The Venetian

MSPT Hall of Famer Josh Reichard Wins Inaugural MSPT $1,600 Heart Poker Championship!

The MSPT returned to beautiful Venetian Resort in Las Vegas for the third time this season, but the first as MAJOR Series of Poker - The Tour, to host the inaugural Heart Poker Championship!

A total of 1,051 entries were tallied after three starting flights and on Sunday, just seven players returned to action for the final day in hopes of securing the top prize from the $1,500,000 prize pool.

When the dust finally settled, it was none other than MSPT Hall of Famer Josh Reichard who seized the moment to capture the first-ever MSPT MAJOR Heart Poker Championship trophy, and his second tittle since 2013.

“Feels good”, Reichard stated after his win, “I’m in a group chat with some friends who just last week were sending pictures of like, basically when they were infants, saying oh, I was this age when Josh won his last MSPT.. so maybe it gave me a little motivation or maybe I just ran good.. who knows but it definitely feels nice to close one out because it has been a while.”

While it may have been a while since Reichard’s last MSPT win, it was definitely worth the wait as the victory not only notched him a MAJOR win undeath his belt, but it also catapulted him into second place in this year's Player of the Year standings while also putting him atop the 2025 ICON standings as well.

“It’s really cool”, Reichard went on to say, “with the whole rebrand and everything being new, getting the 1.5x POY points really helps me against Jakey Longo because I plan on playing a lot.”

The victory not only helped Reichard out for this season alone, but on the tour as well as his $811,318 career earnings put him fourth on the leaderboard while also bumping him up into the third spot on the GOAT rankings.

MSPT $1,6000 Heart Poker Championship Final Table Results

Day 3 Action

Once the final players got mic’d up for action, things kicked right into gear with chips shuffling around the table which found two-time bracelet winner Antonio Galiana finding a pair of sevens to roll with only to lose a race to Brian Luo’s king-nine off suit to become the first elimination of the day.

After Galiana hit the rail, short stack Hugo Girard found a suited ace of clubs to risk his remaining stack with on the button only to have Jessica Vierling roll over a dominating suited ace of hearts from the big blind, and he didn’t find any help from the runout as he departed in sixth place for $55,170.

After getting a couple of ladder-up’s Artem Metalidi then followed Girard out the door in fifth place after he failed to hit live suited connectors against Luo.

From that point, Korea’s Min Sung Lee was in survival mode hovering at the bottom of the chip counts, and he was able to find a double-up before ultimately taking a to fourth place finish for $92,049.

After Lee’s departure, Reichard started gaining traction, scooping three and four-bet pots to take the chip lead which grew massively after he clashed with Luo as his lucky pair of sevens sent him out the door for a third place finish for $120,597.

The heads-up match between Reichard and Vierling started with him holding over ninety percent of the chips in play and the duel on lasted a few hands before he sent her out the door for a second-place finish for $159,480 while Reichard walked away with the inaugural championship and his second career MSPT title.

This concludes our coverage for the inaugural Heart Poker Championship but stay tuned here as coverage of $1,000,000 GTD double-header begins tomorrow!

Jessica Vierling Eliminated in 2nd Place ($159,480)

MSPT hall of Famer Josh Reichard put Jessica Vierling all-in and she called off her 3,425,000 stack from the big blind.

Jessica Vierling:
Josh Reichard:

Vierling was at risk holding two live cards but fell way behind after the flop gave Reichard top pair.

Unfortunately for Vierling, once the hit the turn, she was left drawing dead to the river to take a second-place finish for $159,480 while Reichard earned his second MSPT title and the inaugural Heart Poker Championship.

A full recap will follow.

Josh Reichard - 31,530,000
Jessica Vierling - Eliminated

Brian Luo Eliminated in 3rd Place ($120,597)

Brian Luo was all in for 10,050,000 from the small blind and was called by MSPT Hall of Famer Josh Reichard from the button.

