Weissman, Lin & Soverel Early Winners at USPO; Negreanu Calls Shot
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The U.S. Poker Open (USPO) is underway in Las Vegas inside the PokerGO Studio and plenty of familiar faces have already nabbed titles. It marks the live return of the USPO following the U.S. Poker Open Online that was held on Global Poker last August and September.
Global Poker Review: Play Legal Online Poker in the US
The USPO consists of ten No-Limit Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha events with buy-ins ranging from $10,000 to $50,000. The series got underway on March 23 and saw Joey Weissman winning Event #1: $10,000 NL Hold’em for $231,000 and will wrap up on April 3 with Event #10: $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em.
Other winners so far at the USPO include the entertaining Ren Lin (Event #2: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em - $231,000) and high-stakes grinder Sam Soverel (Event #3: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em - $213,900), while Daniel Negreanu came close to winning another PGT title in Event #4: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha before bowing out in fourth place for $77,000.
Early USPO Action
Weissman kicked off the series by winning the first event after defeating Justin Young finished runner-up for $168,000 and Andrew Moreno finished in third for $126,000.
Plenty of other well-knowns made deep runs in the event including Nacho Barbero (5th - $78,750), PokerCoaching.com's Jonathan Little (6th - $63,000) and eventual Event #2 winner Lin ($52,500).
Weissman picked up his second USPO title after previously taking down a $10,000 event at the 2021 USPO for $204,000. In 2022, the New York native won the inaugural BetMGM Poker Championship $3,500 Main Event in 2022 the same venue for $224,236.
Event #1: $10,000 NL Hold’em Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joey Weissman | United States | $231,000 | |
| 2 | Justin Young | United States | $168,000 | |
| 3 | Andrew Moreno | United States | $126,000 | |
| 4 | Matthew McEwan | United States | $99,750 | |
| 5 | Nacho Barbero | Argentina | $78,750 | |
| 6 | Jonathan Little | United States | $63,000 | |
| 7 | Ren Lin | United States | $52,500 | |
| 8 | Joao Simao | Brazil | $42,000 | |
| 9 | Darren Elias | United States | $42,000 |
After his deep run in Event #1, Lin made another run in Event #2 before overcoming heads-up opponent Barbero ($168,000), who earlier this month took down $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha at the PGT PLO Series for $234,000.
Others who made deep runs in the event include famed statistician Nate Silver, Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel (6th - $63,000) and reigning USPO overall champion Sean Winter (9th - $42,000).
Event #2: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ren Lin | United States | $231,000 | |
| 2 | Nacho Barbero | Argentina | $168,000 | |
| 3 | Robert Chorlian | United States | $126,000 | |
| 4 | Nate Silver | United States | $99,750 | |
| 5 | Aram Zobian | United States | $78,750 | |
| 6 | Erik Seidel | United States | $63,000 | |
| 7 | Steven Veneziano | United States | $52,500 | |
| 8 | Brock Wilson | United States | $42,000 | |
| 9 | Sean Winter | United States | $42,000 |
Seidel and Barbero both went on to make deep runs in Event #3, respectively finishing in ninth and sixth place, but it was Soverel who emerged victorious after defeating heads-up opponent Chris Brewer ($148,800).
There were other familiar faces who ran deep in Event #3 including Kristen Foxen (4th - $93,000) and Aram Oganyan (7th - $46,500).
Event #3: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Soverel | United States | 213,900 | |
| 2 | Chris Brewer | United States | $148,800 | |
| 3 | Brandon Wilson | United States | $111,600 | |
| 4 | Kristen Foxen | Canada | $93,000 | |
| 5 | Daniel Colpoys | United States | $74,400 | |
| 6 | Nacho Barbero | Argentina | $55,800 | |
| 7 | Aram Oganyan | United States | $46,500 | |
| 8 | Calvin Lee | United States | $37,200 | |
| 9 | Erik Seidel | United States | $37,200 |
All eyes were on Negreanu as the beloved poker star called his shot on social media before the Event got underway.
Today is Event #4 of the US Poker Open $10k PLO and I am calling my shot, taking this one down.
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker)
Negreanu entered the final day of play three of five in chips and fell in fourth before hopping into Event #5: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em.
PLO coach Dylan Weisman went out in third for $100,100 to be denied his second USPO title before Allen Le defeated Ronald Keijzer to win $200,200 and his first PGT title.
Dylan Weisman adds to his impressive list of Pot-Limit Omaha cashes with a third place finish in U.S. Poker Open Ev… https://t.co/yObJ2PO3ap
— PokerGO (@PokerGO)
| Place | Player | Country | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allen Le | United States | $200,200 | |
| 2 | Ronald Keijzer | Netherlands | $146,300 | |
| 3 | Dylan Weisman | United States | $100,100 | |
| 4 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | $77,000 | |
| 5 | Damjan Radanov | Serbia | $61,600 | |
| 6 | Masashi Oya | Japan | $46,200 | |
| 7 | Edgardo Rosario Figueroa | United States | $38,500 | |
| 8 | Ben Lamb | United States | $30,800 | |
| 9 | Sean Winter | United States | $23,100 |
Event #5 is currently underway with 76 runners in the field so far, according to PokerGO updates. The remaining schedule for the 2023 USPO is available in the table below.
2023 U.S. Poker Open Remaining Schedule
| Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| March 28 | Event #5: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em | |
| March 29 | Event #6: $15,000 Pot-Limit Omaha | |
| March 30 | Event #7: $15,000 No-Limit Hold'em | |
| March 31 | Event #8: $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em | |
| April 1 | Event #9: $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em | |
| April 3 | Event #10: $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em |
Photo courtesy PokerGO
