MSPT Launches New World Ranking System; Jake Long Claims 1st Gold Card
Table Of Contents
The Major Series of Poker: The Tour (MSPT), formerly known as the Mid-States Poker Tour, has been around since 2009 and awarded more than $233 million in prize money. During that time, the tour has established a Hall of Fame, launched both GOAT & MSPT Icon rankings, and has one of the most comprehensive databases in the industry.
Now, the MSPT has debuted its own World Ranking system, which rates the performance level of MSPT participants. It was launched on September 29, 2025. The rankings are based on a player’s position in MSPT Main Events over a 50 Main Event period of time (approximately two years). New rankings are calculated each time an MSPT Main Event concludes.
For the most recently completed 11 MSPT Main Events, a player receives full value for the points they earn. Beyond that, their points earned for a specific Main Event are reduced by 1/40 of their full value each time a Main Event takes place. Once a specific Main Event is 51 Main Events back, any points earned are valued at 0. The ranking system is continuously rolling.
Near the end of 2026 (exact date TBD), the Top 64 ranked players will earn a seat in a $20K Freeroll Heads-Up Tournament at Minnesota’s Running Aces Casino in December 2026. Rank 1 will play Rank 64, Rank 2 will play Rank 63, and so on - similar to the NCAAB March Madness format.
The Top 64 will also be eligible for the 2027 Icon of the Year race, which awards a $10K Main Event seat to the winner.
“We’re excited to offer our players a new, competitive leaderboard with the MSPT World Rankings,” said MSPT President Bryan Mileski. “We have players from all across the globe competing in MSPT events, and now they’ll know how they stack up against one another. What’s more, they’ll then get the chance to compete against each other in our first-ever heads-up freeroll.”
MSPT World Ranking as of 10/1/25
| Player Rank | Player Name | Location | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Umut Ozturk | Saint Paul, MN | United States | 196.51 |
| 2 | Jacob Long | Madison, NE | United States | 125.55 |
| 3 | Josh Reichard | Janesville, WI | United States | 117.53 |
| 4 | DJ Buckley | Shakopee, MN | United States | 95.54 |
| 5 | Michael Estes | Coralville, IA | United States | 78.3 |
| 6 | Timothy Thorp | Tremont, IL | United States | 77.79 |
| 7 | Anthony Scarborough | Mansfield, SD | United States | 74.86 |
| 8 | Rob WazWaz | Minneapolis, MN | United States | 74.22 |
| 9 | Brett Reichard | Janesville, WI | United States | 67.64 |
| 10 | Gerald Cunniff | St. Paul, MN | United States | 65.7 |
Jake Long Claims First Gold Card
The MSPT is currently at Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee for the 2025 Wisconsin Poker State Championship. The stop’s $1,110 buy-in, $1 million GTD Main Event is happening now – you can follow live updates here – but there have also been a handful of Gold Card side events.
One of them was Event #4: $400 Mixed PLO/NLH Monster Stack, which attracted 104 runners. The tournament came down to a pair of MSPT crushers who sat second and third on the Season 16 Player of the Year leaderboard.
Jake Long of Omaha, Nebraska, has been a contender all season long and ultimately defeated his good friend and MPST Hall of Famer Josh Reichard in heads-up play to win a $10,450 top prize and his first Gold Card.
What’s more, both players earned some coveted POY points and now Long sits with 7,752 points and Reichard 5,489 points, which is behind the 8,367 points of current leader Umut Ozturk.
Event #4 Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Long | $ 10,450 |
| 2 | Joshua Reichard | $ 6,480 |
| 3 | Keegan Ripp | $ 4,564 |
| 4 | Robert Keeling | $ 3,310 |
| 5 | Dominic Griffith | $ 2,439 |
| 6 | Anthony Rybold | $ 1,812 |
| 7 | Jeffrey Kenny | $ 1,463 |
| 8 | Steven Niezgoda | $ 1,185 |
| 9 | Lisa Maloney | $ 941 |
| 10 | Peter Brandt | $ 732 |
| 11 | John Matos | $ 732 |
| 12 | Stephen Szumila | $ 732 |
