Hand 13: Elijah Berg found in the hijack and raised to 60,000. His left-hand opponent Koon flatted and they went heads-up to the flop which was one of the better ones for Koon's sixes. Berg continued with a bet of 55,000 and Koon called.
The turn card was also favourable for Koon but Berg fired the second barrel, making it 150,000 to leave himself with just over 200,000.
Koon called again and the river was the best imaginable card Koon could hope for. Not only he made a straight but Berg also caught an inferior wheel at the same time. In a quick fashion, Berg shoved and Koon snapped him off to eliminate him in sixth place for $73,500.
Hand 11: Jason Koon limped in from the small blind with and Benjamin Pollak bumped the price to 70,000 with . Koon mucked.
Hand 12: Koon made it 50,000 on the button with and Pollak had the identical hand in the small blind, three-betting to 175,000 with . Koon matched the price and they checked it all the way down to the showdown on the board, chopping the pot.
Hand 7: Brian Green opened to 60,000 with the under the gun and Isaac Haxton defended his big blind with the . A flop fanned out and Green continued with a bet of 105,000 that Haxton check-called.
The peeled off on the turn and Haxton check-called once more, this time for 200,000. The completed the board and both players checked, Haxton, winning the pot with his pair of tens.
Hand 8: Haxton limped in the small blind with the only to see Green move all in with the . Haxton gave a quick fold.
Hand 9: Jason Koon opened to 45,000 with the under the gun and Elijah Berg defended his big blind with the . The flop came down and Berg check-folded to a bet of 30,000 from Koon.
Hand 10: Stephen Chidwick raised it up from late position to 40,000 holding the and Jason Koon made the call int he big blind with the .
A flop was dealt and Koon check-called a bet of 35,000 from Chidwick. The fell on the turn and Chidwick continued with a bet of 125,000 that Koon folded to.
Hand 1: Benjamin Pollak raised to 36,000 with on the button and Isaac Haxton defended his big blind with . Haxton hit the bottom pair on the flop which was checked by both players. Pollak got in front on the turn but he checked back again to let the land on the river.
Haxton checked for the third and final time and Pollak fired 65,000. Haxton spent some time processing the situation and eventually ended up check-raising to 340,000. "I call," said Pollak, adding a nice chunk to his stack right on the first hand.
Hand 2: Action folded to small blind Haxton who limped in with . Brian Green checked in position and they saw the hit the flop. Haxton led out 30,000 with an open-ended straight draw and Green stuck around, calling.
Haxton made the nuts on the turn and barreled for 140,000, more than the size of the pot. Green had no desire to continue calling down and released his hand.
Hand 3: Haxton found on the button and made it 30,000 to go. Green three-bet to 113,000 with in the small blind but Elijah Berg also peeled the ace-high, which happened to be the strongest one; the . He cold four-bet shoved for 550,000 and Haxton and Green both folded.
Hand 4: Cutoff Stephen Chidwick raised it up to 38,000 with and Jason Koon had the same hand in the big blind, defending his . They flopped a Broadway draw on the and Koon check-called 80,000.
The turn was a brick and Koon checked to Chidwick again. Chidwick fired the second barrel worth 250,000, just under the size of the pot. Koon laid down to let the pot go to the two-time US Poker Open champion.
Hand 5: Koon completed with and Pollak opted to check with . He hit the goods on the flop where he checked back, allowing Koon hit the on the turn. Koon led out 32,000 and Pollak smooth-called.
The river filled the backdoor spade draw and Koon placed in a 20,000 blocking bet. Pollak paused before raising it up to 200,000, putting Koon to a tough spot. Koon burned a time extension and eventually made a good laydown.
Hand 6: Koon opened to 36,000 with the and Stephen Chidwick defended his big blind holding the . The flop fanned out and both players checked to see the hit the turn.
Chidwick check-folded when Koon fired a bet of 60,000.
The field in US Poker Open #06 - $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em has been reduced to just six players with a few familiar faces returning to the spotlight including chipleader Stephen Chidwick who has been there more times than not. The action is set to get underway at 1 PM local time in the Aria Resort & Casino streamed live on PokerGO.
This is Chidwick's fourth USPO final table and the 28-year old pro from the United Kingdom has his sights set on a third title. Surrounding Chidwick at the final table will be Benjamin Pollak and Isaac Haxton who are each making their second USPO Finales while Jason Koon, Elijah Berg, and Brian Green are each cashing for the first time.
Final Table Lineup:
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
BB
1
Stephen Chidwick
United Kingdom
1,348,000
84
2
Isaac Haxton
United States
1,132,000
71
3
Brian Green
United States
876,000
55
4
Elijah Berg
United States
566,000
35
5
Jason Koon
United States
1,055,000
66
6
Benjamin Pollak
France
1,197,000
75
With a decent cash today, Chidwick will cross over the $11 million mark in career tournament earnings and take an even tighter grip on the USPO money race. Chidwick was victorious in the first $25,000 NLHE event of the series and also captured the title in the $25,000 Mixed-Game Championship.
Pollak returns with the second-best stack and will look to climb the ranks of the USPO leaderboard this afternoon with a decent cash, this being his third of the series. Pollak has over $8 million in career tournament earnings most notably the $3.5 million he banked at the final table of the 2017 WSOP Main Event.
Haxton is another high stakes crusher who has tamed the biggest games in the world. With over $16 million in live earnings, Haxton has secured his second cash of the USPO and will need to finish at least fifth or better to make a profit as the American pro is in for three bullets.
Koon, Green, and Berg are making their first appearances on PokerGO during the festival. Koon has been a regular staple at the high stakes games and has piled up over $11 million in earnings of his own and did hold the chip lead during the latter part of Day 1. Green comes in as the second shortest stack but still has lots of chips to work with in hopes of adding a sizeable cash to his $2.5 million earnings on the tournament felt.
Berg takes the short-stack honors but even he has a stack to work with coming in with 35 big blinds. Berg has by far the lowest amount in winnings with just $371,000 but anything can happen at a No-Limit Hold'em table. With anything better than a sixth-place finish this afternoon, Berg will capture his career-best live score.
Blinds will continue in the 8,000/16,000 level with a big blind ante of 16,000. Here's what the players will battle for at the final table:
Place
Player
Country
Prize (USD)
1
$416,500
2
$269,500
3
$183,750
4
$122,500
5
$98,000
6
$73,500
7
Daniel Negreanu
Canada
$61,250
Some of the game's best are clashing at the $25,000 No-limit Hold'em final table at the US Poker Open, starting at 4pm ET on PokerGO. Live updates will be provided by PokerNews in case you can't watch it all, but if you have the time, sign up for PokerGO and see if Stephen Chidwick can capture his third USPO title!