Erik Seidel Tops Phil Hellmuth To Win Event #9
Erik Seidel picked another high roller victory in his illustrious career by winning Event #9: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em at the 2022 U.S. Poker Open. Seidel topped the one and only Phil Hellmuth in heads-up play after the pair was the final two players from the 63-entry field. Seidel took home the lion’s share of the prize pool, winning $472,500.
“It’s pretty wild that the two of us got heads up,” Seidel said. “That’s the third time we’ve been heads up, so it was fun.”
Seidel later added that every time he’s gotten heads up with Hellmuth, he’s been the one to come out on top and is now a perfect 3-0 against him. The first time was in the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em tournament at the Bicycle Casino in 1988. Then in 1992 at Binion’s, Seidel topped Hellmuth in the WSOP $2,500 Limit Hold’em event to win his first-ever gold bracelet.
“It’s always fun to play a final table,” Seidel said. “I don’t think there’s any extra meaning to it that we were heads up, as I would’ve been happy to win against anybody. It’s just nice when things go your way for a few hours in a critical period like this. It’s great.”
In addition to scooping up $472,500 in prize money, which pushed him to fourth on poker’s all-time money list ahead of David Peters, Seidel improved his standing on the 2022 U.S. Poker Open leaderboard to fifth. Seidel has 428 points and is now right behind Hellmuth, who has 464. Seidel said after that he plans to continue competing at the U.S. Poker Open in hopes of winning the series title.
2022 U.S. Poker Open Event #9 Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Erik Seidel | United States | $472,500 |
| 2 | Phil Hellmuth | United States | $315,000 |
| 3 | Alex Foxen | United States | $220,500 |
| 4 | Sam Soverel | United States | $157,500 |
| 5 | Tamon Nakamura | Japan | $126,000 |
| 6 | Ren Lin | United States | $94,500 |
| 7 | Alex Livingston | Canada | $78,750 |
Event #9: $25,000 NL Hold’em attracted a field of 63 entries and created a prize pool of $1,575,000. The top nine spots finished in the money. Zhuang Ruan took ninth and Shannon Shorr placed eighth before the final seven players competed at Friday’s final table. All players to cash earned both U.S. Poker Open and PGT leaderboard points.
How Seidel Won Event #9
Erik Seidel finished Day 1 of Event #9 with 1,110,000 in chips. That put him fourth on the leaderboard with seven players remaining.
When play started at Friday’s final table, it started with a bang and one that resulted very positively in Seidel’s favor. He flopped middle set with pocket nines against Alex Foxen. Foxen flopped bottom set. The money went in on the flop and Seidel’s hand held to give him a big double up.
Alex Livingston was the first player to bust, and he was knocked out by Japanese poker player Tamon Nakamura. Livingston had ace-king of spades and couldn’t win the flip against Nakamura’s pocket queens.
Next out the door was Ren Lin, busting to Sam Soverel and finishing in sixth place. Nakamura busted in fifth place and he was eliminated by Seidel. Seidel had pocket fives against Nakamura’s ace-king and held. The fifth-place finish gave Nakamura 76 points for the U.S. Poker Open leaderboard and put him back on top of the standings with a total of 538 points.
Seidel had built himself a nice chip lead for four-handed play. He then busted Sam Soverel in fourth to extend his lead further.
To get down to heads-up play, Phil Hellmuth eliminated Foxen in third place when his king-queen beat Foxen’s ace-ten.
Heads-up play began with Seidel in the lead. He had 6,825,000 to Hellmuth’s 2,625,000.
Hellmuth scooped a big pot when he rivered a straight against Seidel’s two pair, and that pulled the stacks closer to even. After the hand, Seidel had 5,275,000 in chips to Hellmuth’s 4,175,000. Seidel got right back to work, though, and Hellmuth eventually found himself back down to 2,300,000 in chips. Then, the final hand came up.
