| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
350,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
|
|
285,000
143,000
|
143,000 |
|
|
256,000
1,000
|
1,000 |
|
|
170,000
75,000
|
75,000 |
|
|
156,500
21,500
|
21,500 |
|
|
150,000
70,000
|
70,000 |
|
|
130,000
39,500
|
39,500 |
|
|
125,000
31,000
|
31,000 |
|
|
112,000
19,000
|
19,000 |
|
|
105,000
15,000
|
15,000 |
|
|
103,000
12,000
|
12,000 |
|
|
95,000
37,000
|
37,000 |
|
|
90,000
15,000
|
15,000 |
|
|
90,000
5,000
|
5,000 |
|
|
85,000
16,000
|
16,000 |
|
|
60,000
16,000
|
16,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
47,000
6,000
|
6,000 |
2020 Heartland Poker Tour Ameristar East Chicago
Credit to HPT's Korey Stewart
Level: 13
Blinds: 1,500/2,500
Ante: 2,500
Players are off on their final fifteen-minute break of the evening. When they return, they'll play three more 40-minute levels before bagging and tagging for the evening.
A player raised to 6,000 from under the gun, and Gerald Heath called in middle position, as did the cutoff. David Kenniston three-bet to 87,000 in the big blind, and the under-the-gun player called off his last 76,500. Heath and the cutoff folded.
Opponent: ![]()
![]()
David Kenniston: ![]()
![]()
Kenniston's kings held on a ![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
board, and he scooped in a big pot to jump to near 300,000 in chips.
On the other end of the spectrum, Mike O'Neill lost the last of his chips to Sam Vizza.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
290,000 | |
|
|
135,000
11,000
|
11,000 |
"Quads!" Christopher Audrain, runner up at last month's Season XV $2,500 HPT Championship, said as we did our latest rounds of the tournament floor. The man who held the quads in question, Michael Matter, shared the details of the hand.
Matter raised to 5,000 on the button, and found callers in both the small blind and Christopher McQuiston in the big blind.
The small blind checked a ![]()
![]()
flop, and McQuiston bet 6,000. Only Matter called.
McQuiston check-called a bet of 10,000 on the
turn, and a blank fell on the river. McQuiston check-called Matter's 25,000 all in bet, only to muck after Matter tabled ![]()
for quads.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
101,000 |
Phil Mader raised to 4,000 from early position, and the button three-bet shoved for 16,800. Mader thought for a minute, then made the call.
Opponent: ![]()
![]()
Phil Mader: ![]()
![]()
Mader's fours got a huge sweat on the ![]()
![]()
flop, but the
turn and
river dodged all the overs and the straight draw, leaving Mader with two pair and the winner.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
90,000 |
A player jammed for his last 22,600 from middle position, and Jill Bryant had him at risk from the cutoff.
Opponent: ![]()
![]()
Jill Bryant: ![]()
![]()
Bryant got a scare on the turn of a ![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
board, but her aces held up for the knockout.
"Did you see that suckout?" Steven Jungmann said, as a grinning Bryant raked in the chips.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
90,000
2,000
|
2,000 |
The Heartland Poker Tour has had many prestigious names claim the title of player of the year since its inception, including heavy hitters such as Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, Ari Engel, Shawn Roberts, Aaron Massey and Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler.
Season XV saw a new phenom join the ranks, as Nick Pupillo put together a dominating season to take the title of Player of the Year, finishing the year with 324.70 POY points, more than 100 points ahead of second-place finisher Eric Salazar.
Pupillo notched six cashes totaling $330,646 in HPT events, or about a third of what he’s won in 2019. He got off to a good start when he topped a 588-entry field to win February’s HPT Golden Gates in Colorado for $194,479, which marked his second HPT title after winning the HPT East Chicago in 2015. The tour returned later in the year and Pupillo cashed twice more at the venue. He also had a runner-up finish in St. Louis for $98,810.
For his efforts, Pupillo earns $10,000 in buy-ins at HPT stops throughout the year, as well as hotel accommodations at those stops. The Season XVI Player of the Year race will surely be another hotly contested affair, and we'll be keeping track of Pupillo all season long as he looks to defend his crown.
Season XV POY Final Standings
| Place | Name | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Pupillo | 324.70 |
| 2 | Eric Salazar | 217.80 |
| 3 | Nick Davidson | 204.80 |
| 4 | Mike O'Neill | 189.00 |
| 5 | Mike Shin | 175.40 |
| 6 | Chris Moon | 166.10 |
| 7 | Spenser Cramer | 154.00 |
| 8 | Greg Wood | 152.50 |
| 9 | Mike Sabbia | 146.40 |
| 10 | Dan Wagner | 143.40 |
Level: 12
Blinds: 1,000/2,000
Ante: 2,000