David Peters did not cash through the first six tournaments of the 12-event 2021 U.S. Poker Open series. Despite a slow first half, the reigning USP…
David Peters did not cash through the first six tournaments of the 12-event 2021 U.S. Poker Open series. Despite a slow first half, the reigning USP…
David Peters did not cash through the first six tournaments of the 12-event 2021 U.S. Poker Open series. Despite a slow first half, the reigning USPO champion has managed to surge into the lead heading into the final event of the series with four final-tables finishes and three titles won in a five-day span, with $832,950 in earnings accumulated along the way.
Peters’ incredible run began when he took down event no. 7, a $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament, on June 9 and then finished eighth in the $10,000 pot-limit Omaha event the very next day. He did not cash in event no. 9, but emerged victorious in the $10,000 short deck event for his second title of the series. Just one day after from that win, Peters managed to defeat a field of 69 entries to complete the hat trick by winning the $25,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event. The 34-year-old poker pro earned $465,750 for his latest title run.
Peters now has more than $36 million in career tournament earnings to his name, which puts him in sixth place on poker’s all-time money list. He is the only player with more than one victory through the first 11 events, and his 646 points are good for a 163-point lead over second-ranked Ali Imsirovic with just one tournament remaining in the series. Whoever ends up with the most points at the conclusion of this high-roller festival will be awarded $50,000 in added prize money and the new Golden Eagle trophy.
Peters hopped directly into this $25,000 buy-in event after winning the short deck event and survived to the final table of six, sitting in fifth chip position when cards got back in the air for the second and final day of action. He took nearly a 4:1 chip lead into heads-up play with Ivan Zufic.
Check out our exclusive interview with Ivan for more information about the Croatian poker pro:
The final showdown didn’t last long, though. In the first hand of the heads-up match, Peters picked up pocket tens and limped in from the button. Zufic looked down at pocket nines and raised to 475,000. Peters called and the flop came down Q83. Zufic bet 375,000 and Peters called. The 10 on the turn prompted Zufic to check. Peters checked back with his set and the 4 completed the board. Zufic checked Peters bet enough to put Zufic all-in. Zufic thought it over before committing his last 1,230,000. Zufic earned $345,000 for his second final-table finish of the series.
Place | Name | Championship Points | Payouts |
---|---|---|---|
1st | David Peters | 279 | $465,750 |
2nd | Ivan Zufic | 207 | $345,000 |
3rd | Dan Shak | 135 | $224,250 |
4th | Jake Daniels | 104 | $172,500 |
5th | Vanessa Kade | 83 | $138,000 |
6th | Frank Funaro | 62 | $103,500 |
7th | Chris Brewer | 52 | $86,250 |
8th | Randy Kaas | 41 | $69,000 |
9th | Sergi Reixach | 41 | $69,000 |
10th | John Riordan | 31 | $51,750 |
Rank | Player | Points | Wins | Cashes | Earnings |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | David Peters | 646 | 3 | 4 | $832,950 |
2 | Ali Imsirovic | 483 | 1 | 5 | $482,000 |
3 | Dan Shak | 371 | 0 | 4 | $459,750 |
4 | Jake Daniels | 323 | 1 | 2 | $391,000 |
5 | Andrew Lichtenberger | 308 | 0 | 3 | $308,000 |
6 | Joe McKeehen | 302 | 1 | 2 | $302,200 |
7 | Steve Zolotow | 289 | 0 | 3 | $289,000 |
8 | Cary Katz | 270 | 0 | 4 | $270,100 |
9 | Ivan Zufic | 266 | 0 | 2 | $404,400 |
10 | John Riordan | 253 | 1 | 4 | $273,550 |