When it comes to heaters in 2026, few are on a hotter streak than Minnesota’s Umut Ozturk, who has won three titles during Season 17 of the Major Series of Poker: The Tour (MSPT). Last weekend, he topped a 406-entry field to win the MSPT Riverside Casino $1,100 Main Event for $69,451, which came less than a month after he bested a 2,442-entry field to win the MSPT Spade Poker Championship at Michigan’s FireKeepers Casino for $280,290.
“This one, this one is for my wife, Alison,” Ozturk told MSPT reporter Anthony Thompson after his latest victory. “She is the rock in our family. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be able to play poker as much as I do, so I’m very grateful for her and everything she does for our family.”
Those two titles came after he won the MSPT JACK Cleveland for $89,638 back in February, which, along with his Season 14 win at Bally’s Black Hawk Casino, brought his total number of titles to four, which ties him with Dan Bekavac and is just one behind all-time leader Blake Bohn’s five victories.
The win extended Ozturk’s lead atop the MSPT’s all-time money list with $1,406,628 in earnings. Already a MSPT Hall of Famer, Ozturk won MSPT Player of the Year back-to-back in 2023 and 2024, and then almost made it three in a row in 2025, finishing runner-up to Jacob Long. Ozturk now sits third on the Season 17 leaderboard with a real shot to win it again.
MSPT Riverside Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize | POY Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Umut Ozturk | St. Paul, MN | $69,451* | 1,300 |
| 2 | Jacob Tourville | Austin, TX | $69,451* | 1,300 |
| 3 | Brett Reichard | Janesville, WI | $38,627 | 1,200 |
| 4 | Steven Dill | St. Louis, MO | $28,483 | 1,100 |
| 5 | Zac Campbell | Memphis, MO | $21,460 | 1,000 |
| 6 | Brett Slezak | Omaha, NE | $16,387 | 900 |
| 7 | Kelly Mahana | Denver, CO | $12,876 | 800 |
| 8 | DJ Buckley | Shakopee, MN | $10,145 | 700 |
| 9 | Chris Audrain | Lake St. Louis, MO | $7,413 | 600 |
*Denotes heads-up deal.
Others to cash the tournament were Jeff Copeland (11th – $6,243), John “Farmboy” Kurfman (14th – $5,072), Josh Reichard (17th – $4,292), Mo Nuwwarah (18th – $4,292), Craig Trost (21st – $3,668), and Bill Romer (29th – $2,341).
Two More Stops Remain
Just two more stops remain on the MSPT’s schedule for 2026. From November 17 through December 2, the tour will partner with Florida’s Seminole Hard Rock for a full slate of events at the Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open (RRPO). Winners from MSPT Main Events all season long have won seats into that championship event. Click here to see the full schedule.
Then, from Dec. 1-13, the MSPT will return to its stomping grounds of Running Aces Casino in Minnesota for the season-ending Winter Poker Classic. That is where the tightly contested MSPT Season 17 Player of the Year (POY) leaderboard will conclude. Click here to see that schedule.
MSPT Season 17 POY Current Standings
| Place | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Wilklow | 9,429 |
| 2 | Josh Reichard | 8,187 |
| 3 | Umut Ozturk | 8,048 |
| 4 | Jacob Long | 7,792 |
| 5 | Michael Estes (IA) | 7,147 |
| 6 | Lee Rzentkowski | 6,291 |
| 7 | DJ Buckley | 6,169 |
| 8 | Brett Reichard | 5,950 |
| 9 | Antonio Vargas | 5,158 |
| 10 | Gerald Cunniff | 4,881 |
*Images couresty of MSPT.
Chad Holloway
PR & Media Manager