The tournament is one table away from making the money with 136 players now remaining and less than 15 minutes until dinner. Another updated list of counts from around the room has been provided below.
Since its inception in 2009, the MSPT has done a great job keeping track of player stats. As a result, 11 years on they have one of the best player databases in the industry.
On their "Leaderboards" page, the MSPT tracks such things as Career Earnings, Main Event Cashes, Main Event Final Tables, Main Event Titles, Total Cashes, Most Cashes/Final Tables in a Season, Most Final Tables All-Time, and much more.
Several players in today's field are looking to climb on the leaderboard for "Most MSPT Main Event Final Tables."
Here's a look at the top eight MSPT Main Event final tables in tour history:
| Place | Player | Hometown | Main Event Final Tables |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Alsup | New Hope, Minnesota | 12 |
| 2 | Kou Vang | Maplewood, Minnesota | 10 |
| 3 | Blake Bohn | Eden Prairie, Minnesota | 9 |
| 4 | Rob WazWaz | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 9 |
| 5 | Aaron Johnson | Red Wing, Minnesota | 8 |
| 6 | Jeremy Dresch | Fridley Minnesota | 8 |
| 7 | Everett Carlton | St. Paul, Minnesota | 8 |
| 8 | Dan "DQ" Hendrickson | Faribault, Minnesota | 7 |
| 9 | Dennis Stevermer | St. Paul, Minnesota | 7 |
| 10 | Joe Matheson | Monticello, Minnesota | 7 |
Ralph Massey pumped it up to 12,000 under the gun and saw action fold around to the big blind, who defended. Both players checked the flop 
.
The turn came 
and the big blind checked again. Massey threw out a bet of 10,000 and the big blind called. The river fell 
and the big blind checked to Massey once more, who fired another 20,000 into the middle. Twenty seconds later, the big blind had done enough deliberating and threw in chips to match.
Massey quickly tabled 
for top set and earned the pot upon his opponent mucking. He is now up to 350,000.
Just 20 more eliminations are needed for play to make it into the money as the tournament clock currently displays 148 remaining players. Here's another round of updated chip counts.
Bryant Miller raised to 10,000 in early position and action folded around to the big blind, who three-bet shoved for 67,000. Miller received confirmation of the amount and called.
All-In Player: 
Bryant Miller: 
Miller saw an unfortunate flop of 
come on board to give his opponent kings up. The turn 
gave him four more outs to Broadway, but he needed none of them as the river 
gave him the best hand once more to earn the pot and the knockout.
Level: 16
Blinds: 2,500/5,000
Ante: 5,000
Ark Onikul opened to 14,000 in middle position and action folded around to the big blind, where Sean Yu defended. The flop came 
and Yu checked. Onikul made a continuation-bet of 7,000 and Yu called, bringing the turn 
where both players checked.
The river fell 
and Yu extended his fingers, tapping them onto the felt several times to check once more. Onikul bet 21,000 and Yu immediately reached for chips, grabbing the same amount and tossing it into the middle. Both players tabled their hands immediately and simultaneously.
Ark Onikul: 
Sean Yu: 
Yu's top pair, top kicker earned him the pot at Onikul's expense after Onikul missed a backdoor gutshot straight draw and bluffed the river with it.
There was a middle-position open to 11,00 that sent folds around the table to Aaron Van Blarcum, who three-bet to 36,000 in the small blind. The player in middle position called and action went heads up to the streets.
The flop dropped 
and Van Blarcum cut out a continuation-bet of 40,000. His opponent slid in raise to 100,000, and Van Blarcum thought for about 35 seconds before asking to have 40,000 pulled in from each player. Van Blarcum also asked to see the player's remaining stack of 68,000, and half a minute went by before he announced he was all in. The player called.
All-In Player: 
Aaron Van Blarcum: 
Van Blarcum successfully navigated the runout to improve to a set of aces and send his opponent packing, bringing his stack back up to 465,000 after an earlier dip. Will Pengelly also finds himself on Van Blarcum's table with another large stack of 455,000, and while the two are seated next to each other, their table is likely to be among the next few to break.
Did you know the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) publishes its own monthly magazine? Well, right now it's on hiatus due to the pandemic, but past issues are still available online to read for free!
Print copies are usually distributed to host venues across the country, while anyone from around the world can read it digitally.
The magazine highlights everything from the players who make the tour so great, to things to do at each stop. You can also get caught up on MSPT leaderboards and read about upcoming stops. You can also check out various strategy and profile articles.
The next time you're sitting at the table in need of something to read, check out MSPT Magazine.
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