David Peters became the first two-time winner in the 2021 U.S. Poker Open after he defeated PokerGO Tour Leaderboard captain Ali Imsirovic heads-up to win Event #10: $10,000 Short Deck for $124,200 at the PokerGO Studio at the ARIA Resort & Casino.
Peters, who previously won Event #7: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em for $217,800, entered the Short Deck final table with a commanding chip lead against Imsirovic, Cary Katz, and Thomas Kysar en route to the title.
Despite winning his second event this festival in a truly dominating fashion, Peters was only able to climb from fifth to second place on the 2021 U.S. Poker Open Championship Standings, while Imsirovic, who was on top of the leaderboard after nine events, padded his lead on the rest of the field.
The event itself attracted 27 entries to generate a $270,000 prize pool.
U.S. Poker Open Event #10: $10,000 Short Deck Final Table Payouts
| Place | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Peters | United States | $124,200 |
| 2 | Ali Imsirovic | Bosnia and Herzegovina | $75,600 |
| 3 | Cary Katz | United States | $43,200 |
| 4 | Thomas Kysar | United States | $27,000 |
Event #10 Final Table Recap
Peters entered the four-player final table with two-thirds of the chips in play. Imsirovic and Katz both also had healthy stacks to start with Kysar hoping to spin up a short stack.
The action was hot and heavy right when the live stream at PokerGO began with Peters sending Kysar packing in fourth place for $27,000 on a bad beat when his queen-nine got there against queen-jack suited.
Katz was out next in third place for $43,200 after unsuccessfully jamming queen-ten suited into Imsirovic's queen-jack suited.
It was already guaranteed during heads-up play that the 2021 USPO would have its first two-time winner with both Peters and Imsirovic previously winning titles. Imsirovic had his work cut out for him as he began heads-up play against Peters with a 3:1 chip deficit.
Imsirovic hung around for about 90 minutes during the heads-up battle before he bluffed it all away. Imsirovic jammed the river with queen-eight after bricking the a♣️
Related: Brock Wilson Banks on Building a Name for Himself at the USPO
Ivan Zufic Leads the Final 6 Players in USPO Event #11: $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em
The stakes have more than doubled for Event #11: $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em with the first 10 events of the 2021 U.S. Poker Open featured a $10,000 buy-in.
The event attracted 69 entries to generate a $1,725,000 prize pool. The action was whittled down to just a six-player final table on the opening day with Croatia's Ivan Zufic bagging the overnight chip lead with a stack of 2,865,000.
Event #1 winner Jake Daniels (2,460,000) and Vanessa Kade (2,190,000) also bagged more than 2 million in chips with Dan Shak (1,320,000) advancing as the only other player above 1 million in chips.
Meanwhile, David Peters, who is fresh off victories in Event #7: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em and in Event #10: $10,000 Short Deck is back at it again, albeit with a short stack of 960,000. Frank Funaro (560,000) comes in as the underdog with the shortest stack with hopes to spin it up at the final table.
Event #11: $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em Seat Draw
| Seat | Name | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jake Daniels | United States | 2,460,000 | 41 |
| 2 | David Peters | United States | 960,000 | 16 |
| 3 | Vanessa Kade | Canada | 2,190,000 | 37 |
| 4 | Frank Funaro | United States | 560,000 | 9 |
| 5 | Dan Shak | United States | 1,320,000 | 22 |
| 6 | Ivan Zufic | Croatia | 2,865,000 | 48 |
Also read: Chris Brewer Transitions from Collegiate Runner to High-Stakes Poker Pro
Where to Watch the Final Table?
The final six players will return to the PokerGo Studios on Monday, June 14 with the action expected to begin at 3 p.m. EDT. PokerGO will live stream what promises to be some of the most exciting poker action of the year beginning at 4 p.m. EDT. Remember, an annual subscription to PokerGO costs $99.99, but you can save $20 off by using promo code “USPO21” at checkout. Sign up by going here.
Final Table Payouts
All returning players are guaranteed at least a $103,500 payout with the eventual winner slated to take home a massive $465,750 top prize.
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $465,750 |
| 2 | $345,000 |
| 3 | $224,250 |
| 4 | $172,500 |
| 5 | $138,000 |
| 6 | $103,500 |
2021 U.S. Poker Open Championship Standings
Event #7 and Event #10 champion Peters catapulted from fifth to second place on the 2021 U.S. Poker Open Championship Standings after becoming the first two-time winner of this festival.
