$1,100 Main Event
Day 2 Completed
2022 MSPT Venetian Poker Bowl VI
$1,100 Main Event
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 2
2022 MSPT Venetian Poker Bowl VI
Buy-in
$1,100
Prize Pool
$991,055
Entries
1,027
Level
35
Blinds
300,000 / 500,000
Ante
500,000
Entries
118
Players Left
1
Ron West Wins 2022 MSPT Venetian Poker Bowl VI ($168,488); Johnnie Vibes 2nd Place
Level 35
: 300,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
The sixth edition of the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) $1,100 buy-in Poker Bowl at The Venetian in Las Vegas featured a $500,000 guarantee, and a massive turnout of 1,027 entries over two starting flights resulted in a $991,055 prize pool.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, the day of the NFL Super Bowl LVI between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals, a winner was crowned in the MSPT Poker Bowl VI after Ron West defeated popular poker vlogger Johnnie “Vibes” Moreno at the conclusion of a two-hour heads-up battle. West took home the trophy and the $168,488 top prize.
MSPT VI Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ron West | $168,488 |
| 2 | Johnnie Moreno | $124,675 |
| 3 | Aaron Massey | $87,213 |
| 4 | Cedrric Trevino | $62,436 |
| 5 | Go Mori | $46,580 |
| 6 | Haoyu Tang | $34,687 |
| 7 | Brian Sivertsen | $26,065 |
| 8 | Brendan Shiller | $20,218 |
| 9 | Anthony Danna | $16,154 |
Action of the Day
There were 118 players who began the day, and with only ten eliminations before the money, the bubble didn't take long to burst. From there, it took around ten hours to make it to the final table. Among those to cash but fail to make the final nine were Michael Trivett (21st - $7,730), Jamie Kerstetter (25th - $5,550), Poker Bowl II champ Kfir Nahum (31st - $4,767), Kristen Nyman (34th - $4,767), reigning MSPT Player of the Year Kyna England (48th - $3,568), Jesse Lonis (50th - $3,568), Tim Reilly (59th - $3,072), Michael Wang (99th - $2,180), and Joseph Cheong (105th - $2,081).
With the final table set, a huge pot quickly developed with a three-way all-in on the flop. Anthony Danna had flopped a set, but was eliminated in ninth after West rivered the nut flush to take the chip lead and leave Brendan Shiller without many chips. Shiller soon hit the rail after running into a better ace. Brian Sivertsen made his exit next when flopping top pair, but ultimately losing the hand against a better kicker which improved to two pair on the river.
Haoyu Tang made his way to the payout desk in sixth place when the rest of his stack went in against Moreno, and his dominated hand failed to improve. Go Mori fell in fifth place when he lost a chunk of chips to West, and then the rest to Cedrric Trevino, who had Mori pipped. Trevino himself was the next one eliminated when he got his chips in and was flipping against West. Trevino made a better pair on the turn, but a two-outer came on the river to secure the pot for West.
Poker pro Aaron Massey bowed out in third after running his sevens into the nines of Moreno. The board ran out without any improvement and Massey was gone. That set up a heads-up match between Moreno and West, with the former holding a small chip lead.
Moreno and West both had notable hands early in the tournament on their journey to the final table. Moreno tripled in the very first hand he played on Day 1, and West eliminated an opponent on a rollercoaster runout early on Day 1.
The players played heads up for over two hours and engaged in mostly small pots as the chip lead went back-and-forth. At one point, Moreno had an opportunity to lock up the win but he needed to improve with an inferior ace. Unfortunately for him, the board ran out without any help and the lead was relinquished to West. Eventually, Moreno moved all in with pocket deuces and West called with king-queen. A queen on the flop put West ahead, and he stayed there as the turn and river failed to improve Moreno, locking up the trophy and the $168,488 top prize for West.
Winner's Reaction
“I feel really good,” West said. “I’ve had some close calls in the last few years, had a hard time closing out and had some rough patches today, but got lucky at the right time and stayed out of trouble at the right time… I think my biggest cash before this was just under $100k, so this smashed that.”
