Matt Kirby and Matt Alexander Join Mid-States Poker Tour Pro Team
Season 4 of the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) recently came to a close at Canterbury Park near the Twin Cities in Minnesota with Pat Steele being named the Player of the Year. Now in preparation for Season 5, which kicks off in February 2014, the MSPT has announced two new members to its Pro Team.
Matt Kirby (pictured) and Matt Alexander will join Blake Bohn, the 2013 Chicago Poker Classic Main Event winner, on the roster, thus bringing together three of the hottest and most successful poker players from the Midwest.
“[Kirby] is extremely dedicated and driven to be one of the best,” said Bryan Mileski, MSPT Founder and President. “He’s achieved so much in such a short period of time after just getting serious about playing poker in late 2010.”
Indeed, Kirby has been a rising star in the poker world thanks in no small part to his success on the MSPT. In May of 2012, he earned his first career win at the MSPT Northern Lights event in Walker, Minnesota, which is just 45 minutes from his home town of Bemidji.
One month later, Kirby went on to house a Rio Daily event during the World Series of Poker for $52,085, and followed that up by winning his second MSPT bracelet and brining his seven-month total to $158,384. Kirby is one of only two players to earn multiple wins on the MSPT and he owns one of the most impressive résumés on the tour that includes six cashes (tied for third all time), three final tables (tied for fourth all time) and earnings that exceed $100,000 (fifth all time).
“Winning my second MSPT bracelet was quite special,” Kirby previously told PokerNews in an interview. “I feel that an average player can run good, play well, catch a couple breaks and take down a tournament, but to win two has only been done by one other player over three years. I feel it speaks to how much my game has grown over the last year or so.”
To prove his impressive break out 2012 season was no fluke, Kirby more than doubled those numbers in 2013 by cashing 12 times for $338,159 including a second-place finish in the WSOP Circuit Choctaw Main Event for a career high cash of $192,751.
As far as Alexander is concerned, his consistency and reputation for aggression earned him a spot on the team.
“Alexander has the ability to accumulate chips like few I’ve ever seen,” said fellow MSPT Team Pro Blake Bohn. “He is so difficult to play against, always applying pressure.”
The Minneapolis-based pro has 40 career cashes and four career titles, including a win in the 2010 Heartland Poker Tour Mahnomen $1,100 Main Event for $48,521. He has also had success on the MSPT, cashing four times and reaching two final tables. His largest MSPT score came this past February at Running Aces Poker Room in Minnesota where he finished third for $34,031.
In 2013 alone, Alexander has earned $135,077 playing tournaments inside Minnesota borders and is slated to be named the 2013 MNPokerMag.com Player of the Year.
For more on the MSPT, check out their schedule for Season 5, which PokerNews will be live reporting throughout 2014.
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