At the 75,000-125,000 level, Seidel raised on the button to 275,000 with queen-jack. Hellmuth called with jack-nine and the flop came jack-three-two. Hellmuth checked and Seidel bet 200,000. Hellmuth check-raised to 500,000 and Seidel moved in. Hellmuth called off his stack and saw the bad news that he was dominated. Seidel’s hand held up and he scored the victory.
2022 U.S. Poker Open Leaderboard Top 10
| Rank | Player | Country | Points |
| 1 | Tamon Nakamura | Japan | 538 |
| 2 | Alex Foxen | United States | 488 |
| 3 | Chino Rheem | United States | 481 |
| 4 | Phil Hellmuth | United States | 464 |
| 5 | Erik Seidel | United States | 428 |
| 6 | Adam Hendrix | United States | 356 |
| 7 | Shannon Shorr | United States | 340 |
| 8 | Jeremy Ausmus | United States | 333 |
| 9 | Ren Lin | United States | 292 |
| 10 | Scott Seiver | United States | 261 |
Watch the U.S. Poker Open Event #9 Final Table on PokerGO.com at 4 p.m. ET
The final table of Event #9: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em of the 2022 U.S. Poker Open is set and will be airing on PokerGO.com at 4 p.m. ET.
Watch the Event #9 final table on PokerGO.com here!
Alex Foxen finished Day 1 as the chip leader with 2,775,000 in chips ahead of Sam Soverel, Tamon Nakamura, Erik Seidel, Alex Livingston, Phil Hellmuth, and Ren Lin. The final seven players are guaranteed $78,750 in prize money, while all eyes are on the $472,500 first-place prize.
Event #9: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em Final Table |
|||
| Seat | Name | Country | Chip Count |
| 1 | Alex Livingston | Canada | 680,000 |
| 2 | Alex Foxen | United States | 2,775,000 |
| 3 | Tamon Nakamura | Japan | 1,580,000 |
| 4 | Phil Hellmuth | United States | 575,000 |
| 5 | Ren Lin | United States | 340,000 |
| 6 | Erik Seidel | United States | 1,110,000 |
| 7 | Sam Soverel | United States | 2,395,000 |
When play resumes, Level 15 will continue with 7:14 remaining and the button will be on Alex Foxen.
Connect with PokerGO.com on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Use code “ USPO22WEB” for $20 off an annual PokerGO subscription now!
Alex Foxen Leads Final Table of 2022 U.S. Poker Open Event #9
Alex Foxen amassed chips early in the day and stayed near the top of the leaderboard for much of it, ultimately bagging the chip lead heading into the Event #9 final table stream as the seven remaining players battle it out on the felt, which is set to air exclusively on PokerGO at 4 p.m. ET on Friday, March 25.
Sam Soverel will be coming into the final day second in chips, while Japan’s Tamon Nakamura will be third in chips and will also be looking for his third trophy of the 2022 U.S. Poker Open. Erik Seidel will be contending for the trophy as well, while Alex Livingston, Phil Hellmuth, and Ren Lin will begin the stream as the short stacks, each having less than 20 big blinds.
Event #9: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em of the 2022 U.S. Poker Open kicked off at the PokerGO Studio at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the 63-entrant field created a prize pool of $1,575,000.
Nine players earned themselves a piece of the prize pool, and it took over three hours for the last few players to be eliminated on the soft bubble. Barry Hutter was knocked out in 13th, Dylan DeStefano was gone in 12th, Jason Koon ended his run in 11th, and Ali Imsirovic was eliminated in 10th to burst the money bubble.
Once the players were in the money, Zhuang Ruan was the first one eliminated at the final table in ninth place when his ace-ten went up against Seidel’s king-queen. The board ran out to give Seidel a flush on the river and Ruan was gone. A short-stacked Shannon Shorr would be the next player out in eighth place. The remaining players played a few more hands before deciding to end play for the night and return to the final table stream seven-handed.
The seven remaining players have locked up $78,750, but all eyes are on the $472,500 first-place prize.
