Aram Zobian Crowned 2024 U.S. Poker Open Series Champion

The 2024 U.S. Poker Open series champion points race came down to the final table of the last tournament on the schedule. Both Aram Zobian and Jesse Lonis were in with a shot of securing the series title depending on how they finished, but Zobian’s path was the far easier of the two. Lonis would have to not only win the event but also have Zobian fail to make the top five.

When Lonis was knocked out in sixth place, that meant that Zobian had officially secured the USPO Golden Eagle trophy and the $25,000 PokerGO Tour passport. Zobian went on to finish fifth for $78,000 and 47 PGT points. This was his fourth cash of the eight-event series. Along the way, Zobian recorded a win in event no. 6, as well as a runner-up showing, a third-place finish, and this deep run. All told, he cashed for $613,540 during the USPO, the most of any player. He and second-ranked Stephen Chidwick ($597,850) were the only players to accrue more than half of a million in earnings during the series.

This year’s USPO awarded $7,350,000 in prize money across its eight-event schedule, with 652 total entries made throughout the festival. There were 48 players who recorded in-the-money finishes, with 26 players earning multiple cashes during the series. Nine players recorded four or more cashes, with Victoria Livschitz and Rodger Johnson being the only contenders to make the money in five events.

Zobian’s first deep run of the series saw him place second out of a 99-entry field in event no. 2, a $10,100 buy-in no-limit hold’em affair. He took home $163,350 and 163 PGT points as the runner-up. Two days later, he again navigated his way to the business end of a $10,100 buy-in in event no. 4. He ended up finishing third from a field of 83 entries, adding another $107,900 and 108 points.

Zobian’s title run came in event no. 6, the first of two $15,1000 buy-ins at the series. He bested a field of 62 entries to earn $264,290 and 298 points, giving him the lead in the series-long points race heading into the final two events.

His sixth-place finish in the $25,200 buy-in finale for $78,000 and 47 points cemented his win in the USPO points race, giving him a 189-point margin over Chidwick (427 points), who won that last event, in the final standings. Lonis ultimately placed third with 400 points. Both Chidwick and Lonis won a title and cashed four times during the series.

Zobian climbed to third in the season-long PGT points race thanks to his success at this festival. Chidwick moved to sixth place and Lonis eighth place.

The $613,540 earned by Zobian at the USPO increased his career total to nearly $6.5 million in earnings. The World Series of Poker bracelet winner and 2018 WSOP main event sixth-place finisher has climbed to 15th in the Card Player Player of the Year, with 2,512 points and $983,190 in POY earnings accrued across nine final-table finishes so far in 2024.

Here are the final top ten in the USPO points race standings:

Photo credits: PokerGO / Antonio Abrego.

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