Peter Brown Plays MSPT for First Time Ever and Claims Sycuan GRAND STACK Title
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Season 16 of the Major Series of Poker: The Tour (MSPT) continued this past weekend with a stop at San Diego’s Sycuan Casino. The 100 GRAND STACK Series culminated with a $1,110 Main Event, a tournament that drew 431 entries and awarded a $416,570 prize pool, well ahead of the $300K guarantee.
On Sunday, the 49 surviving players from a trio of starting flights returned to battle to a winner, and after nine hours of play, it was Arizona native Peter Brown coming out on top for $68,192 and his first MSPT title.
“Feels great,” Brown told MSPT reporter Anthony Thompson after his victory, “This was my first MSPT I’ve ever played, so that's pretty cool to think about”.
MSPT Sycuan 100 GRAND STACK Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize | POY Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Brown | $68,192 | 1,000* |
| 2 | Stephen Graner | $54,651 | 1,000* |
| 3 | Justin Lynch | $45,293 | 1,000* |
| 4 | Gerald Cunniff | $35,148 | 1,000* |
| 5 | Brent Gill | $34,334 | 1,000* |
| 6 | Josue Aguirre | $17,119 | 900 |
| 7 | Matt Salsberg | $13,451 | 800 |
| 8 | Joe Acker | $10,598 | 700 |
| 9 | Mo Pourmandi | $7,744 | 600 |
*Denotes five-way deal.
Others to cash the tournament were Johnathan Groat (10th - $6,522), Hal Kilgore (14th - $5,299), David Avina (20th - $3,831), John “Farmboy” Kurfman (25th - $2,853), Rivon Moshi (32nd - $2,446), and Anthony Scarborough (47th - $2,242).
Another player to cash in 18th place for $4,484 was Umut Ozturk, who has been the MSPT Player of the Year for the past two years running. Not only that, he currently sits atop the MSPT Season 16 POY leaderboard with 7,967 points, 300 of which came from his cash at Sycuan. He now holds a more than 1,000-point lead over Jake Long, who sits in second with 6,961 points.
Various MSPT Sycuan 100 GRAND STACK Side Event Winners
The MSPT Sycuan 100 GRAND STACK stop was filled with nearly two dozen side events in addition to the Main Event, which included Event #12: $400 Tag Team NLH. That tournament drew 140 runners and saw the team of Alfonso Alvarez and Javier Cazares come out on top to the tune of $6,974.
Another winner was two-time MSPT champ and Hall of Famer Josh Reichard, who made the trek out all the way from Wisconsin. Reichard took down Event #17: $200 Monster Stack NLH for $2,664 and his second Gold Card.
| Tournament | Entries | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Event #8: $300 Seniors 50+ Monster Stack NLH | 87 | Scott Aulds | $4,662 |
| Event #9: $250 Monster Stack PKO | 85 | Matthew Gawel | $3,005 |
| Event #12: $400 Tag Team NLH | 140 | Alfonso Alvarez & Javier Cazares | $6,974 |
| Event #13: $200 Monster Stack | 47 | Cody Blades | $2,808 |
| Event #14: $250 Ultimate Stack PKO | 101 | Kevin Duke | $3,673 |
| Event #15: $200 Ultimate Stack Turbo NLH | 24 | Anthony Trujillo | $1,760 |
| Event #16: $300 PLO | 50 | Jeremy Quinard | $3,300 |
| Event #17: $200 Monster Stack NLH | 37 | Josh Reichard | $2,664 |
| Event #18: $200 Monster Stack NLH | 42 | Jose Vargas | $2,688 |
| Event #20: $200 Monster Stack NLH | 51 | Daria Ivantey | $3,061 |
| Event #21: $200 Monster Stack NLH | 46 | Michael Starek | $2,944 |
| Event #22: $200 Seniors 50+ Monster Stack | 58 | Christopher Wilson | $2,816 |
| Event #23: $300 Ultimate Stack NLH | 82 | Tolga Gesli | $4,758 |
| Event #24: $200 Last Chance NLH | 45 | Jorge Ruiz | $2,880 |
What’s Coming Up?
Season 16 of the MSPT will now take a short break before heading to Las Vegas at the end of the month. From September 25-28, the MSPT will be at the Venetian for the $1,100 buy-in, $300K GTD 2025 Nevada Poker State Championship. Players will start with 30,000 in chips and play 40-minute levels. There will also be plenty of $140 NLH Milestone Satellites into the Main Event. Check out the full schedule here.
After that, the MSPT will head to Milwaukee for the 2025 Wisconsin Poker State Championship at Potawatomi Casino. That $1,110 buy-in tournament will feature a massive $1,000,000 guarantee.
Here’s a look at the remaining MSPT Season 16 schedule.
| Date | Location | Event | GTD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept. 25-28 | Venetian Las Vegas | Nevada Poker State Championship | $300,000 |
| Sept. 30-Oct. 5 | Potawatomi Casino Milwaukee | Wisconsin State Poker Championship | $1,000,000 |
| Oct. 7-12 | FireKeepers Casino Battle Creek, Michigan | MSPT Spade Poker Championship | $1,500,000 |
| Oct. 9-19 | Playground Montreal, Canada | Canadian Poker Championship | $1,000,000 |
| Oct. 28-Nov. 2 | Riverside Casino Iowa | MSPT Festival | $500,000 |
| Dec. 4-14 | Running Aces Casino Minnesota | Winter Poker Classic Series | $600,000 |
*Images courtesy of MSPT photographer Tyler Abrams.
