” When asked about his future in playing MSPT events he responded “when y’all will be here, I will always be here.”

Final Table Results

Day 2 Action

In a rare situation, players were coming back to Day 2 on the stone bubble. Only one hand happened before Austin Wilson was eliminated on the bubble when his short stack got in with pocket jacks against Bret Eberhart’s(45th-$2,008) pocket aces.

Others that fell throughout the day included Brad Sailor (38th-$2,008), Barbod Salimi (33rd-$2,278), ChipLeaderCoaching.com’s Justin Lynch (31st-$2,278), Anthony Bland (25th-$2,658), Derek Molnar (23rd-$3,076), last iteration’s runner up Alexei Racila (22nd-$3,076), and former MSPT Sycuan Champion Kenneth Baime (16th-$4,177), and Anastasia Knapp (10th-$6,075) who ended her day when her pocket kings were cracked just shy of the final table.

Final Table Action

The first casualty of the final table was Cato “PokerBEAST” Lower who started the final table as the outright short stack. He moved in his final chips with king-jack offsuit and was up against the pocket sevens of defending champion Jason Mendoza. He paired his king on the flop, but the board runout gave Mendoza a flush and Lower wished his tablemates luck as he collected $7,214 for his ninth place finish.

Joseph Canez was unable to get anything going at this final table. He began as one of the shorter stacks and got blinded out as the orbits continued to circle. In first position, he got in his final few blinds with queen jack which was called by Andrew Merrick who held ace-ten. The board came out nine-high and Canez’ eighth place finish was good for $9,872.

Stephanie Wang ended her run in seventh place shortly after that. She lost roughly ninety percent of her chips in a bluff against Derrick Yamada in which the hand did not get to showdown. Despite a few double ups after this, she got in her final chips with ace-seven off and was unable to improve against Yamada’s pocket twos and the last woman standing took hom $12,530 for her deep run.

Next out the door was MSPT legend DJ Buckley. Buckley maneuvered his short stack up a few pay jumps, but ultimately had half of his stack committed in the big blind and put the rest in over Yamada’s button raise. Buckley’s eight-six was unable to improve against Yamada’s jack-nine and Buckley added another deep run to his already illustrious resume, collecting $15,948 in the process.

After that confrontation, the play slowed down for a bit as Yamada extended his chip lead over the rest of the field. It was eventually Andrew Rubin who would be the next on the chopping block. Yamada moved all in for 12 big blinds effective and Rubin called for his tournament life. He held queen-jack, but Yamada held ace-queen and Yamada’s ace-queen held up while Rubin exited in fifth place for $20,884.

Lance Winsaft looked set to double as he called off his final chips with aces against Mendoza’s eight-seven, but a turned straight left Winsaft drawing dead to scoop and he ended his deep run in fourth place for $27,719.

One of the most impressive repeat performances in MSPT history was Mendoza’s deep run after winning the last iteration here in Sycuan. His run came to a close when he called off his final chips with queen jack against Merrick’s king-seven and the nine-high board gave no help to the defending champion, who ended his run in third place for $37,591.

A quick discussion was had and a deal was struck in the later hours of the tournament. A pure icm chop was agreed to as Yamada took the trophy and $72,777, while Merrick ended his run in second place for $62,408.

Congratulations to Derrick Yamada for winning his first MSPT trophy here at Sycuan Resort and Casino. Thank you to all who played this event, and thank you for reading along here at MSPTPoker.com. Be sure to check in with us next week in Battle Creek, Michigan for the FireKeepers Main Event.

Andrew Merrick Finished In 2nd Place ($62,408)

After a few hours of play at the final table, Andrew Merrick finished the tournament in second place for $62,408.

Derrick Yamada wins his first MSPT title for $72,777, stay tuned for a full recap.

Jason Mendoza Eliminated In 3rd Place ($37,591)

Andrew Merrick moved all in from the small blind for 1,900,000 total and Jason Mendoza called to put himself at risk.

Jason Mendoza:

Andrew Merrick:

The board ran out and the defending champion ended his impressive run in third place.

Andrew Merrick - 4,500,000

Jason Mendoza - Eliminated In 3rd Place for $37,591

Updated Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Derrick Yamada	6,400,000	5,560,000
Andrew Merrick	1,950,000	2,675,000
Jason Mendoza	1,150,000	775,000

Lance Winsaft Eliminated In 4th Place ($27,719)

Jason Mendoza moved all in from the button for 1,200,000 and in the big blind Lance Winsaft called for less to put himself at risk.

Lance Winsaft:

Jason Mendoza:

The flop of provided Mendoza a gutter which he connected with on the turn and Winsaft was drawing dead prior to the river. Mendoza boosted his stack to over 2 million while Winsaft exited the tournament in fourth place.

Jason Mendoza - 2,600,000

Lance Winsaft - Eliminated in 4th Place for $27,719

Winsaft Doubles Through Mendoza; Mendoza Doubles Through Yamada

Jason Mendoza moved all in for 810,000 from under the gun and in the small blind, Lance Winsaft moved all in for less.

Lance Winsaft:

Jason Mendoza:

The board ran out and Winsaft connected with the river to double up through Mendoza.

The following hand Derrick Yamada raised to 160,000 in first position and Mendoza moved all in for slightly more in the big blind which Yamada called.

Jason Mendoza:

Derrick Yamada:

The board ran out and Mendoza paired his kicker to sat alive in the tournament.

Derrick Yamada - 4,900,000

Jason Mendoza - 890,000

Lance Winsaft - 750,000

Updated Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Derrick Yamada	5,560,000	3,500,000
Andrew Merrick	2,675,000	2,800,000
Jason Mendoza	775,000	900,000
Lance Winsaft	765,000	1,175,000

Andrew Rubin Eliminated In 5th Place ($20,884)

Derrick Yamada moved all in for 1,100,000 effective from the button and in the big blind, Andrew Rubin called.

Derrick Yamada:

Andrew Rubin:

The board ran out and Yamada took a massive lead while Rubin exited the tournament in 5th place.

Derrick Yamada - 5,560,000

Andrew Rubin - Eliminated in 5th place for $20,884

Not Much Movement

The last level has mostly contained hands that have not reached a river. Not much has shifted in the way of chip counts or positions

Updated Chip Counts

Player Name	Chip Count	Previous	Progress
Derrick Yamada	3,500,000	2,500,000
Andrew Merrick	2,800,000	2,200,000
Andrew Rubin	1,350,000	1,515,000
Lance Winsaft	1,175,000	1,450,000
Jason Mendoza	900,000	1,500,000