| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
110,000 | |
|
|
85,000
37,000
|
37,000 |
|
|
80,000
44,000
|
44,000 |
|
|
80,000
5,000
|
5,000 |
|
|
80,000
22,000
|
22,000 |
|
|
65,000
25,000
|
25,000 |
|
|
60,000
15,000
|
15,000 |
|
|
52,000
7,000
|
7,000 |
|
|
45,000
5,000
|
5,000 |
|
|
18,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
|
13,000
32,000
|
32,000 |
|
|
13,000
12,000
|
12,000 |
2020 Midway Poker Tour Chicago
We joined the action on the turn with what looked to be about 25,000 chips in the pot and a board reading ![]()
![]()
![]()
.
Antonio De La Cruz, from under-the-gun-plus-one checked the turn to Michael Berk, who pushed his entire stack of about 60,000 into the middle declaring, "All-in." De La Cruz thought for a moment before making the call from his 70,000 chips stack.
Berk tabled ![]()
and De La Cruz ![]()
.
De La Cruz needed help, and it came in the form of the river
, giving him two pair and sending Berk to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
170,000
90,000
|
90,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Level: 12
Blinds: 1,000/2,000
Ante: 2,000
The Midway Poker Tour was conceived by Dan Bekavac, a Midwest poker player with more than $290K in lifetime tournament earnings. That includes two MSPT titles, one of which was the 2019 MSPT Potawatomi Main Event for a career-high $126,998.
PokerNews had the chance to catch up with Bekavac leading up to this introductory event.
PokerNews: When and how did the Midway Poker Tour come to be?
Bekavac: We’ve been developing an app that is basically Facebook for poker players since 2017, so the idea of the live tour has been being kicked around since then. We are getting closer to launching the app so now is the perfect time to get our live tour off the ground.
What sort of COVID-19 precautions will be taken during the event?
To help keep everyone safe, we are hosting the event in four separate banquet halls and we are limiting each room to five tables of nine players. All players will be required to wear a mask and hand sanitizing stations will be in each gaming room.
What sort of things have you had to do to prepare for this event?
We’ve had custom tables and chips made for the charity, as well as a custom RFID table, as we will be the first and only mid-major poker tour to stream their event live from the beginning to the end of the event. We’ve had to navigate through the Illinois charity gaming regulations to make sure we are 100% in compliance. As well as reach out to many marketing teams and companies to start getting the word out on our new tour.
What do you envision for the future of the Midway Poker Tour?
We created this tour with the concept of, “For Players, By Players”. Giving the players what they want, treating them well and offering them what doesn’t exist now with other tours. We will be the biggest mid-major poker tour by the end of 2021
Dan Bekavac sat down with a fresh stack and immediately started building, getting up to 80k from his 30k starting within an orbit. But then trouble hit.
First, Sami Shurbaji opened to 5,000 from under-the-gun and was called by Bekavac and the big blind player. On a flop of ![]()
![]()
the blg blind and Shurbaji checked before Bekavac bet 9,200. After the big blind folded, Shurbaji raised to 20,000 and was quickly called by Bekavac. On the
turn, Shurbaji once again checked, opening the door for Bekavac to move all in, which was called by the shorter stack of Shurbaji. Bekavac tabled ![]()
and was up against the ![]()
of Shurbaji. The
completed the board giving the full double up to Shurbaji.
On the very next hand, left with about ten big blinds, Bekavac moved all-in from under-the-gun. Kevin Berthelson on the button re-raised all-in, leaving the players heads up with Bekavac at risk. Bekavac flipped over ![]()
and was up against the ![]()
of Berthelson. The board of ![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
was of no help to Bekavac who was sent to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
150,000
96,000
|
96,000 |
|
|
60,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
|
|
Busted |
After re-entering the tournament, Dan Bekavac raised to 9,200 under the gun and then called when Jimmy "Blue Eyes" Salabi three-bet all in for 25,000.
Dan Bekavac: ![]()
![]()
Jimmy "Blue Eyes" Salabi: ![]()
![]()
Salabi had the superior ace and he shipped the double after the board ran out
Bekavac proceeded to rebound after tripling with the ![]()
all in preflop against two players (courtesy of running threes on the turn and river), and then immediately doubled in the next hand with ![]()
.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
75,000
75,000
|
75,000 |
|
|
55,000 |
The approximately 50 remaining players are now on a 15-minute break. During this time the tournament staff will race off the T100 chips. Late registration and re-entries will come to a close at the end of the break.
The preflop action escaped us but we do know that Brian Barros got his stack all in against Antonio De La Cruz.
Antonio De La Cruz: ![]()
![]()
Brian Barros: ![]()
![]()
Barros had the granddaddy of all hands and shipped the double after the board ran out a lowly ![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
160,000
95,000
|
95,000 |
|
|
60,000
110,000
|
110,000 |
The Day 1a flight in the inaugural Midway Poker Tour attracted 101 entrants. The plan is to play down to the final 12 players, who'll make the money and bag for Sunday's Day 2. Currently, 38 players remaining with registration officially closed.
Level: 13
Blinds: 1,500/2,500
Ante: 2,500