Event #9: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em Final Table |
|||
| Seat | Name | Country | Chip Count |
| 1 | Alex Livingston | Canada | 680,000 |
| 2 | Alex Foxen | United States | 2,775,000 |
| 3 | Tamon Nakamura | Japan | 1,580,000 |
| 4 | Phil Hellmuth | United States | 575,000 |
| 5 | Ren Lin | United States | 340,000 |
| 6 | Erik Seidel | United States | 1,110,000 |
| 7 | Sam Soverel | United States | 2,395,000 |
When play resumes, Level 15 will continue with 7:14 remaining and the button will be on Alex Foxen.
The final seven players will return to the PokerGO Studio on Friday, March 25, at 12 p.m. PT with the final table airing on PokerGO.com and the PokerGO YouTube channel at 1 p.m. PT.
Connect with PokerGO.com on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Use code “ USPO22WEB” for $20 off an annual PokerGO subscription now!
End-of-Day Chip Counts
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Foxen | 2,775,000 |
-10,000  |
| Sam Soverel | 2,395,000 |
495,000  |
| Tamon Nakamura | 1,580,000 |
-60,000 |
| Erik Seidel | 1,110,000 |
-60,000 |
| Alex Livingston | 680,000 |
80,000 |
| Phil Hellmuth | 575,000 |
-100,000 |
| Ren Lin | 340,000 |
-100,000 |
Zhuang Ruan Eliminated in 9th Place ($47,250)
Zhuang Ruan moved all-in from the cutoff for 200,000 and Erik Seidel called the big blind.
Ruan: [ahth]
Seidel: [KcQh]
The board ran out [9c8h7cjc6c] and Seidel improved to a flush to eliminate Ruan in ninth place.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Erik Seidel | 1,170,000 |
220,000 |
| Zhuang Ruan | Busted |
-220,000 |
Shannon Shorr Doubles Through Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth opened the cutoff to 80,000 and Shannon Shorr called the big blind for his 70,000 chips.
Shorr: [Acas]
Hellmuth: [kcqs]
Shorr woke up with aces and held as the board ran out [Ahts2d9c4s].
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Phil Hellmuth | 675,000 |
-70,000 |
| Shannon Shorr | 200,000 |
90,000 |
Final Table Seating Draw and Chip Counts
Seat 1: Alex Livingston
Seat 2: Alex Foxen
Seat 3: Tamon Nakamura
Seat 4: Phil Hellmuth
Seat 5: Zhuang Ruan
Seat 6: Ren Lin
Seat 7: Shannon Shorr
Seat 8: Erik Seidel
Seat 9: Sam Soverel
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Foxen | 2,785,000 | - |
| Sam Soverel | 1,900,000 |
-245,000 |
| Tamon Nakamura | 1,640,000 |
-160,000 |
| Erik Seidel | 950,000 |
260,000 |
| Phil Hellmuth | 745,000 | - |
| Alex Livingston | 600,000 |
-100,000 |
| Ren Lin | 440,000 | - |
| Zhuang Ruan | 220,000 |
-100,000 |
| Shannon Shorr | 110,000 |
-140,000 |
Ali Imsirovic Eliminated on Event #9 Money Bubble
Alex Foxen opened the hijack to 80,000 and Ali Imsirovic called for his 20,000 remaining chips in the big bind.
Imsirovic: [7d3d]
Foxen: [qcqh]
The board ran out [ksqd3hjc6c] and Imsirovic was eliminated on the money bubble.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Foxen | 2,785,000 |
440,000 |
| Ali Imsirovic | Busted |
-120,000 |
Updated Chip Counts
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Foxen | 2,345,000 |
45,000 |
| Sam Soverel | 2,145,000 |
545,000 |
| Tamon Nakamura | 1,800,000 |
595,000 |
| Phil Hellmuth | 745,000 |
65,000 |
| Alex Livingston | 700,000 |
-180,000 |
| Erik Seidel | 690,000 |
-260,000 |
| Ren Lin | 440,000 |
-120,000 |
| Zhuang Ruan | 320,000 |
-5,000 |
| Shannon Shorr | 250,000 |
-200,000 |
| Ali Imsirovic | 120,000 |
-130,000 |
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