2023 Potomac Winter Poker Open

$2,700 Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info

2023 Potomac Winter Poker Open

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
1010
Prize
$277,053
Event Info
Buy-in
$2,700
Entries
533
Level Info
Level
31
Blinds
125,000 / 250,000
Ante
250,000
Players Info - Day 3
Entries
7
Players Left
1

$2,700 Main Event

Day 3 Completed

Justin Liberto Comes Out On Top in Event #11: $2,700 Main Event

Level 31 : Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Justin Liberto
Justin Liberto

Event #11: $2,700 Main Event at the Winter Potomac Poker Open attracted 533 entrants, generating a prize pool of $1,274,400. On Monday, February 6, just seven players returned for Day 3, all of them looking to capture the title of main event champion and the first-place prize of $277,053.

Once the dust settled after just four hours of play, local poker pro and WSOP bracelet winner Justin Liberto emerged victorious, besting start of day chip leader Caitlyn Cobb in heads-up play to add another tournament victory to his already impressive poker resume.

"I feel happy, I feel fortunate how it all happened," said Liberto when asked what the victory meant to him. It is indeed fortunate that he was playing in the tournament at all. "I actually was in the Bahamas until Day 1b and I landed here at 6:30 p.m. I got here at 9 p.m. and late registration closed at 9:45 p.m., so I got to play one level before late reg ended."

One can only imagine how different things would have been had his flight been even slightly delayed.

As for Liberto's plans for the future, he does intend to cut back on live poker. "I just had a kid that's about to turn one so I play a little less frequently than I did for the past decade." Still, he is not in full retirement mode just yet. "I'm going to keep being out there, keep trying to win, keep trying to make some more money."

Event #11:$2,700 Main Event Final Table Results

PositionNameCountryPrize
1Justin LibertoUnited States$277,053
2Caitlyn CobbUnited States$172,044
3Joseph LebrunUnited States$123,617
4Mark DicksteinUnited States$90,482
5Christopher BrownUnited States$68,818
6Shouyi GaoUnited States$52,250
7Anthony LamUnited States$39,506
8Hal RotholzUnited States$31,860
9Tim FaroUnited States$22,302

Day 3 Action

Anthony Lam came into the day as the second shortest stack with just 17 big blinds and was sent to the exits early on when his king-jack fell to Liberto's ace-ten. Shouyi Gao was the short stack entering play and, though he was able to find a pay jump with Lam's elimination, hit the showers in 6th place after an unfortunate river card saw his king-queen felled by Cobb's queen-jack.

Cobb continued her red-hot run by next downing the ladies of Christopher Brown to bring his tournament to a close in 5th place. Mark Dickstein struggled to get much of anything going throughout the day and eventually bowed out in 4th in a blind on blind confrontation with Liberto.

All of those eliminations took place in a short space of time. It would take a little longer, however, for the final three to be cut down to two. With the ever increasing blinds, though, it was only a matter of time before someone was sent to the rail. That unfortunate individual was Joseph Lebrun when he called off for his tournament life with top pair against Liberto who held two pair.

That elimination set up a heads-up showdown between Cobb and Liberto. Although Liberto held the chip lead for much of the remainder of the tournament, winning a battle of attrition against Cobb, she did double on several occasions to remain in contention. After a couple of hours of play, her luck ran out when her top pair fell to Liberto's full house to bring the tournament to a close.

Although Cobb was unable to secure the victory, she was visibly thrilled with her deep run and the accompanying $172,044 second-place prize. What makes the result all the more impressive is the fact that this is one of her first live tournaments after she was introduced to poker by her husband, local player Justin Arnwine.

Congratulations to Justin Liberto on winning Event #11: $2,700 Main Event at the Potomac Winter Poker Open! That concludes coverage of this event but be sure to stay tuned as Pokernews continues to provide updates from some of the biggest poker tournaments around the world.

Tags: Anthony LamCaitlyn CobbChristopher BrownHal RotholzJoseph LebrunJustin ArnwineJustin LibertoMark DicksteinShouyi GaoTim Faro

Caitlyn Cobb Eliminated in 2nd Place ($172,044)

Level 31 : Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Caitlyn Cobb
Caitlyn Cobb

Caitlyn Cobb limped on the button and Justin Liberto raised to 750,000 in the big blind. Cobb called to send the two players to the flop.

Liberto checked to Cobb following the {q-Diamonds}{3-Diamonds}{8-Clubs} flop and she led out for 1,500,000. That did not push Liberto off of his hand as he flatted.

The {10-Hearts} turn saw Liberto check for a second time and then call once more after Cobb fired a second barrel of 2,000,000.

