USPO #07 – $25,000 No Limit Hold'em
Day 1 Completed
2018 US Poker Open
USPO #07 – $25,000 No Limit Hold'em
Day: 1
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2018 US Poker Open
Buy-in
$26,000
Entries
50
Level
26
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
80,000
Stephen Chidwick Leads Another Stacked Final Table in Event #7: $25,000 No Limit Hold'em
Level 20
: 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
It was a long and grueling Day 1 of Event #7: $25,000 No Limit Hold'em that took over 12 hours to complete. However, when all was said and done, the remaining six players may make up the best final table the US Poker Open has seen yet.
Let it be known, that none other than Stephen Chidwick himself, is heading into another final table as the chip leader. Chidwick has already put together an incredible week of poker and he is showing no signs of slowing down. Having already cashed for nearly $1,000,000, Chidwick is by far and away the overall leader for the inaugural US Poker Open.
He will come into the final table with 1,745,000 and it wasn't for a lack of hard work. Chidwick continued to double up his short stack numerous times throughout the day and just when it seemed he was on his way out the door, he would find a miracle turn or river to keep him alive. However, this final table may be the stiffest competition Chidwick will have had to face thus far.
Sean Winter (1,510,000) and David Peters (1,340,000) are the other two players to have cracked the seven-figure mark by the end of play. This is Winter's first cash of the series but he is not to be taken lightly with over $5.7 million in career earnings. As for Peters, this is his second cash of the week and he, too, is widely regarded as one of the best tournament players in the world.
The bottom half of the leaderboard also contains some of the world's best poker players. Keith Tilston (745,000) has resurfaced to the high-stakes tournament scene this week and is showing that he has not missed a beat. Maybe one of the most popular players in the world, Daniel Negreanu (640,000) has made yet another final table. Negreanu will be pushing hard to capture the first place prize as he aims to catch Chidwick for the overall title. Rounding out the field is Ben Tollerene (270,000) who already has one win under his belt this week. Tollerene took down Event #5 for $187,600 and is looking to rack up another one.
Final Table Seating
| Seat | Player | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ben Tollerene | United States | 270,000 | 9 |
| 2 | Sean Winter | United States | 1,510,000 | 50 |
| 3 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | 640,000 | 21 |
| 4 | Keith Tilston | United States | 745,000 | 25 |
| 5 | David Peters | United States | 1,340,000 | 45 |
| 6 | Stephen Chidwick | United Kingdom | 1,745,000 | 58 |
The action got off to a slow start on Day 1 with just 15 entries taking to their seats to kick things off. That number remained still for a couple of levels until the stragglers started rolling in. Along with some new entries, there were quite a few re-entries as well. In total, there were 50 entries that made up a prizepool of $1,250,000. Here is a look at what will be up for grabs tomorrow.
Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | ||
| 2 | $262,000 | ||
| 3 | $175,000 | ||
| 4 | $125,000 | ||
| 5 | $100,000 | ||
| 6 | $75,000 | ||
| 7 | Matt Hyman | United States | $62,500 |
| 8 | Isaac Haxton | United States | $50,000 |
The bubble lasted over two levels and finally saw Dan Smith fall just short of making the money. Smith's all in was called by Tilston who made a pair of queens against Smith's pair of eights. Eight-handed play continued for a while as well, with many of the short stacks continually finding a double up. However, it was Isaac Haxton who ran out of chips in eighth place which left the final seven players to duke it out.
Negreanu came into the unofficial final table with less than two big blinds but managed to find a couple of double ups to keep himself in contention. It would be another double up from Negreanu that left Matt Hyman with under six big blinds. He would eventually get his chips in the middle holding pocket queens but Peters paired his king on the river to eliminate Hyman in seventh place.
The players will reconvene inside the Aria Resort and Casino at 12:00 P.M. local time when the cards are slated to get in the air. There will be two minutes remaining in level 20 with the blinds at 15,000/30,000 and a 30,000 big blind ante.