West final tabled another MSPT tournament at The Venetian less than two months ago and earned $32,849 for that sixth-place finish. This time he improved upon that to earn not only his first MSPT win but also his all-time biggest score.
West came into the final table as the second-shortest stack, but quickly became the chip leader on a single hand that created a massive pot that was key on his path to eventual victory.
“I was texting some friends over the course of the final table, ‘There’s no better feeling in poker than having eighty big blinds at a final table.' It’s just so unusual. It’s a credit to MSPT and the great structures, and it’s a credit to getting lucky, that’s for sure.”
West had some words of praise for his heads-up opponent Johnnie “Vibes” Moreno, saying, “He was really solid. He’s obviously an incredibly nice guy… I absolutely just had better cards than him for a good portion of the final table and I was able to push him around a little bit because I had the goods most of the time… I think I had a pretty good feel for his game, and like I said, I got pretty lucky too.”
“I’m dedicating this win to my friend Matt Salsberg who’s a really good friend of a lot of people in the poker community. A phenomenal poker player and an even better human being who has some real health struggles right now, and just sending him all the love and all the good vibes, and he knows that this one was for him.”
Congratulations to Ron West for winning the 2022 MSPT Venetian Poker Bowl VI.
The MSPT's next stop will be a $360 buy-in, $50K GTD Regional Event at Grand Falls Casino in Sioux Falls, South Dakota from March 9-13. Then from March 17-20, the MSPT will head to Iowa's Riverside casino for a $1,110 buy-in, $500K GTD Main Event, which will be live reported by PokerNews.
Johnnie "Vibes" Moreno Eliminated in 2nd Place ($124,675)
Level 35
: 300,000/500,000, 500,000 ante
Johnnie Moreno moved all in for approximately 7,000,000 in the small blind and Ron West called the big blind.
Johnnie Moreno: 
Ron West: 
The 
flop put West ahead to the 
turn. Moreno needed a deuce to keep his tournament life alive, but the 
completed the board to eliminate him in second place, good for the consolation runner-up prize of $124,675.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
25,600,000 | 8,300,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 35
Blinds: 300,000/500,000
Ante: 500,000
Break
Level 34
: 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante
The players are on a short break as they color up the brown T-25,000 chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
17,300,000 | 2,200,000 |
|
|
8,300,000 | -2,200,000 |
West Doubles Through Moreno
Level 34
: 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante
Johnnie Moreno had recently whittled down Ron West's stack a bit further before this hand occurred.
Moreno jammed the small blind and West called for his 7,350,000 chips.
Ron West: 
Johnnie Moreno: 
The 
flop provided chop possibilities, but the 
and 
completed the board to confirm the double for West.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
15,100,000 | 3,600,000 |
|
|
10,500,000 | -3,600,000 |
Moreno Bets River
Level 34
: 200,000/400,000, 400,000 ante
Johnnie Moreno opened to 800,000 in the small blind and Ron West defended the big blind.
The flop came 
and both players checked through to the 
turn.
West led on the turn for 400,000 and Moreno raised to 1,200,000. West called.
On the 
river, West checked and Moreno bet 2,400,000. West mucked his hand and the dealer sent the pot to Moreno, although stacks remain fairly even.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
14,100,000 | 700,000 |
|
|
11,500,000 | -700,000 |
Level: 34
Blinds: 200,000/400,000
Ante: 400,000
Moreno Chipping Back Up
Level 33
: 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Ron West raised the small blind to 650,000 and Johnnie Moreno defended the big blind.
Both players checked the 
flop.
On the turn, Moreno led for 600,000 and West called.
The 
completed the board and Moreno bet 1,100,000. West thought about it and called.
Moreno tabled 
to claim the pot with a straight as West mucked.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
13,400,000 | 6,000,000 |
|
|
12,200,000 | -6,000,000 |
Chip Update
Level 33
: 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
There haven't been many big pots lately, although Ron West has added a small amount to his stack.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
18,200,000 | 2,100,000 |
|
|
7,400,000 | -2,100,000 |