The 2026 MSPT Spade Poker Championship at FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek, Michigan attracted a staggering area of two,442 entries. This newest Major Series Of Poker: The Tour $1,100 predominant occasion completely crushed its $1 million prize pool because of this. The event in the end awarded practically $2.4 million in complete prize cash throughout 266 cashers.
Tour legend Umut Ozturk emerged victorious ultimately, incomes a career-best $280,290 payday after a heads-up chop introduced the event to an in depth. The MSPT Hall of Fame member now has three predominant occasion titles to his identify, with two gained in 2026. Ozturk additionally took down the Ohio Poker State Championship earlier this yr for $89,638, whereas his first MSPT win got here on the Hollywood Casino close to St. Louis again in 2023.
This newest triumph pushed the Minnesota native’s profession earnings to over $1.6 million, with greater than $1.3 million of that coming from his success on this tour alone. He is now the MSPT’s all-time earnings chief, supplanting former top-ranked participant Josh Reichard ($1.2 million) to assert the highest spot.
Several massive names joined Ozturk on the business-end of this event, together with Brian Altman (152nd), Kou Vang (forty ninth), Jake Long (eighth), Frank Lagodich (seventh), Scott Bohlman (sixth), and Daniel Sepiol (4th). The $123,028 payday for Sepiol’s fourth-place displaying moved the bracelet winner and 2023 World Poker Tour World Championship victor’s profession earnings to just about $10.7 million.
A Heartfelt Dedication
Ozturk in the end agreed to a chop with runner-up Gregory Wiggins (2nd – $280,290) whereas holding a slight chip lead. After closing out the event, he instructed MSPT reporters that he’d performed in honor of his late mom.
“Last time I was here in May, my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, so I had to leave and go back home. She passed away a couple of months later, and I told myself, when I come back to Michigan, I was going to ship it,” he mentioned. “Even though she wasn’t here with me physically, I felt her the entire weekend, so this one is dedicated to my mother.”
This victory got here with 1,080 Card Player Player of the Year factors. He climbed to only outdoors the highest 150 within the 2026 POY standings introduced by CoinPoker. This was his third POY-qualified rating up to now, with every being an outright win. In addition to his two MSPT predominant occasion titles, he additionally took down a $400 buy-in facet occasion on the MSPT Wisconsin Poker State Championship in late September.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Umut Ozturk | $280,290 | 1080 |
| 2 | Gregory Wiggins | $280,290 | 900 |
| 3 | Gian Bencivenga | $164,811 | 720 |
| 4 | Daniel Sepiol | $123,028 | 540 |
| 5 | Derek Gregory | $96,798 | 450 |
| 6 | Scott Bohlman | $74,235 | 360 |
| 7 | Frank Lagodich | $58,032 | 270 |
| 8 | Jacob Long | $45,265 | 180 |
| 9 | Randy Froelich | $35,980 | 90 |
Photo credit score: MSPT
