Stephen Chidwick Wins Inaugural US Poker Open

The inaugural US Poker Open series is now is the books. From February 1-11 the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas hosted eight high stakes events featuring a number of disciplines including no-limit hold’em, pot-limit Omaha and mixed games. At the conclusion of the series, the US Poker Open Championship trophy was awarded to the player who cashed for the most money throughout the series, and in the end, Stephen Chidwick was the clear victor.

The 28-year-old British poker pro cashed in five of the eight tournaments and was the only player to win two of the events during the series. All told Chidwick accumulated $1,256,600. He failed to cash in the final event of the series, but despite that fact he had mathematically secured the trophy before that tournament had even concluded.

Here is a look at the top five finishers in terms of the race for the USPO championship trophy:

Card Player previously published a recap of the first four events of the series, which can be found here. Below is a look at the final four events of the series, including the $50,000 super high roller main event.

US Poker Open Event 5 – $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em

The fifth event of the series was a $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament. A total of 67 entries were made in the event, with high-stakes cash game regular Ben Tollerene ultimately emerging victorious with the title and the first-place prize of $187,600.

This was Tollerene’s second title of the year, having won a $5,000 side event at the Lucky Hearts Poker Open in January. The American poker pro was not done at the USPO, though, so look for more from him below.

Jake Schindler finished second in this event for $134,000. This was his third cash of the series, having previously finished ninth in the kickoff event and fourth in the first $25,000 high roller of the series.

Cary Katz made his third cash of the series by finishing fourth in this event for $67,000.

US Poker Open Event 6 – $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em

Next up on the schedule was the second $25,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event of the series. The tournament attracted 49 total entries to build a prize pool of $1,225,000.

France’s Benjamin Pollak came out on top, earning $416,500 and the title. This was Pollak’s third cash of the series, having placed eighth in the pot-limit Omaha event and fourth in the $25,000 mixed game championship. Pollak ultimately ended up cashing for the fifth most money of any player during the series, with $554,600 in total earnings.

Jason Koon finished in second place for $269,500 while Chidwick notched his fourth cash of the series by placing third for $183,750.

Daniel Negreanu made what would be his third of five cashes during the USPO in this event, finishing seventh for $61,250. This was the first of three back-to-back-to-back cashes he made over the final stretch of the series, so look for more from ‘Kid Poker’ below.

US Poker Open Event 7 – $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em

The penultimate event of the 2018 USPO was another $25,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em high roller, which drew 50 entries to build a $1,249,500 prize pool. 2016 Card Player Player of the Year award winner David Peters was the last player standing, earning $400,000 for the win. This was his third cash of the series.

Peters defeated none other than Stephen Chidwick to secure the title in this event. Chidwick earned $262,000 in what would be his fifth and final cash of the series. As previously mentioned, he cashed for over $1.2 million throughout the USPO. Along the way he also earned 1,620 POY points, enough to see him move into seventh place in the overall standings.

Keith Tilston finished fourth for $125,000 in what was his third cash of the series, while Daniel Negreanu finished sixth for what was also his fourth cash at the USPO.

US Poker Open Event 8 – $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em

The $50,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em high roller event closed out the series. With 33 total entries, the prize pool grew to $1,650,000. Keith Tilston came away with the win, defeating Jake Schindler heads-up to secure the $660,000 first-place prize and his fourth cash at the USPO. Tilston’s earnings for the series totaled $1,047,100. As a result, he finished second to Chidwick in the race for the championship trophy.

Schindler earned $429,000 as the runner-up. This was also his fourth score of the series, and with $693,400 in earnings he placed third in the standings. Daniel Negreanu made his fifth cash, bringing his total to $621,500 for the series.

Winner photo credits: PokerGO / Drew Amato.

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