Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu were both to the fore at the US Poker Open in Vegas this weekend, but neither could quite finish things off as David Coleman and Matthew Wantman bagged Golden Eagle trophies.
Event #4 on the eight-tournament schedule saw Hellmuth reach the final table of the $10k buy-in NLH tournament in good shape, joined by fellow fan favourite Jonathan Little.
For Little it would end in 6th place, the author of ‘Excelling at No Limit Hold’em’ unsure whether his river call was justified or not…
David Coleman with back to back eliminations. This time Jonathan Little falls victim.
Little will finish in 6th place and take home $41,500.
📺: https://t.co/1ua5EcSd13 pic.twitter.com/AXD2yykNkQ
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) April 12, 2024
Hellmuth “way too passive”
Phil Hellmuth was next to fall, admitting he “didn’t play his best” and was “way too passive” at the final table. The Poker Brat’s 5th spot for $58,100 was, however, his second cash in as many days.
The original field of 83 players came down to a heads-up battle between Shannon Shorr and David Coleman, with a deal struck to lessen the $83,000 difference between top spot and runner-up.
The denouement of a topsy-turvy affair featured a cooler flop for Shorr…
Coleman: K♠ J♠
Shorr: 10♦ 8♥
Flop: 3♠ 7♠ 8♠
Turn: 3♥
River: 9♣
USPO Event #4: Final Table Payouts
| Place | Name | Prize (USD) |
| 1 | David Coleman | $202,300 |
| 2 | Shannon Shorr | $179,500 |
| 3 | Aram Zobia | $107,900 |
| 4 | Dylan Weisman | $78,850 |
| 5 | Phil Hellmuth | $58,100 |
| 6 | Jonathan Little | $41,500 |
| 7 | John Riordan | $33,200 |
Close but no cigar for Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu has been choosing his live events carefully this year and it seems to be paying off, “Kid Poker” already with two PGT tour victories to his name.
Event #5 at the USPO saw him reach the final table, alongside David Peters and event #1 winner, fellow Hall of Famer, Erik Seidel.
The stacked table also featured the in-form Victoria Livschitz and Rodger Johnson, the pair making their fourth and fifth cashes in a row respectively.
It was Negreanu who made much of the running, disposing of Peters and Wang, the latter unfortunate to run into DNeg’s pocket rockets…
Wang: A♣ K♦
Negreanu: A♠ A♥
Flop: 10♠ 5♥ 4♥
Turn: 9♣
River: 3♥
Negreanu also took out Livschitz, while Wantman – who started the day as the short stack – took care of Erik Seidel to set the heads-up battle. A good-natured battle ensued, and it was the Massachusetts’ born and bred pro who came out on top, the final hand below…
.@MatthewWantman has done it!
He takes down Daniel Negreanu and secures the first place prize of $239,200 and the Golden Eagle Trophy.
Negreanu will finish in second and take home $151,800. pic.twitter.com/VfiB3ajSbt
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) April 14, 2024
USPO Event #5: Final results
| Place | Name | Prize (USD) |
| 1 | Matthew Wantman | $239,200 |
| 2 | Daniel Negreanu | $151,800 |
| 3 | Erik Seidel | $110,400 |
| 4 | Victoria Livschitz | $82,800 |
| 5 | Grant Wang | $64,400 |
| 6 | David Peters | $46,000 |
| 7 | Paulius Plausinaitis | $36,800 |
Event #6, playing out its final table today, sees the buy-in bumped up to $15k, and there is also the no-small matter of the USPO leaderboard race – with a $25,000 PGT Passport on the line.
2024 US Poker Open leaderboard (current standings after 5 events)
| Place | Name | Points |
| 1 | Jesse Lonis | 332 |
| 2 | Rodger Johnson | 301 |
| 3 | David Coleman | 291 |
| 4 | Aram Zobian | 271 |
| 5 | Matthew Wantman | 269 |
| 6 | Erik Seidel | 255 |
| 7 | Dan Smith | 235 |
| 8 | Victoria Livschitz | 183 |
| 9 | Shannon Shorr | 179 |
| 10 | Daniel Negreanu | 152 |
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