Moon Rises Again: Chris Moon Ships MSPT FireKeepers for $258,407
After winning HPT Ameristar East Chicago to break through for his first live trophy, Chris Moon said he had been waiting since he was 18 years old to lock up a live victory. He didn't have to wait long for No. 2.
Just five days after posing in front of a stack of dough at a Midwest mid-major event, Moon did so again, this time at Mid-States Poker Tour FireKeepers $1,100 Main Event. Moon got through a field of 1,592 and won $258,407, his new biggest live cash after he just scooped $183,899 at HPT.
MSPT FireKeepers Official Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Moon | Sterling Heights, Michigan | $258,407 |
| 2 | Jeffrey Hill | Battle Creek, Michigan | $158,902 |
| 3 | Ryan Awwad | Ann Arbor, Michigan | $120,334 |
| 4 | Matthew Stammen | Coldwater, Ohio | $91,022 |
| 5 | Rudy Sawa | Commerce Township, Michigan | $69,423 |
| 6 | Sultan Ahmed | Madison, Wisconsin | $52,453 |
| 7 | Irbrahim Shoubah | Dearborn, Michigan | $41,654 |
| 8 | Jason Johnson | Waterford, Michigan | $32,398 |
| 9 | Jason Bender | Keota, Iowa | $26,227 |
| 10 | Damon Chittenden | Grand Haven, Michigan | $20,055 |
The tournament sported a hefty $1 million guarantee. Across three starting flights, it easily rocketed past that number with over $1.5 million in the pool.
Some of the players among the 171 cashing included Craig Trost, Kou Vang, Blake Bohn, Craig Casino, Aaron Johnson and Jeff Fielder.
Unlike at his HPT win, where he had a monster lead from middle of Day 2 on, Moon did not have one of the bigger stacks going into the final table. According to the live updates, Moon had only 17 big blinds when play began.
Final Table Action
Chip leader Jeff Hill scored the first couple of eliminations to creep near half of the chips in play before Moon began to surge. He first doubled with aces against the ace-jack of Matt Stammen.
Then, Moon was dealt queens and raised on the button, doubling through Jason Johnson when the latter ripped on him with ace-jack and did not improve. Suddenly, Moon 6.8 million at 80,000/160,000/20,000 and was in good shape.
He furthered that momentum by busting Irbrahim Shoubah in seventh, ace-queen over ace-nine.
Then, the pot that gave Moon the lead unfolded. He opened to 450,000 in the next level and Hill called him on the button. On the 7♦3♥10♠ flop, Hill called a bet of 600,000. The turn was a J♦ and Moon barreled for 1.4 million. Hill raised to 3.4 million and called when Moon shoved all in for just under 7 million.
Hill had flopped middle set but Moon hit his own top set on the turn and doubled to take command of half of the chips.
Still, Hill was in decent shape in second place and he'd outlast the next several players to get heads up with Moon, who busted Ryan Awwad in third and had about 20 million to Hill's 12 million.
The final hand would take place about half an hour later, with Moon limping in and Hill raising to 1.2 million at 25,000/50,000/50,000. Hill bet the 7♠3♠6♠ flop and Moon called, and Hill bet-called off the rest on the 5♥ turn with 10♣4♣ for a straight. However, Moon had him stone dead with 9♣8♦ for a nine-high straight.
Moon posed once again for the winner's photo and now finds himself with a swelling bankroll just in time for the summer.
