Erik Seidel Wins 2024 U.S. Poker Open Kickoff Event

The first title of the 2024 U.S. Poker Open was, fittingly, earned by an American poker legend. Ten-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Erik Seidel overcame a subject of 116 entries within the $5,100 buy-in no-limit maintain’em occasion to safe $145,000 and his thirty third profession match title.

The 64-year-old Poker Hall of Fame member now has greater than $47.4 million in lifetime earnings, good for tenth place on the all-time cash checklist.

This was the second title and fourth final-table end of the yr for Seidel, who took down a $10,500 buy-in occasion on the Wynn Millions simply shy of a month earlier than this victory. With 1,270 Card Player Player of the Year factors to his title, Seidel now sits in sixty fifth place within the 2024 standings introduced by Global Poker. He additionally secured 145 PokerGO Tour rankings factors, giving him the lead within the USPO series-long factors race and transferring him into sixteenth place within the PGT’s seasonal standings.

The robust turnout to the PokerGO Studio inside ARIA Resort & Casino Las Vegas resulted in a prize pool of $580,000, with the highest 17 finishers securing a share. Among people who ran deep have been two-time bracelet winner John Riordan (seventeenth), four-time bracelet winner Kristen Foxen (14th), two-time POY award winner Stephen Chidwick (eleventh), and 2020 WSOP Online primary occasion champion Stoyan Madanzhiev (eighth).

Bracelet winner and World Poker Tour champion Alex Foxen (seventh) was knocked out on the finish of day 1 earlier than the ultimate six bagged up for the night time. Day 2 started with Seidel within the lead, however he misplaced a number of all-in confrontations within the early going to stall his momentum a bit.

Justin Zaki misplaced a coin flip towards bracelet winner and WPT champion Dylan Linde to complete sixth ($29,000). Zaki was joined on the rail by William Lamar-Boone, whose Ok-7 suited bumped into the pocket kings of three-time WPT winner Eric Afriat. Lamar-Boone made kings up, however it was nonetheless not sufficient to finest Afriat’s kings stuffed with fours. He took house $37,700 because the fifth-place finisher.

Afriat then gained an enormous three-way conflict along with his A-Q suited besting the pocket kings of Seidel and the pocket nines of John Khoury, who was all-in preflop. Afriat flopped journey queens and held from there to eradicate Khoury (4th – $49,300), taking a bit out of Seidel’s stack with bets on the flop and river.

After falling to the underside of the counts, Seidel doubled via Linde to maneuver again into second chip place in time for the subsequent key hand. Afriat min-raised to 400,000 on the button with Ok8 and Seidel referred to as within the huge blind holding 99. The flop got here down AOk9 and each gamers checked. The 4 drew one other test from Seidel and his set of nines. Afriat guess 350,000 along with his pair of kings and the nut flush draw, after which referred to as Seidel’s check-raise to 1,100,000. The 4 on the top improved Seidel to nines full. He guess 1,500,000 and Afriat referred to as along with his rivered flush to ship the sizable pot to Seidel.

Linde was left on fumes after dropping an all-in showdown with Afriat. In the ultimate hand of the match, Afriat opened to 750,000 on the button with 99. Linde was pressured all-in for the small blind of 125,000 with Ok8 and Seidel seemed down at AA within the huge blind. He moved all-in and Afriat referred to as for two,500,000 complete. The board got here down J10553 and Seidel’s aces held to earn him the double knockout and the title. Linde cashed for $63,800 because the third-place finisher, whereas Afriat earned $89,900 because the runner-up.

MR MAN ON FIRE Erik_Seidel</a> with the Aces to get the double elimination and take the $145,000 first-place prize and Golden Eagle trophy. This is his third career PGT title.<a href="https://twitter.com/EricAfriat?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">EricAfriat finishes 2nd Place ($89,900)@DylanLinde finishes in third Place ($63,800) pic.twitter.com/tZQPEcEycZ

— PokerGO (@PokerGO) April 10, 2024

Here is a take a look at the payouts and rankings factors awarded on the last desk:

Photo credit score: PokerGO / Antonio Abrego.