Jorden Helstern Doubles Career Earnings After MSPT Club Championship Victory
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From February 19-22, the Major Series of Poker: The Tour (MSPT) hosted the $1,110 buy-in, $1,000,000 GTD MSPT Club Championship at Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The tournament attracted 1,785 runners over a trio of starting flights – creating a $1,729,950 prize pool – and on Sunday, the surviving 197 players returned to action to battle to a winner.
After a long day of play, it was Illinois native Jorden Helstern coming out on top to claim his first MSPT title and the $239,788 top prize. He also received a $3,500 seat into the MSPT Championship Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open (RRPO) to be held at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida, from Nov. 18 – Dec. 2.
“Feels amazing,” Helstern told MSPT reporter Anthony Thompson after his victory, “I basically just 8x my largest career score, so I think I’ll go buy some new shoes.”
The single score nearly matched his $284,272 previous career earnings on The Hendon Mob, and according to Thompson, made Helstern the sixth person to earn an MSPT MAJOR title.
2026 MSPT Club Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize | POY Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jorden Helstern | Chicago, IL | $239,788* | 2,550 |
| 2 | Greg Sessler | Fox Point, WI | 210,000* | 2,550 |
| 3 | Jean “Prince” Gaspard | Evanston, IL | $131,083 | 2,400 |
| 4 | Sung Kim | Houston, TX | $98,526 | 2,250 |
| 5 | Ken Daciolas | Chicago, IL | $76,079 | 2,100 |
| 6 | Michael Wilklow | Minneapolis, MN | $56,546 | 1,950 |
| 7 | John McVoy | Asbury, IA | $44,551 | 1,800 |
| 8 | Craig Trost | Madison, WI | $34,270 | 1,650 |
| 9 | Andrew Leichtle | Milwaukee, WI | $27,416 | 1,500 |
*Denotes heads-up deal.
Others to cash the tournament were Richard Bai (11th - $22,276), DJ Buckley (14th - $18,849), Dave Grandin (19th - $12,851), Kevin Maahs (25th - $8,396), Missy Bartelme (33rd - $6,854), and Josh Reichard (43rd - $5,826).
Side Event Winners
The MSPT stop at Potawatomi consisted of 11 Gold Card events, which combined catered to 5,321 entrants!
Here’s a look at all those who captured Gold Cards at the stop:
| Tournament | Entries | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $400 Mini Main Event | 1,122 | Dan Meyers | $54,377 |
| Event #2: $400 PLO Monster Stack | 132 | Kyle Goebel | $10,306 |
| Event #3: $250 Monster Stack NLH | 268 | Martin Masar | $8,069 |
| Event #4: $400 Mixed PLO/NLH | 124 | Hassan Tahsildar | $7,663 |
| Event #5: $1,100 Main Event | 1,785 | Jorden Helstern | $239,788 |
| Event #6: $250 Monster Stack NLH | 313 | Robert Keeling | $9,389 |
| Event #7: $250 Monster Stack NLH | 317 | Luis Caraballo Rivera | $14,583 |
| Event #8: $250 Monster Stack NLH | 296 | Nino Papava | $8,744 |
| Event #9: $400 Seniors 50+ | 347 | Phil Mader | $23,850 |
| Event #10: $300 Black Chip Bounty NLH | 395 | Aaron Lettieri | $11,219 |
| Event #11: $250 Last Chance NLH | 222 | Ryan Wall | $11,101 |
What's Else is Coming Up?
The tour now heads for the MSPT Festival at Grand Falls Casino in Larchwood, Iowa, which is situated just outside Sioux Falls, South Dakota, from March 11-15, followed by the MSPT Festival at Iowa’s Riverside Casino from March 17-22.
Finally, March will wrap up with the MSPT Missouri Poker State Championship at Ameristar Casino St. Charles in St. Louis.
More details on all those stops can be found at msptpoker.com.
Here’s a look at the remaining MSPT Season 17 schedule:
| Dates | Venue | State | Event | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 11-15 | Grand Falls Casino | Iowa | MSPT Festival | $200,000 |
| March 17-22 | Riverside Casino | Iowa | MSPT Festival | $500,000 |
| March 24-29 | Ameristar St. Charles | Missouri | Missouri Poker State Championship | TBD |
| April 7-19 | Running Aces Casino | Minnesota | Minnesota Poker State Championship | TDB |
| April 21-26 | Ameristar East Chicago | Indiana | MSPT Festival | $300,000 |
| April 28-May 3 | Potawatomi Casino | Wisconsin | MSPT Festival | $1,000,000 |
| May 12-17 | FireKeepers Casino | Michigan | Michigan Poker State Championship | $1,000,000 |
| May 13-25 | Sycuan Casino | California | Showdown Series | TBD |
| June 2026 | The Venetian | Nevada | Diamond Poker Championship | TDB |
| June 2026 | The Venetian | Nevada | TBD | TDB |
| July 21-26 | Riverside Casino | Iowa | Iowa Poker State Championship | $500,000 |
| July 22-Aug. 2 | Bally’s Black Hawk Casino | Colorado | Colorado Poker State Championship | $600,000 |
| September 2026 | The Venetian | Nevada | Nevada Poker State Championship | TDB |
| Sept. 22-27 | Potawatomi Casino | Wisconsin | Wisconsin Poker State Championship | $1,000,000 |
| Oct. 13-18 | FireKeepers Casino | Michigan | Major Spade Poker Championship | $1,500,000 |
| Nov. 3-8 | Riverside Casino | Iowa | MSPT Festival | $500,000 |
| Nov. 18-Dec. 2 | Seminole Hard Rock | Florida | Major Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open (RRPO) | $2,000,000 |
| Dec. 1-13 | Running Aces Casino | Minnesota | Winter Poker Classic | $700,000 |
MSPT Podcast
Did you know that Chad Holloway and Kyna England host the bi-weekly MSPT Podcast Presented By PokerNews.
The show covers all things MSPT, including recent results, player highlights, guest interviews, and a preview of upcoming stops.
If you’re not familiar with the show, a new episode comes out at 8 a.m. PT every other Wednesday on the PokerNews YouTube channel. An audio version is also available on all major podcasting platforms.
Here’s a look at the latest episode:
*Images courtesy of MSPT & Tyler Abrams.