Liberto checked for a final time after the board pairing {8-Spades} river. Cobb moved all in and Liberto instantly called, turning over {10-Clubs}{10-Spades} for the full house. That, unsurprisingly, was the best hand as Cobb could only table {q-Clubs}{5-Hearts} for a pair of queens to send her out of the tournament at the final hurdle. Still, Cobb seemed in good spirits as she headed to the payout cage in 2nd place.

Stay tuned for a full tournament recap and winner's interview to follow.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Justin Liberto us
Justin Liberto
26,550,000
5,200,000
5,200,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Profile photo of Caitlyn Cobb us
Caitlyn Cobb
Busted

Tags: Caitlyn CobbJustin Liberto

Liberto Raises River

Level 31 : Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante

Justin Liberto opened to 500,000 on the button and Caitlyn Cobb defended in the big blind.

Action checked through the {k-Diamonds}{8-Hearts}{q-Hearts} flop to the {7-Diamonds} turn at which point Cobb led out for 750,000. Liberto called to see a river.

The river came {4-Hearts} and Cobb fired off another bet, this time sizing up to 1,400,000. Liberto responded by raising to 3,600,000 which was met by a quick fold from Cobb.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Justin Liberto us
Justin Liberto
21,350,000
6,350,000
6,350,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Profile photo of Caitlyn Cobb us
Caitlyn Cobb
5,200,000
-6,350,000
-6,350,000

Tags: Caitlyn CobbJustin Liberto

Cobb Doubles Again

Level 31 : Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante

Caitlyn Cobb opened to 500,000 on the button and Justin Liberto called in the big blind.

Liberto checked to Cobb on a flop of {k-Clubs}{5-Diamonds}{2-Spades} and she continued for 600,000. That did not dissuade Liberto who called.

The {10-Spades} turn saw Liberto check for a second time and then call in fairly short order after Cobb moved all in for 4,500,000.

Caitlyn Cobb: {2-Hearts}{2-Diamonds}
Justin Liberto: {k-Hearts}{4-Hearts}

Cobb had flopped a set to leave Liberto drawing dead to the meaningless {8-Diamonds} river to further close the chip discrepancy between the two players.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Justin Liberto us
Justin Liberto
15,000,000
-1,500,000
-1,500,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Profile photo of Caitlyn Cobb us
Caitlyn Cobb
11,550,000
1,500,000
1,500,000

Tags: Caitlyn CobbJustin Liberto

Level: 31

Blinds: 125,000/250,000

Ante: 250,000

Cobb Jams River

Level 30 : Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante

Caitlyn Cobb opened to 400,000 on the button only to see Justin Liberto three-bet to 1,050,000 in the big blind. Cobb made the call to send the two players to the flop.

Liberto continued for 475,000 on the {4-Diamonds}{k-Clubs}{q-Hearts} flop and Cobb called.

The {3-Clubs} turn did not slow down the action, with Liberto betting out 1,500,000 and Cobb again calling.

Liberto checked to Cobb following the {5-Spades} river and she promptly moved all in. With a 'nice hand' Liberto relinquished his holding to send a sizable pot over to Cobb.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Justin Liberto us
Justin Liberto
16,500,000
-2,750,000
-2,750,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Profile photo of Caitlyn Cobb us
Caitlyn Cobb
10,050,000
2,750,000
2,750,000

Tags: Caitlyn CobbJustin Liberto

Joseph Lebrun Eliminated in 3rd Place ($123,617)

Level 30 : Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Joseph Lebrun
Joseph Lebrun

Justin Liberto opened to 550,000 in the small blind and was called by Jospeh Lebrun in the big blind.

Liberto continued for 325,000 on a flop of {j-Diamonds}{k-Diamonds}{5-Spades} and Lebrun made the call to send the two players to the turn.

The turn came {3-Clubs}, prompting Liberto to fire a second barrel of 1,150,000. That bet was still not enough to convince Lebrun to go away as he again just called.

The {2-Spades} river completed the board and, after some thought, Liberto moved all in. That sent Lebrun deep into the tank as he pondered his decision for several minutes. Eventually he called off for his tournament life and tabled {k-Clubs}{9-Diamonds} but that was no good as Liberto held {k-Spades}{j-Spades} to send Lebrun crashing out of the tournament in 3rd place and setup heads-up play between Liberto and Caitlyn Cobb.

Player Chips Progress
Profile photo of Justin Liberto us
Justin Liberto
19,300,000
10,425,000
10,425,000
WSOP 1X Winner
Profile photo of Caitlyn Cobb us
Caitlyn Cobb
7,350,000
-6,100,000
-6,100,000
Profile photo of Joseph Lebrun us
Joseph Lebrun
Busted

Tags: Caitlyn CobbJospeh LebrunJustin Liberto

Level: 30

Blinds: 100,000/200,000

Ante: 200,000