You can tune into PokerGO at 1:00 P.M. to catch the live stream on a 30-minute delay with hole cards. As well, the PokerNews live reporting team will continue to keep the blog updated with all of the action unfolding at the final table.
End of Day Chip Counts (full)
Level 20
: 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
1,745,000 | 165,000 |
|
1,510,000 | 160,000 |
|
1,340,000 | -10,000 |
|
745,000 | -155,000 |
|
640,000 | |
|
270,000 | -55,000 |
Matt Hyman Eliminated in 7th Place ($62,500)
Level 20
: 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
David Peters opened to 70,000 from early position and Matt Hyman shipped all in for 170,000 from the small blind. Peters made the call and the cards were tabled. Hyman lost the majority of his chips just a couple of hands earlier after doubling up Daniel Negreanu and now found himself at risk of being eliminated.
David Peters: 
Matt Hyman: 
When the flop came 
, Hyman looked poised as another short stack to find a double up. The 
on the turn spiked some life into Peters and the 
on the river gave him two pair. Hyman was unable to spin his stack back up as he was eliminated in seventh place.
The final six players are now bagging up their chips as they will all meet on the final table tomorrow beginning at 12:00 PST.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,350,000 | 100,000 |
|
|
640,000 | 220,000 |
|
Busted |
Just Another Double for Chidwick
Level 20
: 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
The action folded around to Stephen Chidwick in the small blind who wound up getting all of his 780,000 chips in the middle against Ben Tollerene in the big blind.
Once again, Chidwick was in a dominated position holding 
against Tollerene's 
. However, when the board ran out 
, Chidwick made a straight and the table continued to outrage about Chidwick's luck this week.
"Hold on, I have to tweet this," said Daniel Negreanu.
"You are so lucky man. I'm sure you deserve it but wow!" Sean Winter tooted.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,580,000 | 560,000 |
|
|
325,000 | -600,000 |
Negreanu Triples Up
Level 20
: 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Daniel Negreanu shoved all in for 130,000 on the button and was called by Keith Tilston in the small blind and David Peters in the big blind. Both Tilston and Peters checked the entire board that read 
and then tabled their hands.
Tilston showed ace-high, Peters showed two pair, jacks and kings, but neither of them were able to beat Negreanu who rolled over 
for trip kings.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
420,000 | 220,000 |
Level: 20
Blinds: 15,000/30,000
Ante: 30,000
Negreanu Doubles Twice, Winter Over a Million
Level 19
: 10,000/25,000, 25,000 ante
Daniel Negreanu came into the unofficial final table with less than two big blinds but found a way to double up twice and is now sitting with 200,000.
Keith Tilston raised to 60,000 from the hijack and Sean Winter called from the big blind. The flop came 
and Winter check-called a bet of 40,000 from Tilston.
The turn was the and Winter checked again, allowing Tilston to fire another 150,000. Winter continued to call and the 
completed the board. Winter checked one more time and Tilston eyed up his opponent's stack before shipping all in. Winter had 405,000 remaining and instantly stuck his chips in the middle.
Tilston tabled 
for two pair but Winter held the nuts with 
. A massive double up put Winter over one million chips while Tilston fell back to the middle of the pack.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,350,000 | 1,160,000 |
|
|
900,000 | -630,000 |
|
|
200,000 | -190,000 |
Isaac Haxton Eliminated in 8th Place ($50,000)
Level 19
: 10,000/25,000, 25,000 ante
Just one hand after Matt Hyman spiked a three-outer on the river to double up through David Peters, Isaac Haxton got all of his chips in the middle from the big blind. He was up against Peters in the small blind.
David Peters: 
Isaac Haxton: 
The flop came 
and Peters hit a pair of tens while Haxton held two over cards and an open-ended straight draw. The on the turn and the on the river were not the cards Haxton was looking for as he became the eighth-place finisher.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,250,000 | 220,000 |
|
|
750,000 | 385,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 19
Blinds: 10,000/25,000
Ante: 25,000