Matt Berkey outlasted 88 players to defeat Edward "Hisoka" Leonard in heads-up play and win the $1,060 Main Event of BetMGM Pennsylvania's March Poker Mania. The victory caps off a successful series that ran in three different states, with Berkey playing host to the festivities from Pennsylvania while Darren Elias and Andrew Neeme represented New Jersey and Michigan, respectively. Berkey takes home $31,250 for the win from a guaranteed prize pool of $100,000.
Berkey came from behind in late final table play to defeat Leonard, who held a commanding lead throughout the end stages. Finishing in third place was "MrSchneebly", who nearly made it back-to-back victories after winning Saturday's Heads-up Bracket Challenge.
BetMGM Pennsylvania March Poker Mania Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
| 1 | Matt Berkey | $31,250 |
| 2 | Edward "Hisoka" Leonard | $17,500 |
| 3 | "MrSchneebly" | $12,750 |
| 4 | "MuckLavin" | $9,500 |
| 5 | "pa500" | $7,350 |
| 6 | "Gail the Snail" | $5,550 |
| 7 | "bottleopener" | $4,150 |
| 8 | "luckybluffer777" | $3,250 |
| 9 | "Limp Grindstone" | $2,500 |
| 10 | "ItBLikeThat" | $2,500 |
| 11 | "CL911129" | $1,850 |
| 12 | "Do_psychedelics" | $1,850 |
The Path to Victory
Berkey got off to a great start soon after joining the tournament, and he held the chip lead at one point before falling back into the middle of the pack.
It was near the bubble when Berkey made a big move, knocking out "Love2Lose22" to move among the leaders with thirteen left to play. Moments after "MrSchneebly" knocked out "Until_Wilted" to burst the bubble, Berkey went on a streak of three straight knockouts and the BetMGM Ambassador entered the final table as chip leader.
Shortly after "pa500" eliminated "luckybluffer777" in eighth place, "MrSchneebly" knocked Berkey near the shorter stacks when he caught a nut flush on the river. "bottleopener" was soon out in seventh place when "Gail the Snail" held with pocket queens. Leonard then doubled through "pa500" and the merry-go-round left the new leader with over half the remaining chips.
"Gail the Snail" soon busted in sixth when they could not improve against the pocket nines of "pa500", but "pa500" was out in fifth when Leonard extended his lead with a pair of queens on the flop.
"MuckLavin" benefited from the chaos and laddered up, but the run ended in fourth place when Berkey held on with ace-two to take over second place.
As the tournament entered three-handed play, the tournament looked to be in hand for Leonard, and he held just under half of the chips remaining in play. However, Berkey soon changed the status quo and doubled with pocket tens when Leonard got overzealous with king-five. Berkey held the the lead for a moment, but Leonard was slightly ahead a few orbits later for a dramatic three-way pot that decided the tournament.
Berkey open-shoved from the button for just over 3.7 million with 
and "MrSchneebly" called for their last 1.1 million with 
. Leonard woke up with 
and called both players to try and end the tournament with a double knockout. The board ran out with no help and Berkey's jacks held on to take an insurmountable lead while knocking "MrSchneebly" out in third place. The big moment came just one hand later when Leonard was committed with queen-five, but Berkey held on for the victory with king-seven.
Congratulations to Matt Berkey for winning the $1,060 Main Event of BetMGM Pennsylvania's March Poker Mania!
Thanks for following our coverage of March Poker Mania, and be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team in the future for highlights of all of your favorite tournaments around the world and online.
and Berkey held on to eliminate Leonard and claim victory.
and Berkey held on with jacks to eliminate "MrSchneebly" and leave Leonard with crumbs.
and Berkey made a pair of aces to eliminate "MuckLavin" in fourth place for $9,500.
and the nines held to eliminate "Gail the Snail" from the tournament in sixth place.
and "pa500" made a pair of queens to eliminate "luckybluffer777" in eighth place.