Brian Luo:
Josh Reichard:

Luo was trailing Reichard’s made hand of sevens with nothing changing after the flop hit the felt.

The then paired the board on the turn leaving Luo needing an ace on the river to stay alive, but the completed the board and ended his run in third place for $120,597.

Josh Reichard - 27,350,000
Jessica Vierling - 4,205,000
Brian Luo - Eliminated

Lou Hook's Vierling for a Double

MSPT Hall of Famer Josh Reichard opened for 800,000 from the button, only to fold after Jessica Vierling three-bet to 8,800,000 from the small blind, and Brian Luo called off his 5,050,000 stack from the big blind.

Brian Luo:
Jessica Vierling:

It was a classic for the ages with a queen appearing in the window on the flop, only to have a jack laying underneath keeping Luo in the lead with a set of jacks.

The turn all but sealed the deal for Luo only to have the dealer added injury to insult with the on the river securing his double.

Josh Reichard - 16,050,000
Brian Luo - 11,300,000
Jessica Vierling - 4,225,000

Min Sung Lee Eliminated in 4th Place ($92,049)

Min Sung Lee raised to 2,000,000 from the button and then called off his remaining 1,025,000 stack after Jessica Vierling put him all in from the small blind.

Min Sung Lee:
Jessica Vierling:

Lee found an ace to roll with but had kicker issues as the runout ended his tournament in fourth place for $92,049.

Josh Reichard - 15,600,000
Jessica Vierling - 9,250,000
Brian Luo - 6,735,000
Min Sung Lee - Eliminated

Lee Fills Up to Double Through Luo

Brian Luo raised to 300,000 from the button and Min Sung Lee defended his big blind to see a flop.

Lee tossed his remaining 1,150,000 stack into the middle and was snap-called.

Min Sung Lee:
Brian Luo:

Lee was ahead after pairing his nine and the turn kept him in the lead with trips, while the river gave him a full house to secure his double-up.

Brian Luo - 10,625,000
Min Sung Lee - 3,890,000

Artem Metalidi Eliminated in 5th Place ($70,924)

Brian Luo opened under the gun for 500,000 and then called Artem Metalidi’s 775,000 three-bet jam from the small blind.

Artem Metalidi:
Brian Luo:

Metalidi was at risk holding suited connectors, but he whiffed the runout to end his tournament in fifth place for $70,924.

Brian Luo - 13,650,000
Artem Metalidi - Eliminated

Hugo Girard Eliminated in 6th Place ($55,170)

Hugo Girard raised to 1,800,000 from the button only to call off his remaining 1,025,000 after from Jessica Vierling put him all in from the big blind.

Hugo Girard:
Jessica Vierling:

Girard rolled over a dominated suited ace with nothing changing after the flop hit the felt.

The turn kept things interesting as usual bringing two possible straight draws, but the completed the board and ended Giard’s run.

Jessica Vierling - 9,975,000
Hugo Girard - Eliminated

Lee Dominates a Double

Brian Luo raised to 3,000,000 from the cutoff and Min Sung Lee called off his 1,725,000 stack from the small blind.

Min Sung Lee:
Brian Luo:

Lee rolled over a dominating hand and liked the flop that fell giving him top two-pair.

The turn was a great sight for Lee as it secured him the pot while the meaningless completed the board on the river.

Brian Luo - 10,975,000
Min Sung Lee - 3,950,000

Antonio Galiana Eliminated in 7th Place ($43,329)

Brian Luo raised to 4,425,000 from the cutoff and two-time bracelet winner Antonio Galiana called off his 3,375,000 stack from the button.

Antonio Galiana:
Brian Luo:

Galiana was ahead holding a made hand of sevens with nothing changing after the flop hit the felt.

The turn, however, came the to put Luo in the lead, leaving Galiana needing a lucky seven on the river to stay alive.

Unfortunately for the two-time bracelet winner the paired the board on the river, making him the first elimination of the day.

Brian Luo - 14,200,000
Antonio Galiana - Eliminated