$1,110 Main Event
Day 2 Completed
2020 Mid-States Poker Tour JACK Cleveland
$1,110 Main Event
Day: 2
Pat Steele Wins 2020 MSPT Cleveland Poker Open at JACK Cleveland Casino for $124,461; Makes MSPT Hall of Fame
Level 33
: 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
It was a big day for Michigan's Pat Steele, the Mid-States Poker Tour Season 4 Player of the Year. In the first MSPT Main Event of Season 11, he became just the fifth person to earn a spot in the MSPT Hall of Fame thanks to notching 25 career MSPT Main Event cashes to go along with his POY title.
Not content to stop there, Steele topped the 611-entry field to win the 2020 Cleveland Poker Open $1,100 Main Event title at JACK Cleveland, which was good for a $124,461 top prize.
Steele talked about his historic night after his win: "Words can't describe it, but to do two things in one night, finally get a win on the MSPT, it's pretty awesome. To be involved with the great Hall of Famers, it's cool to be apart of both of those groups."
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pat Steele | $124,461 |
| 2 | Ronnie Dowdy | $76,455 |
| 3 | DJ Swartz | $55,711 |
| 4 | Dan Pechnik | $41,487 |
| 5 | Jeff Mirelli | $31,412 |
| 6 | Doc Love | $23,707 |
| 7 | Mark Wahba | $18,373 |
| 8 | Ryan Rebman | $14,224 |
| 9 | Lydia Waltonbaugh | $11,261 |
Final Day Action
The final day of the Main Event saw 90 players return for Day 2. Some notables that were able to cash by finishing in the top 63 included defending champ Adam Friedman (16th), Karam Dhillon (21st), Chris Moon (26th) and Bobby Noel (46th).
Lydia Waltonbaugh was the first to exit the final table when she moved all in with ace-jack and could not improve against Jeff Mirelli, who held kings.
Ryan Rebman and Mark Wahba were next to exit the final table when Dan Pechnik held ace-king on an ace-high board and eliminated both of them on the same hand.
Doc Love also fell victim to Pechnik when his ace-eight couldn't improve against Pechnik’s queens.
Mirelli was next to bust in fifth place when he flopped trip kings and ran into Steele’s full house.
DJ Swartz had Pechnik dominated when they got the money in preflop. Penchnik was unable to hit one of his three outs and went home in fourth place.
Three-handed action lasted over two hours until a blind-versus-blind cooler saw Swartz’s pocket kings get cracked by the ace-queen of Steele to send him out the door in third place.
Heads-Up Play
Steele held the chip lead for the entirety of the heads-up match that lasted roughly 90 minutes. Steele and Ronnie Dowdy played a lot of small pots that saw Steele grind Dowdy down to a push or fold stack. Steele had a chance to lock up the title early when he shoved eight nine suited against Dowdy's king-jack. Steele flopped top pair and turned two pairs, but Dowdy rivered a flush to keep the heads up match going.
In the final hand, Steele had Dowdy dominated but found himself behind after the flop. Steele was able to improve to a pair of his own on the turn and found a brick on the river to make him the 2020 MSPT Cleveland Poker Open champion.
Season 11 of the MSPT continues January 29-February 4 at The Venetian in Las Vegas for the $1,100 buy-in, $1,000,000 guaranteed Poker Bowl IV. Click here for more details.
Ronnie Dowdy Eliminated in 2nd Place ($76,455)
Level 33
: 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Ronnie Dowdy raised his button to 1,700,000 leaving himself just 50,000 behind. Pat Steele moved all in and Dowdy called.
Pat Steele: 
Ronnie Dowdy: 
Steele had Dowdy dominated but the 
flop sent Dowdy into the lead. Steele was able to find one of the three remaining jacks in the deck when the 
landed on the turn. The 
was the last river dealt in the tournament and Dowdy was eliminated in second place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
15,275,000 | 1,975,000 |
|
Busted |
Updated Chip Counts
Level 33
: 150,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
13,300,000 | 1,600,000 |
|
|
2,000,000 | -1,400,000 |
Level: 33
Blinds: 150,000/300,000
Ante: 300,000
Dowdy Backdoors a Flush to Stay Alive
Level 32
: 150,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Pat Steele moved all in on the button and Ronnie Dowdy called off his remaining 1,670,000.
Ronnie Dowdy: 
Pat Steele: 
Steele was behind but the 
flop left him two cards away from becoming the MSPT champion. The 
turn left Dowdy needing to hit a ten or a spade to avoid elimination. The 
river completed Dowdy's flush and he double up to stay alive.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
11,700,000 | -1,600,000 |
|
|
3,400,000 | 1,500,000 |
Level: 32
Blinds: 150,000/250,000
Ante: 250,000
Steele Widens the Gap
Level 31
: 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Both players checked the flop of 
in a limped pot and went to a turn card.
The action checked to Pat Steele on the turn card and he bet 325,000. Ronnie Dowdy called.
The 
completed the board and Dowdy check-called a bet of 1,100,000.
Pat Steele: 
Steele tabled two pair and took down the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
13,300,000 | 2,600,000 |
|
|
1,900,000 | -2,600,000 |
DJ Swartz Eliminated in 3rd Place ($55,711)
Level 31
: 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Pat Steele limped in from the small blind and DJ Swartz moved all in for 3,000,000 from the big blind. Steele snap-called.
Pat Steele: 
DJ Swartz: 
It was a blind vs blind cooler and Swartz remained in the lead after the 
flop. The turn left Steele with just five outs. The 
river was one of those outs and Swartz was eliminated in third place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
10,700,000 | 2,000,000 |
|
|
4,500,000 | 500,000 |
|
Busted |
Updated Chip Counts
Level 31
: 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
8,700,000 | 2,500,000 |
|
|
4,000,000 | -900,000 |
|
|
2,500,000 | -1,700,000 |