A Look Back at the 2018 USPO
The first USPO was held in February 2018 at Aria Casino and Resort prior to the opening of PokerGO Studios. The made-for-PokerGO tournament series offered eight events, with buy-ins of $10,000 and $25,000 for the preliminary events and $50,000 for the Main Event. Every final table was broadcast on PokerGO and the series handed out over $8 million in prize money.
Keith Tilston beat 33 entrants to win the inaugural $50,000 Main Event and Daniel Negreanu finished in third, but the results had no effect on the race for the series championship. That’s because Stephen Chidwick had earned enough money from the previous seven events to prevent any other player from catching him.
Chidwick dominated the 2018 series with five final tables and two victories, which came back-to-back in the $25,000 NLH and $25,000 Mixed Games Championships. His winning money total of $1,256,600 was good enough to claim the first USPO Championship trophy without much of a sweat from the rest of the field. Other 2018 side event winners included David Peters and Justin Bonomo.
2018 U.S. Poker Open Winners
| Event | Entries | Winner | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USPO #1: $10,000 NLH | 68 | Justin Bonomo | USA | $190,400 |
| USPO #2: $10,000 PLO | 64 | Mike Gorodinsky | USA | $179,200 |
| USPO #3: $25,000 NLH | 44 | Stephen Chidwick | UK | $374,000 |
| USPO #4: $25,000 Mixed Game Championship | 45 | Stephen Chidwick | UK | $382,500 |
| USPO #5: $10,000 NLH | 67 | Ben Tollerene | USA | $187,600 |
| USPO #6: $25,000 NLH | 49 | Benjamin Pollak | France | $416,500 |
| USPO #7: $25,000 NLH | 50 | David Peters | USA | $400,000 |
| USPO #8: $50,000 NLH Main Event | 33 | Keith Tilston | USA | $660,000 |