Created (5/16/2026 12:59:09 AM by Anthony Thompson)
Another full day of action was played to its conclusion at the MSPT Season 17 Michigan Poker State Championship at FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek, Michigan, after a hard stop was reached with 14:55 remaining in Level 16 (4,000/8,000/8,000).
The second of three flights drew a massive 863 entries, setting yet another venue record for a Day 1b field and has brought the two-day total thus far to 1,451, blowing past the $1,000,000 GTD with one flight remaining.
Of those 863 entries, only 95 players remained when chips went into bags, with Michael Szczepaniak (983,000) edging out Abhay Lal (966,000) for the overall top stack thus far.
Abhay Lal
Coming in hot behind Szczepaniak and Lal was Randy Froelich, who stashed 896,000 in his bag to end the night, while Haibin Huang (680,000) and Thomas Darko (655,000), rounded out the top five stacks of the night.
MSPT Champ Jeff Copeland
Several other familiar players will also be joining the aforementioned five. Matthew Ploof (618,000), MSPT Champ Jeff Copeland (473,000), MSPT Hall of Famer Chris Moon (425,000), fellow Hall of Famer Aaron Massey (303,000), and MSPT Champ Matt Wantman (126,000) are just a few more of the players to add their names to the Day 2 roster, along with the 65 to have already advanced from Day 1a.
Keven Stammen
Among those to try and fall on 1b include WSOP bracelet winner Keven Stammen, Anna Marcie, MSPT Champ Anthony Kastelic, Daniel Schill, Hannah Richardson, and 2023 Michigan Poker State Champ Travis Young.
Hannah Richardson
The final starting flight will get underway tomorrow at Noon local time, and it will be the last chance for players to punch their ticket into Sunday's Day 2.
Late registration and re-entries will remain open through Level 12 (approximately 9:10 p.m.).
MSPT Season 17 Michigan Poker State Championship Remaining Schedule
| Date |
Time |
Tournament |
Chips |
Blind Levels |
Gold Card Event |
| 16-May |
Noon |
$1,110 Michigan Poker State Championship NLH Day 1C (2-Day Event) |
30,000 |
40 Minutes |
5C |
| 16-May |
8:00 PM |
$250 Nightly NLH |
20,000 |
20 Minutes |
8 |
| 17-May |
10:00 AM |
$1,110 Michigan Poker State Championship NLH Day 2 (2-Day Event) |
- |
40 Minutes |
5 |
| 17-May |
Noon |
$400 Monster Stack NLH |
30,000 |
30 Minutes |
9 |
Make sure to tune in to see who makes it through to Day 2.