David Peters Wins $10K Short Deck for his Second 2021 USPO Title ($124,200)

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David Peters

David Peters became the first two-time winner in the 2021 U.S. Poker Open after he defeated PokerGO Tour Leaderboard captain Ali Imsirovic heads-up to win Event #10: $10,000 Short Deck for $124,200 at the PokerGO Studio at the ARIA Resort & Casino.

Peters, who previously won Event #7: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em for $217,800, entered the Short Deck final table with a commanding chip lead against Imsirovic, Cary Katz, and Thomas Kysar en route to the title.

Despite winning his second event this festival in a truly dominating fashion, Peters was only able to climb from fifth to second place on the 2021 U.S. Poker Open Championship Standings, while Imsirovic, who was on top of the leaderboard after nine events, padded his lead on the rest of the field.

The event itself attracted 27 entries to generate a $270,000 prize pool.

U.S. Poker Open Event #10: $10,000 Short Deck Final Table Payouts

PlaceNameCountryPrize
1David PetersUnited States$124,200
2Ali ImsirovicBosnia and Herzegovina$75,600
3Cary KatzUnited States$43,200
4Thomas KysarUnited States$27,000

Event #10 Final Table Recap

Peters entered the four-player final table with two-thirds of the chips in play. Imsirovic and Katz both also had healthy stacks to start with Kysar hoping to spin up a short stack.

The action was hot and heavy right when the live stream at PokerGO began with Peters sending Kysar packing in fourth place for $27,000 on a bad beat when his queen-nine got there against queen-jack suited.

Katz was out next in third place for $43,200 after unsuccessfully jamming queen-ten suited into Imsirovic's queen-jack suited.

It was already guaranteed during heads-up play that the 2021 USPO would have its first two-time winner with both Peters and Imsirovic previously winning titles. Imsirovic had his work cut out for him as he began heads-up play against Peters with a 3:1 chip deficit.

Imsirovic hung around for about 90 minutes during the heads-up battle before he bluffed it all away. Imsirovic jammed the river with queen-eight after bricking the A10J66 board and was picked off by Peters with jack-ten to end his run in second place for $75,600.


Related: Brock Wilson Banks on Building a Name for Himself at the USPO


Ivan Zufic Leads the Final 6 Players in USPO Event #11: $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em

Ivan Zufic
Ivan Zufic leads the final 6 players in the USPO Event #11

The stakes have more than doubled for Event #11: $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em with the first 10 events of the 2021 U.S. Poker Open featured a $10,000 buy-in.

The event attracted 69 entries to generate a $1,725,000 prize pool. The action was whittled down to just a six-player final table on the opening day with Croatia's Ivan Zufic bagging the overnight chip lead with a stack of 2,865,000.

Event #1 winner Jake Daniels (2,460,000) and Vanessa Kade (2,190,000) also bagged more than 2 million in chips with Dan Shak (1,320,000) advancing as the only other player above 1 million in chips.

Meanwhile, David Peters, who is fresh off victories in Event #7: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em and in Event #10: $10,000 Short Deck is back at it again, albeit with a short stack of 960,000. Frank Funaro (560,000) comes in as the underdog with the shortest stack with hopes to spin it up at the final table.

Event #11: $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em Seat Draw

SeatNameCountryChip CountBig Blinds
1Jake DanielsUnited States2,460,00041
2David PetersUnited States960,00016
3Vanessa KadeCanada2,190,00037
4Frank FunaroUnited States560,0009
5Dan ShakUnited States1,320,00022
6Ivan ZuficCroatia2,865,00048

Also read: Chris Brewer Transitions from Collegiate Runner to High-Stakes Poker Pro


Where to Watch the Final Table?

The final six players will return to the PokerGo Studios on Monday, June 14 with the action expected to begin at 3 p.m. EDT. PokerGO will live stream what promises to be some of the most exciting poker action of the year beginning at 4 p.m. EDT. Remember, an annual subscription to PokerGO costs $99.99, but you can save $20 off by using promo code “USPO21” at checkout. Sign up by going here.

Final Table Payouts

All returning players are guaranteed at least a $103,500 payout with the eventual winner slated to take home a massive $465,750 top prize.

PlacePrize
1$465,750
2$345,000
3$224,250
4$172,500
5$138,000
6$103,500

2021 U.S. Poker Open Championship Standings

Ali Imsirovic
Ali Imsirovic leads the 2021 USPO Leaderboard

Event #7 and Event #10 champion Peters catapulted from fifth to second place on the 2021 U.S. Poker Open Championship Standings after becoming the first two-time winner of this festival.

Event #9 winner and the 2018 Poker Masters Purple Jacket winner Imsirovic padded his lead against the rest of his field with a strong runner-up finish in Event #10.

Meanwhile, Event #9 runner-up Andrew Lichtenberger slipped down a spot into third place with Event #3 champion Joe McKeehen and Steve Zolotow rounding out the top five spots in the Championship Standings.

RankPlayerPointsWinsCashesEarnings
1Ali Imsirovic48315$482,000
2David Peters36723$367,200
3Andrew Lichtenberger30803$308,000
4Joe McKeehen30212$302,200
5Steve Zolotow28903$289,000
6Cary Katz27004$270,100
7Dan Shak23603$235,500
8Maxx Coleman23103$230,800
9Alex Foxen22404$223,300
10John Riordan22213$221,800

This is how Imsirovic catapulted into the USPO lead

2021 U.S. Poker Open Results

EventEntriesPrize PoolWinnerCountryPrize
Event #1: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em95$950,000Jake DanielsUnited States$218,500
Event #2: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha65$650,000Sam SoverelUnited States$175,000
Event #3: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em77$770,000Joe McKeehenUnited States$200,200
Event #4: $10,000 Big Bet Mix48$480,000John RiordanUnited States$163,200
Event #5: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em85$850,000Joey WeissmanUnited States$204,000
Event #6: $10,000 8-Game68$680,000Eli ElezraUnited States$183,600
Event #7: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em99$990,000David PetersUnited States$217,800
Event #8: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha63$630,000Jared BleznickUnited States$189,000
Event #9: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em99$990,000Ali ImsirovicBosnia and Herzegovina$217,800
Event #10: $10,000 Short Deck27$270,000David PetersUnited States$124,200

*Images courtesy of Poker Central

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