Record Canterbury Park Win for Blake Bohn; Rich Alsup Makes MSPT HoF
The Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT), which is in its ninth season, held one of its toughest final tables on Sunday. The $1,100 MSPT Main Event at Canterbury Park – a tournament that attracted 456 entries – saw Minnesota’s all-time money leader Blake Bohn defeat well-known poker pro Kou Vang in heads-up play to win $94,776 and a record-tying third title.
Bohn, a Minnesota Poker Hall of Famer, found redemption from the same event in April when he finished second to Rob Wazwaz for $67,203. It was the third time he had finished runner-up in an MSPT Main Event, but now he’s tied with Carl Carodenuto who are the only two players to win three MSPT titles.
Bohn: “It’s always fun to play against experienced opponents, makes it more interesting.”
“Finishing second sucks,” Bohn said after the win. “Before this, I had two firsts and three seconds; four seconds would’ve looked pretty bad. People don’t get heads up too often and it’s tough to play. I’m really grateful right now, really happy. We’re from Minnesota and this tournament was in Minnesota,” he said, “but I think we stack up pretty well at any event across the nation.”
Bohn previously won the MSPT Season 5 Grand Falls for $54,607 and Season 6 Meskwaki for $101,229. The latest win brought his lifetime tournament earnings up to $2,905,685.
Vang began heads-up play with a big chip lead, but Bohn prevailed in three big coinflip spots. In the final hand of the tournament, Vang was at risk with pocket nines and flipping against Bohn’s ace-queen. An ace on the flop sealed Vang’s fate, and he took home $58,238 for his runner-up finish.
“Kou is a more experienced online player, but I think we all played well,” said Bohn. “It’s always fun to play against experienced opponents, makes it more interesting.”
With 4,400 and 3,900 points, Bohn and Vang jumped to second and third place respectively in the MSPT Season 9 Player of the Year race behind Aaron Johnson, who has 5,117 points. Just seven events remain in the MSPT’s current season, which runs the calendar year.
Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blake Bohn | Eden Prairie, MN | $94,776 |
| 2 | Kou Vang | Maplewood, MN | $58,238 |
| 3 | Rich Alsup | New Hope, MN | $41,966 |
| 4 | Ian Matakis | Fairbault, MN | $31,739 |
| 5 | Jesse Allen | Marquette, MI | $23,804 |
| 6 | Dennis Stevermer | St. Paul, MN | $18,074 |
| 7 | Dedric Henderson | Minneapolis, MN | $14,106 |
| 8 | Tyree Johnson | Coon Rapids, MN | $11,021 |
| 9 | Mark Sandness | Wayzata, MN | $8,376 |
| 10 | Bill Criego | Prior Lake, MN | $6,612 |
Rich Alsup Makes MSPT HoF
Another big story coming out of the MSPT Canterbury Park was Rich Alsup finishing in third place. By making his tenth final table, Alsup joined Vang as the only players to be inducted into the MSPT Hall of Fame. Alsup’s brought lifetime MSPT earnings up to $653,426, putting him second on the leaderboard and less than $30K outside the all-time lead.
The MSPT HoF doesn’t vote players in, but rather requires them to accomplish certain criteria to get in. One route is to make 10 MSPT final tables and have either one MSPT win or MSPT POY title. Alsup became the only player in MSPT history to make 10 final tables, and he actually has both the MSPT Season 6 Meskwaki and MSPT Season 7 Player of the Year titles on his resumé.
Alsup’s run at a second title came to an end in third place for $41,966 after he got his chips in with ace-eight and failed to get lucky against Vang’s ace-nine. It was the second third-place finish for Alsup in as many months. If you recall, he took third in June’s $1,600 MSPT Venetian for $273,430. Michael Soyza won that event for $588,249.
Photos courtesy of MSPT
Editor's Note: Chad Holloway serves as Media Director for the MSPT.
