The Man To Beat

After one player limped and a third made it 600, MSPT Player of the Year points leader Mark Hodge called on the button.

The small blind and the limper made it four ways to a flop. The small blind and the limper checked and the original raiser fired out a 1,300-chip c-bet. Hodge bumped it to 2,600 and after two folds, the raiser called.

The turn brought the and two checks. The river looked much the same and when the raiser showed , Hodge mucked.

If things keep going like this, Hodge may still win the MSPT Player of the Year title at this final event on the MSPT Season Six schedule, but that's about it.

Should he fail to cash and the total number of entries in the event is between 400 and 500, MSPT Pros Blake Bohn and Nicholas Pupillo have a shot to catch him with a ninth-place finish or better.

Peixin Liu and Bill Rogers would need to finish eighth or better and Rich Alsup would have to grab seventh or above.

And finally, Gerald Heckathorn, Thomas Peebles and Daniel Buckley would need a win to wrestle the POY crown from Hodge's clutches.