Player of Year Race Coming Down to Wire as Just Three Stops Remain in MSPT Season 16
Table Of Contents
Only three stops remain in Season 16 of the Major Series of Poker (MSPT): The Tour, starting with the MSPT Festival coming to Riverside Casino just outside Iowa City, Iowa, from October 28-November 2. The stop, which kicked off satellite in late September, is comprised of six Gold Card events culminating with an $1,110 buy-in, $300K GTD Main Event.
Day 1A of that tournament will take place at 2 p.m. CT on Thursday, October 30, with Days 1B and 1C at the same time on Friday, October 31, and Saturday, November 1, respectively. The surviving players from all three flights will make the money and return at 11 a.m. on Sunday, November 2, to play down to a winner.
Other tournaments on the schedule include a pair of $250 buy-in Epic Stack tournaments, a $250 Monster Stack, and a $300 Ultimate Stack. There will also be a $300 Seniors (50+) Monster Stack NLH at 9 a.m. on Sunday, November 2. Players must be 21 years of age to play at Riverside Casino.
Here’s a look at the full schedule:
The other two stops remaining on the schedule are at Ameristar East Chicago from Nov. 18-23, followed by the MSPT Winter Poker Classic Series at Minnesota’s Running Aces from Dec. 2-14. Click here for information on both those stops.
Third Time’s the Charm
The upcoming stop marks the MSPT’s third and final visit to the property in 2025. From March 25-30, the MSPT was in town, and the Main Event drew 629 runners and was won by Matthew Porter for a career-best $106,078. Then, from July 24-27, the MSPT was back for the Season 16 Iowa Poker State Championship, which drew 815 entrants. Mike Estes bested Jake Long heads up in that event to win his first MSPT title and $153,551 first-place prize.
PokerNews’ own Chad Holloway finished third in that tournament for $69,610, and talked about it with former MSPT POY Kyna England in the debut episode of the MSPT Podcast Presented By PokerNews.
POY Coming Down to the Wire
With just three stops remaining, there aren’t many opportunities for players to earn points toward the Season 16 MSPT Player of the Year race. Right now, the reigning back-to-back POY Umut Ozturk leads with 8,992 points and has the opportunity to do the unthinkable and win MSPT POY for a third year in a row.
However, he’ll have to stave off a pair of tough competitors in Jake Long (8,390 points) and former POY Josh Reichard (7,006 points). Trailing a bit behind in fourth place is Anthony Scarborough with 4,984 points, though anything can happen.
The top three players are all expected to travel to the remaining three stops, so the tight race could very well come down to the wire.
MSPT Season 16 POY Current Standings
| Place | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Umut Ozturk | 8,992 |
| 2 | Jacob Long | 8,390 |
| 3 | Josh Reichard | 7,006 |
| 4 | Anthony Scarborough | 4,984 |
| 5 | DJ Buckley | 4,783 |
| 6 | Gerald Cunniff | 4,605 |
| 7 | Ryan Eamon | 4,150 |
| 8 | Brett Reichard | 3,950 |
| 9 | Merritt Kuhn | 3,650 |
| 10 | John 'Farmboy' Kurfman | 3,556 |
*Images courtesy of MSPT photographer Tyler Abrams.
