Created (2/3/2025 1:19:35 AM by Anthony Thompson)
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After a five-year hiatus, the MSPT returned to Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to host the second-ever 100 GRAND STACK FESTIVAL and the turnouts were one for the record books.
The headlined $1,110 buy-in, $500K GTD 100 GRAND STACK Main Event was one to remember as a total of 1,697 entries (314 from Day 1a; 560 from 1b; 823 from 1c) were tallied, which blasted passed the venue’s previous best field of 1,658 set in 2017 and the $1,644,590 generated prize pool went down in the history books as well.
After a long road to crown a new champion, it was Illinois native Timothy Thorp who navigated his way through to the finish earning himself a career payday of $244,362 and his second Main Event title in just two short months!
“It was really special to have my buddies here with me for this one,” Thorp stated after his win, “The first one was great, don’t get me wrong, but it was an isolated experience, so having them here for this one was special.”
Thorp came into the day at the bottom of the chip counts holding 230,000 for just seven big blinds but was able to catch some steam after he cracked pocket kings with ace-four.
“My buddies were just floored from that moment on,” Throp continued to add, “To come in with just seven bigs and be able to take down a field this size, feels incredible.”
The amazing run saw Throp notch his fourth Main Event cash, bringing his MSPT career total of $361,550 since last November, and he ended his closing statement just like his first by saying, “I play this game with joy and presences.”
MSPT Season 16 Potawatomi 100 GRAND STACK Main Event Final Table Results
| Place |
Player |
Prize |
POY |
| 1 |
Tim Thorp |
$244,362* |
1,600 |
| 2 |
Umut Ozturk |
$160,000* |
1,600 |
| 3 |
Ryan Eamon |
$160,000* |
1,600 |
| 4 |
Curtis Vierstraete |
$95,544 |
1,500 |
| 5 |
Imran Sajwani |
$72,873 |
1,400 |
| 6 |
Jamie Payne |
$55,059 |
1,300 |
| 7 |
Stephen Smith |
$43,724 |
1,200 |
| 8 |
Glenn Stout |
$34,007 |
1,100 |
| 9 |
Nikolay Terziev |
$27,530 |
1,000 |
*denotes 3-way deal
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MSPT Season 16 Potawatomi 100 GRAND STACK Main Event Final Table
Day 2 Action
The final day came back with all 185 players already in the money, so action kicked right into gear with MSPT champ Lee Rzentkowski being one of the first bodies to drop while last weekend's runner-up Zach Gutierrez, and Dillon Ellis being part of the first batch of eliminations.
Dillon Ellis
The first batch of eliminations sparked a fire in the field as two-time MSPT champ John Sun (154th Place – $2,105), Edward “EDub” Dixon (143rd Place – $2,267), Brad Sailor (127th Place – $2,429), and WSOP bracelet winner Chad Holloway (115th Place – $2,591) all fell in quick succession making their way to the payout desk.
MSPT Hall of Famer Rich Alsup
Players rapidly continued to make their way down to the Poker room to get paid as MSPT champ Angela Jordison (100th Place – $2,753), MSPT Hall of Famer Rich Alsup (90th Place - $3,239), fellow Hall of Famer Gerald Cunniff (69th Place - $3,563), Brett “Pops” Reichard (59th Place - $4,048) and two-time MSPT champ Dave Gonia (37th Place - $5,020) all made their way down to the payout cage taking a much earlier exit than anticipated.
Two-Time MSPT Champ Dave Gonia
The fast-paced action continued as the start of day chip leader Shane Thorne (24th Place - $10,526), Mike Estes (18th Place - $14,898), 2025 MSPT ICON Kyna England (16th Place - $14,898) MSPT champ Ken Komberec (15th Place - $17,813), and Chuck Kersey (13th Place - $17,813) all fell on the way to the final table.
2025 MSPT ICON Kyna England
Final Table Action
The stacked final table saw three former champs sit down with third of the chips in play with the back-to-back Player of the Year Umut Ozturk adding to his stack after he won a flip with a suited ace-ten against Nikolay Terziev pair of fours, making him the first final table elimination.
Shortly after Terziev’s exit, another race occurred which saw Glenn Stout’s pocket threes come up short against Stephen Smith’s ace-nine off suit to take an eight place exit for $34,007.
Stephen Smith
Unfortunately for Smith, hist hot run came to an abrupt end when Ryan Eamon straightened out his pair of aces on the turn, giving him a heartbreaking seventh place exit for $43,724.
With six players remaining, the three former champs were still left in the field with soon to be two-time champ Throp, and back-to-back Player of the Year Umut Ozturk sharing eliminations heading into the final stretch.
Two-Time MSPT Champ Tim Thorp
Jamie Payne would be the first to go after he tried to slow roll his flopped two-pair against Thorp, only to have instant karma turn him out the door for a sixth place finish ($55,059).
Ozturk then followed with a double elimination starting with Imran Sajwani after he flopped the nut flush to send Sajwani’s Big Slick home in fifth place ($72,837) and then followed by sending fellow MSPT champ Curtis Vierstraete to the rail in fourth place ($95,544) after Vierstraete rolled over an inferior made hand of threes against Ozturk’s pair of sixes.
MSPT Champ Curtis Vierstraete
It was another incredible run for the former champ Vierstraete as he notched his fourth final table appearance since winning his first title back in 2023, and notched his 19th Main Event cash as he works towards earning his seat into the coveted MSPT Hall of Fame.
Three-handed action then started with each holding similar stack sizes, which prompted a deal to be made between the remaining players to help speed up play.
Once the chip shuffling subsided after a couple of levels, it was Throp who started to gain traction, as he was able to send Eamon out the door in third place for $160,000, setting the stage for the heads-up match.
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Back-to-Back Player of the Year Umut Ozturk
The heads-up battle saw Thorp hold a slight chip advantage over Ozturk, and even though play was deep with each player holding over 40 big blinds, it wouldn’t take long for all the chips to get into the middle after a king-high flop.
Thorp was ahead holding a pair of eights with a flush draw, and it was able to hold for him as he eliminated Ozturk in second place for a career best $160,000 while Throp secured his second Main Event title in just two short months, earning a career payday as well for $244,362.
The Heads-Up Battle
The runner-up finish catapulted Ozturk to the top of this Seasons POY race while also giving him a sizeable lead in the 2025 ICON standings just four events into the New Year.
The back-to-back final table appearances from the last two events pushed Ozturk past fellow Hall of Famer Blake Bohn on the all-time leaderboard, as he’s now tied with Minnesota legend Kou Vang for third most all-time with 14.
This wraps up our coverage of, yet another record-breaking tournament so make sure you join us when we make our way back to the Venetian Las Vegas February 5th - 10th for the infamous $1,000,000 GTD Poker Bowl IX!