Over the weekend, the Major Series of Poker: The Tour (MSPT) was as Michigan’s FireKeepers Casino for the second-ever MSPT Spade Poker Championship, an $1,110 buy-in Main Event that attracted 2,442 entries and blew away the $1 million guarantee by offering up a $2,367,240 prize pool.
After a long weekend, it was a pillar of the MSPT coming out on top in two-time Player of the Year Umut Ozturk, who claimed the title and $280,290 in prize money, a new career-high score for the lawyer from Minnesota. It also marked his third MSPT title.
“Last time I was here in May, my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, so I had to leave and go back home,” Ozturk told MSPT reporter Anthony Thompson. “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 added, “Even though she wasn’t here with me physically, I felt her the entire weekend, so this one is dedicated to my mother.”
The win also vaulted the MSPT Hall of Famer to the top of the tour’s all-time career earnings list with $1,337,117. He is one of only five players to be in the “MSPT Millionaires” club, but what’s impressive about his feat is that he’s done it all since first MSPT cash in 2018.
MSPT Spade Poker Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Umut Ozturk | St. Paul, MN | $280,290* |
| 2 | Greg Wiggins | Elmira, MI | $280,290* |
| 3 | Gian Bencivenga | West Bloomfield, MI | $164,811 |
| 4 | Dan Sepiol | Michigan City, IN | $123,028 |
| 5 | Derek Gregory | Los Angeles, CA | $96,798 |
| 6 | Scott Bohlman | Chicago, IL | $74,235 |
| 7 | Frank Lagodich | Canton, OH | $58,032 |
| 8 | Jacob Long | Omaha, NE | $45,265 |
| 9 | Randy Froelich | Cincinnati, OH | $35,980 |
*Denotes heads-up deal.
Others to cash the tournament were Jennifer Lin (18th – $18,570), Cero Zuccarello (19th – $15,785), Chad Lipton (25th – $10,399), defending champ Merritt Kuhn (40th – $6,685), MSPT Hall of Famer Kou Vang (49th – $5,757), and POY contender Mike Estes (61st – $5,107).
According to live updates from the event, a crucial hand for Ozturk took place with eight players remaining. That is when the two-time Player of the Year raised from the cutoff only to have poker pro Frank Lagodich three-bet jam from the button. Both blinds folded and Ozturk called off for just over five million.
Ozturk held two black tens and was up against the ace-eight of spades for Lagodich, who flopped a gutshot straight draw. Fortunately for Ozturk, both the turn and river bricked, and he doubled. From there, Greg Wiggins did much of the elimination dirty work at the final table, before he and Ozturk struck a heads-up deal with the latter claiming the title thanks to a slight chip lead.
MSPT Player of the Year Update
The Season 17 MSPT Player of the Year race is a tightly contested affair headed into the last quarter of the year. Right now, Mike Wilklow sits atop the leaderboard with 8,541 points, but a pair of former POYs are hot on his heels in Josh Reichard (7,887 points) and reigning POY Jacob Long (7,667 points).
What’s Coming Up on the MSPT?
Season 17 of the MSPT continues with an MSPT Festival at Grand Falls Casino just outside Sioux Falls from Oct. 28-Nov. 1. From there, it’s off to Iowa’s Riverside Casino from Nov. 3-8, followed by the first-ever MSPT and Seminole Hard Rock collaboration at the Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open from Nov. 17 through Dec. 2.
Click here for a look at the full MSPT schedule.
*Images courtesy of MSPT.
Chad Holloway
PR & Media Manager