Brian Wilson Claims MSPT Poker Bowl III For $143,929 After 3-Way Chop

The past weekend saw the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) wrapping up proceedings at two different stops. The first of the two was the 2019 DeepStack Extravaganza that played out at the Venetian in Las Vegas. Headlining the same was the $1,100 NLH MSPT Poker Bowl III that attracted 1,022 entries across two starting flights. Canadian pro Brian Wilson (cover image) bested the field to win the title following a 3-way deal. Even as Wilson snagged the title and $143,929 in prize money, Pedro Mendes was declared the runner-up and banked $119,545, while Eli Ross walked away with $119,168 for a third-place finish.

On the sidelines, Carolyn Adams took down the $350 buy-in Regional Event at Tropicana Evansville in Southern Indiana. The tournament registered 587 entries and Adams topped them all to become the first woman to win an MSPT Regional. She is also the second woman ever to win an MSPT event, after Angelina Rich who had won a title in 2015. Adams pocketed $35,663 for her efforts.

2019 DeepStack Extravaganza

For Wilson, the win is his best career score till date. His previous best score was a 678^th place finish in the 2014 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event for $18,406.

“I had a lot of tough tables, a lot of really good regulars, but honestly, I felt really confident in my game and I just took it like one hand at a time and just tried to play the best I could,” Wilson said, talking about his run in the event “I felt super comfortable with them all day, I didn’t feel outclassed at all.”

If the event had attracted 827 runners last year, this time the higher participation numbers saw the $650K prize pool guarantee obliterated with the final prize pool reaching $996,450.

A total of 132 players returned to the felt on Day 2 and 108 among them made it in the money including defending champion Kfir Nahum (11^th for $13,950), Dan “Wretchy” Martin (12th for $13,950), Bryan Piccioli (16th for $9,765), Jared Jaffee (22nd for $6,776), Chris Moorman (38th for $3,388), former MSPT champion Dan “DQ” Hendrickson (41st for $3,388), Simon Deadman (54th for $3,089), Scott Clements (65th for $2,591), and reigning MSPT Player of the Year Aaron Johnson (85th for $2,391).

Final Table Recap

The final table saw its first elimination in Brad Libson who made a 10^th place exit with MSPT Hall of Famer Kou Vang and Chris Coupal falling out in ninth and eighth place respectively.

One of the most accomplished players on the final table, Eric Baldwin hit the rail in seventh place after his king-queen failed to improve against the pocket deuces of Thomassie.

Dylan Thomassie then made his way out in sixth place. Thomassie’s king-queen found a king high flop but Pedro Mendes held the ace-king and took down the pot with his higher kicker.

Shannon Shorr bowed out in fifth place after he lost a flip with his pocket sevens falling to Mendes’ ace-queen. He took home his largest ever score at the MSPT tour.

In what turned out to be the last hand of the tournament, Eddy Sabat moved all in for 1.5 Million with ace-queen from the small blind and Eli Ross called from the big blind with king-queen. Sabat was looking to double up but Ross picked up two pairs on the flop. Sabat flopped the nut flush draw but failed to get there as both the turn and the river bricked. Sabat was eliminated in fourth place.

The play was then halted as the final three players, Pedro Mendes, Eli Ross and Wilson sat down to discuss a deal. They agreed to chop the payout as per their chip counts and as per the chip counts, Ross finished third, while Mendes collected the runner-up payout. Wilson was declared the champion and added an MSPT title to his poker resume.

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Brian Wilson – $143,929*
2. Pedro Mendes – $119,545*
3. Eli Ross – $119,168*
4. Eddy Sabat – $62,776
5. Shannon Shorr – $47,830
6. Dylan Thomassie – $36,869
7. Eric Baldwin – $28,897
8. Chris Coupal – $21,922
9. Kou Vang – $17,936
10. Brad Libson – $13,950

*denotes 3-way deal