Event #9 winner and the 2018 Poker Masters Purple Jacket winner Imsirovic padded his lead against the rest of his field with a strong runner-up finish in Event #10.
Meanwhile, Event #9 runner-up Andrew Lichtenberger slipped down a spot into third place with Event #3 champion Joe McKeehen and Steve Zolotow rounding out the top five spots in the Championship Standings.
| Rank | Player | Points | Wins | Cashes | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ali Imsirovic | 483 | 1 | 5 | $482,000 |
| 2 | David Peters | 367 | 2 | 3 | $367,200 |
| 3 | Andrew Lichtenberger | 308 | 0 | 3 | $308,000 |
| 4 | Joe McKeehen | 302 | 1 | 2 | $302,200 |
| 5 | Steve Zolotow | 289 | 0 | 3 | $289,000 |
| 6 | Cary Katz | 270 | 0 | 4 | $270,100 |
| 7 | Dan Shak | 236 | 0 | 3 | $235,500 |
| 8 | Maxx Coleman | 231 | 0 | 3 | $230,800 |
| 9 | Alex Foxen | 224 | 0 | 4 | $223,300 |
| 10 | John Riordan | 222 | 1 | 3 | $221,800 |
2021 U.S. Poker Open Results
| Event | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em | 95 | $950,000 | Jake Daniels | United States | $218,500 |
| Event #2: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha | 65 | $650,000 | Sam Soverel | United States | $175,000 |
| Event #3: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em | 77 | $770,000 | Joe McKeehen | United States | $200,200 |
| Event #4: $10,000 Big Bet Mix | 48 | $480,000 | John Riordan | United States | $163,200 |
| Event #5: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em | 85 | $850,000 | Joey Weissman | United States | $204,000 |
| Event #6: $10,000 8-Game | 68 | $680,000 | Eli Elezra | United States | $183,600 |
| Event #7: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em | 99 | $990,000 | David Peters | United States | $217,800 |
| Event #8: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha | 63 | $630,000 | Jared Bleznick | United States | $189,000 |
| Event #9: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em | 99 | $990,000 | Ali Imsirovic | Bosnia and Herzegovina | $217,800 |
| Event #10: $10,000 Short Deck | 27 | $270,000 | David Peters | United States | $124,200 |
*Images courtesy of Poker Central
In this Series
- 1 2021 U.S. Poker Open Begins Thursday With First of 12 Events
- 2 The USPO is Back: A Historical Look at PokerGO’s US Poker Open (USPO)
- 3 Dan Shak Leads Star-Studded Final Table in U.S. Poker Open Event #1: $10,000 NLHE
- 4 Jake Daniels Wins the U.S. Poker Open Event #1: $10,000 No Limit Hold'em ($218,500)
- 5 PokerGO Point Standings Leading Into 2021 US Poker Open; Imsirovic Leads
- 6 Sam Soverel Wins USPO Event #2: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha ($175,500)
- 7 Joe McKeehen Wins USPO Event #3: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em ($200,200)
- 8 Chris Brewer Transitions from Collegiate Runner to High-Stakes Poker Pro
- 9 John Riordan Wins U.S. Poker Open $10K Big Bet Mix ($163,200)
- 10 Joey Weissman Mounts Comeback for the Ages to Win USPO Event #5: $10K NLHE ($204,000)
- 11 Eli Elezra Defeats Zolotow & Negreanu to Win the USPO $10K 8-Game ($183,600)
- 12 David Peters Wins Record-Breaking USPO Event #7: $10,000 NLHE ($217,800)
- 13 No Gamble, No Future: Jeff Platt & Brent Hanks Chemistry Shines During USPO
- 14 Jared Bleznick Wins USPO Event #8: $10K PLO ($189,000)
- 15 Brock Wilson Banks on Building a Name for Himself at the USPO
- 16 Ali Imsirovic Catapults into USPO Lead after Winning Event #9: $10K NLHE ($217,800)
- 17 Inside Jared Bleznick’s Bizarre "Sports Cards" Interview After USPO Victory
- 18 David Peters Wins $10K Short Deck for his Second 2021 USPO Title ($124,200)
- 19 David Peters Wins Third USPO Title in Five Days in the Event #11: $25K NLHE ($465,750)
- 20 Sean Winter Defeats Stephen Chidwick to Win USPO Event #12: $50K NLHE ($756,000)
- 21 David Peters Wins Back-To-Back U.S. Poker Open Championships; Imsirovic Extends PokerGO Tour Lead
