$1,650 Main Event Day 1c | 2020 Heartland Poker Tour Ameristar East Chicago

01-18-2020 22:56 UTC-5

Chip Counts From Half the Room

BrandonTemple

Level 13 : 1,500/2,500, 2,500 ante

Player	Chips	Progress
David Kenniston	350,000 60,000	60,000
Cody Brinn	285,000 143,000	143,000
Evan Bethyo	256,000 1,000	1,000
Sam Vizza	170,000 75,000	75,000
Brent Barfield	156,500 21,500	21,500
Craig Trost	150,000 70,000	70,000
Michael Schlegel	130,000 39,500	39,500
Gary Herstein	125,000 31,000	31,000
David Gutfreund	112,000 19,000	19,000
Phil Mader	105,000 15,000	15,000
Tim Barany	103,000 -12,000	-12,000
Barry South	95,000 37,000	37,000
Alexander Hill	90,000 15,000	15,000
Carter Myers	90,000 5,000	5,000
Michael Matter	85,000 -16,000	-16,000
Kevin Schulz	60,000 -16,000	-16,000

Christopher Audrain	47,000 6,000	6,000

01-18-2020 22:45 UTC-5

More Day 1c Photos

BrandonTemple

Credit to HPT's Korey Stewart

Level: 13

Blinds: 1,500/2,500

Ante: 2,500

01-18-2020 22:30 UTC-5

Last Break of the Night

BrandonTemple

Level 12 : 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Players are off on their final fifteen-minute break of the evening. When they return, they'll play three more 40-minute levels before bagging and tagging for the evening.

01-18-2020 22:26 UTC-5

Kenniston Nearing 300k; O'Neill Ousted

BrandonTemple

Level 12 : 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

A player raised to 6,000 from under the gun, and Gerald Heath called in middle position, as did the cutoff. David Kenniston three-bet to 87,000 in the big blind, and the under-the-gun player called off his last 76,500. Heath and the cutoff folded.

Opponent:
David Kenniston:

Kenniston's kings held on a board, and he scooped in a big pot to jump to near 300,000 in chips.

On the other end of the spectrum, Mike O'Neill lost the last of his chips to Sam Vizza.

Player	Chips	Progress
David Kenniston	290,000
Gerald Heath	135,000 11,000	11,000

Tags: David Kenniston Gerald Heath Mike O'Neill Sam Vizza

01-18-2020 22:20 UTC-5

Quads Matter For Matter

BrandonTemple

Level 12 : 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

"Quads!" Christopher Audrain, runner up at last month's Season XV $2,500 HPT Championship, said as we did our latest rounds of the tournament floor. The man who held the quads in question, Michael Matter, shared the details of the hand.

Matter raised to 5,000 on the button, and found callers in both the small blind and Christopher McQuiston in the big blind.

The small blind checked a flop, and McQuiston bet 6,000. Only Matter called.

McQuiston check-called a bet of 10,000 on the turn, and a blank fell on the river. McQuiston check-called Matter's 25,000 all in bet, only to muck after Matter tabled for quads.

Player	Chips	Progress
Michael Matter	101,000

Tags: Christopher Audrain Christopher McQuiston Michael Matter

01-18-2020 22:12 UTC-5

Mader, Fader of Draws

BrandonTemple

Level 12 : 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

Phil Mader raised to 4,000 from early position, and the button three-bet shoved for 16,800. Mader thought for a minute, then made the call.

Opponent:
Phil Mader:

Mader's fours got a huge sweat on the flop, but the turn and river dodged all the overs and the straight draw, leaving Mader with two pair and the winner.

Player	Chips	Progress
Phil Mader	90,000

Tags: Phil Mader

01-18-2020 22:00 UTC-5

Bryant's Turn With Rockets

BrandonTemple

Level 12 : 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

A player jammed for his last 22,600 from middle position, and Jill Bryant had him at risk from the cutoff.

Opponent:
Jill Bryant:

Bryant got a scare on the turn of a board, but her aces held up for the knockout.

"Did you see that suckout?" Steven Jungmann said, as a grinning Bryant raked in the chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jill Bryant	90,000 -2,000	-2,000

Tags: Jill Bryant Steven Jungmann

01-18-2020 21:54 UTC-5

Nick Pupillo Wins HPT Season XV Player of the Year Race

BrandonTemple

Level 12 : 1,000/2,000, 2,000 ante

The Heartland Poker Tour has had many prestigious names claim the title of player of the year since its inception, including heavy hitters such as Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, Ari Engel, Shawn Roberts, Aaron Massey and Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler.

Season XV saw a new phenom join the ranks, as Nick Pupillo put together a dominating season to take the title of Player of the Year, finishing the year with 324.70 POY points, more than 100 points ahead of second-place finisher Eric Salazar.

Pupillo notched six cashes totaling $330,646 in HPT events, or about a third of what he’s won in 2019. He got off to a good start when he topped a 588-entry field to win February’s HPT Golden Gates in Colorado for $194,479, which marked his second HPT title after winning the HPT East Chicago in 2015. The tour returned later in the year and Pupillo cashed twice more at the venue. He also had a runner-up finish in St. Louis for $98,810.

For his efforts, Pupillo earns $10,000 in buy-ins at HPT stops throughout the year, as well as hotel accommodations at those stops. The Season XVI Player of the Year race will surely be another hotly contested affair, and we'll be keeping track of Pupillo all season long as he looks to defend his crown.

Season XV POY Final Standings

Place	Name	Points
1	Nick Pupillo	324.70
2	Eric Salazar	217.80
3	Nick Davidson	204.80
4	Mike O'Neill	189.00
5	Mike Shin	175.40
6	Chris Moon	166.10
7	Spenser Cramer	154.00
8	Greg Wood	152.50
9	Mike Sabbia	146.40
10	Dan Wagner	143.40

Tags: Aaron Massey Ari Engel Eric Salazar Nick Pupillo Shawn Roberts

Level: 12

Blinds: 1,000/2,000

Ante: 2,000