Michael Esquivel Wins MSPT Canterbury Park; Mark Hodge Joins Hall of Fame
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This past weekend, the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) hosted its 157th Main Event. The $1,100 buy-in tournament at Minnesota’s Canterbury Park attracted 472 runners and saw Michael Esquivel deny Matt Kirby a record fourth MSPT title and capture a $98,113 first-place prize.
The win became a career-high score for Esquivel and brought his lifetime tournament earnings up over $300k. His prior best cash was $63,666 for finishing second in the 2018 Heartland Poker Tour St. Charles.
In the final hand of the tournament, Kirby committed his last 15 big blinds holding king-ten suited and was looking to improve against Esquivel’s ace-deuce. Kirby paired his ten on the flop but his lead was short-lived as the turn was an ace. A deuce on the river gave Esquivel two pair and sent Kirby to the rail in second place for $43,444.
Not only did Esquivel deny Kirby a fourth MSPT title, but he also deprived him of his second one at Canterbury Park this season. Back in February, Kirby topped a 479-entry field to win the MSPT Canterbury Park for $99,573.
MSPT Canterbury Park Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Esquivel | Clarendon Hills, Illinois | $98,113 |
| 2 | Matt Kirby | Bemidji, Minnesota | $60,283 |
| 3 | Joe Maas | Corcoran, Minnesota | $43,444 |
| 4 | Sam Chase | St. Paul, Minnesota | $32,856 |
| 5 | Andy Tran | Eau Claire, Wisconsin | $24,642 |
| 6 | Xong Lee | Monticello, Minnesota | $18,710 |
| 7 | Jean-Luc Bardu | Lakeville, Minnesota | $14,603 |
| 8 | Ian Matakis | Fairbault, Minnesota | $11,409 |
| 9 | Brian Clark | St. Paul, Minnesota | $8,670 |
| 10 | Joe Matheson | Andover, Minnesota | $6,845 |
Others to cash the Main Event were three-time champ Blake Bohn (11th - $6,845), Gerald Cunniff (13th - $5,476), Eric Wasylenko (17th - $4,563), Luke Blindert (24th - $3,514), Aaron Johnson (26th - $3,057), Sherry Hammers (37th - $2,236), Rich Alsup (46th - $2,054), and Zeph Baer (54th - $2,054).
Mark Hodge Wins Way into MSPT Hall of Fame
The MSPT launched its own Hall of Fame in 2017, but unlike other HoFs theirs don’t vote players in. Instead, there is a list of criteria players must meet in order to get in. That criteria include:
- Achieve a minimum of 25 MSPT Main Event Cashes and 1 MSPT Win OR 1 MSPT Player of the Year
OR - Achieve a minimum of 10 MSPT Main Event Final Tables and 1 MSPT Win OR 1 MSPT Player of the Year
Poker pro Kou Vang – who made headlines over the summer for inciting a rant from Phil Hellmuth during the WSOP Main Event – was the first player to be inducted in 2018, while Rich Alsup and Aaron Johnson followed him.
Thanks to his 23rd-place finish for $3,514 in the Canterbury Park Main Event, Mark Hodge became the fourth player to win their way into the MSPT Hall of Fame. Hodge doesn’t have a MSPT title to his name, but he was the Season 6 Player of the Year and has amassed $159,832 in earnings on the tour. He also has five final table appearances and the key 25 Main Event cashes.
Images courtesy of MSPT.
