U.S Poker Open 2021 Is Back And Running

The U.S. Poker Open® has returned and is running from June 3-15, 2021, at the PokerGO Studio from ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The 12-event schedule features a mixture of No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Big Bet Mix, 8-Game, and Short Deck events over the two weeks of high-stakes poker tournaments.

In 2018, Stephen Chidwick won the inaugural U.S. Poker Open Championship after cashing for a total of $1,256,650 in prize money which included two wins and five final tables. In 2019, David Peters won the U.S. Poker Championship on the back of his Main Event victory, three final tables, and a total of $1,584,800 in earnings.

All tournaments will be part of the PokerGO Tour with players earning points based on the amount they cash for. The points awarded during the U.S. Poker Open will also decide who wins the U.S. Poker Open Championship, $50,000 in added prize money, and the new Golden Eagle Trophy.

The full PokerGO Tour schedule can be found here, and the current PokerGO Tour leaderboard is available here.

Jake Daniels Claims First Event Of 2021 U.S. Poker Open

A record-breaking 95 entries were made in event no. 1 of the 2021 U.S. Poker Open, a $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament and after two days of play, it was Texas poker pro Jake Daniels who came away with the victory, along with $218,500 of the $950,000 prize pool.
 
This was Daniels’ third final table of the year, and continues the hot streak he started in December of 2019 with a win at the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic. Last year, he picked up victories at the Aria Winter High Roller Series, as well as the L.A. Poker Classic High Roller before the live tournament circuit was shut down. He now has nearly $1.6 million in career tournament earnings.
 
In order to claim the title, Daniels had to overcome a tough final table that included high rollers Sergi Reixach and Barry Hutter, Card Player columnist Steve Zolotow, 2018 USPO champion Stephen Chidwick, and day 1 chip leader Dan Shak.

Daniels knocked out Chidwick in fourth place, before Shak busted Hutter to set up a heads-up showdown. Shak held a nearly 2:1 chip lead to start, but a cooler when both players made straights flipped the advantage to Daniels.

It wasn’t long after that when Daniels was able to close out the match and secure the title.

Sam Soverel Wins U.S. Poker Open $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Event

Event no. 2 of the 2021 U.S. Poker Open was a $10,000 buy-in pot-limit Omaha tournament that drew 65 players, creating a total prize pool of $650,000.
 
High-stakes poker pro Sam Soverel came away with the victory, his second of the year and seventh final table overall. For the win, the Florida native pocketed $175,500, bringing his career live tournament earnings to just shy of $15 million.
 
The 2019 Poker Masters champion was able to chip up during the money bubble, and entered the final table with a massive chip lead and almost 45 percent of the chips in play.

Soverel strengthened his lead after dispatching Maxx Coleman in fifth place and Dylan Weisman in fourth. Jordan Cristos eliminated Marc Brody in third place, setting up a heads-up match for the title.

Cristos was looking to earn his second title in this event, having won the 2019 edition for $179,200, but he was unable to overcome Soverel’s 2:1 chip advantage. In addition to the $130,000 he earned for his runner-up finish, Cristos also picked up 300 Card Player Player of the Year points, moving him into 15th place overall.

Former WSOP Main Event Champion Joe McKeehen Also Claims U.S. Poker Open Title

The hot streak continues for Joe McKeehen, who took down event no. 3 of the U.S. Poker Open on Sunday, earning his second title of the year and $200,200.

The Philadelphia native is making the case that he’s the most accomplished former WSOP champion in the modern era, with more than $10 million in tournament cashes since taking down the 2015 main event for $7,683,346.

His latest victory came over a field of 77 players in the $10,000 no-limit hold’em event, earning him 420 Card Player Player of the Year points and moving him into fifth place in the standings.

In order to secure the title, McKeehen had to overcome a tough final table that included Andrew Lichtenberger (8th), Barry Hutter (7th), Justin Saliba (6th), Jake Schindler (5th), Steve Zolotow (4th), Ali Imsirovic (3rd), and Ray Qartomy (2nd).

On the final hand, both Imsirovic and Qartomy were all in against McKeehen’s pocket jacks, and the board brought the remaining two jacks to give McKeehen quads and the double knockout.

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