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The first-ever Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) Showdown Series at San Diego’s Sycuan Casino wrapped up on May 9. The eleven-day-long festival got underway on April 29, and it all came to a close with the showstopper $1,100 entry buy-in, $200K GTD Main Event on Sunday. 31-year-old Alejandro Jauregui (cover image) walked away with the Main Event trophy and a first-place cash prize worth $140,665.
Salinas, California native Jauregui is a poker dealer at Bay 101 Cardroom in San Jose, California, who called in sick to play the Main Event – the decision turned out great for him in the end. He has played poker most of his life, usually cash games, and according to his Hendon Mob profile, had just two cashes to his name before this win worth $18,090. This was his career-best live score, boosting his lifetime earnings to $158,755.
The series crowned eleven winners. Check them out below:
Event | Winner Name | Prize |
---|---|---|
#1: $360 Regional Event | Armando Mesina | $33,329 |
#2: $400 PLO | Aaron Wallace | $8,543 |
#3: $250 NLHE Sunday Feast | Fadi Yakou | $7,221 |
#4: $200 NLHE Ladies Event | Victoria Davidson-Castillo | $4,701 |
#5: $360 Seniors | Joseph Szegedy | $7,981 |
#6: $250 NLHE Turbo Super Stack | Bob Chow | $6,098 |
#7: $360 PLO8 | Ken Po | $8,369 |
#8: $250 NLHE Tag Team | Lena Evans & Tavish Margers | $9,798 |
#9: $200 NLHE Hump Day | Jennifer Craddock | $8,531 |
#10: $1,100 Main Event | Alejandro Jauregui | $140,665 |
#11: $360 Last Chace Showdown NLHE | Anthony Potis | $8,870 |
The Main Event easily cruised past its $200K guarantee after bringing together 676 entries (Day 1A – 131, Day 1B – 218, and Day 1C – 327) over three starting flights, collecting a hefty $592,670 in the prize pool. Day 2 began with 80 survivors and only 72 among them were assured a payday of at least $2,290.
It did not take long before Terence Reid fell out on the money bubble in 73rd place.
The Main Event had many poker heavyweights in attendance and several among them made it on the payouts list. Some standout names included Adam Friedman (10th for $9,813), Day 1C chip leader Trung Le (11th for $8,505), MSPT veteran DJ Buckley (12th for $8,505), bracelet winner Sandeep Pulusani (14th for $7,196), Kyna England (20th for $5,168), former MSPT champion Ken Baime (22nd for $5,168), Day 1B chip leader Alex Greenblatt (24th for $5,168), and the 2004 WSOP Main Event champion Greg Raymer (30th for $4,318).
By the time the eight-handed final table was formed, the eventual champion Alejandro Jauregui (3,820,000) was sitting neatly at the top of the others, with Jose Araya (3,300,000) and Jason Fitzpatrick (3,150,000) in close pursuit.
Final Table Chip Counts
Final Table Recap
The final table saw shots fired early with the three shortest stacks, Haiau Han – 8th place, Britton Scheibe – 7th place, and Andrew Moreno – 6th place, departing within the first 20 minutes of play.
Soon after that, Alejandro Jauregui eliminated Jose Araya in fifth place. Araya’s fell short against Jauregui’s on the runout .
After a short lull, the action was stirred up again as Jason Fitzpatrick fell out in fourth place. Fitzpatrick moved all-in with against chip leader Alejandro Jauregui `s . Fitzpatrick found no help from the board.
The heads-up play was set in motion with the elimination of Eli Loewenthal when his ran into Alejandro Jauregui’s .
Jauregui held a towering 3:1 chip lead over Jesse Jones at the start of their heads-up match and further pulled ahead before taking down the title. The final hand saw Jauregui’s holding a slight edge against Jones’s . The board gave Jauregui a set of sixes, handing him the MSPT Main Event title and $140,665.
Final Table Results
Content and Image Courtesy: Mid-States Poker Tour & Poker News