Stephen Chidwick Leads Event #6 Final Table; Cary Katz Scores Third Cash
Stephen Chidwick is on his way to do it again! The No. 1 on the UK all-time money list has made his ninth U.S. Poker Open final table and on Tuesday he’ll look to win his fourth event. Chidwick is the reigning U.S. Poker Open champion and a big result at the Event #6 final table could put him in the driver’s seat for a title defense.
The $25,000 Pot Limit Omaha event drew a field of 39 entries creating a prize pool just shy of a million dollars. Right now, just six players remain to battle over the $351,000 first prize live on PokerGO at 5:00 pm ET. The six finalists are guaranteed at least $58,500.
The big stars were out in full force as Phil Galfond, Alex Foxen, Justin Bonomo, Brandon Adams, Ali Imsirovic, and Erik Seidel gave it their best shot. Meanwhile, the rivalry between Stephen Chidwick and Sean Winter’s intensified with the latter drawing the short straw.
Winter was eliminated by Chidwick in eighth-place with [QsQdAd8s] against [KhKcTdTc] on a board of [Ac5h5c5s6c]. Winter’s heater might’ve slowed down a tiny bit, he’s still a strong contender to become the U.S. Poker Open champion with 440 points and the standings lead.
Chidwick now has an opportunity to tie or overtake the lead with a top three finish at the final table. He currently has 340 points and is guaranteed at least 40 more.
Phil Galfond, a PLO master, was a surprise participant. He’s been a bit busy launching his online poker site Run it Once and hadn’t played live poker in six months. But he couldn’t turn down an opportunity to play his favorite game at the PokerGO Studio which is just a few miles from his house. “OMGClayAiken” hung tough for a few hours before bowing out long before the final table was achieved.
Ben Yu was among the early chip leaders but his heater didn’t last long. He lost on a failed bluff attempt to Jared Bleznick and was eventually eliminated by Chidwick.
Ali Imsirovic late registered for PLO after shipping the Event #5 title. He never built up a large stack and busted long before the money.
Watch the final table of that event live and exclusively on PokerGO starting at 5 p.m. EST or follow along with the coverage on PokerCentral.com.
John Riordan was the first to top the million-chip mark when he busted Erik Seidel well short of the money. Seidel moved all-in with his short stack for 62,000 on the turn with [AxJx5x4x] and was up against [Ad8dXxXx]. The board showed [7h2dKc3d], and then Riordan hit gin on the river when the [4d] appeared, giving him the stone-cold nuts.
Unfortunately, for Riordan, his run good didn’t last. He was eventually eliminated by Jared Bleznick.
Chance Kornuth was cruising through much of the session and was among the chip leaders at certain points of the day. But he was yet another casualty of Chidwick’s heater. Kornuth was all-in with [KdQd9s3s] against [As7s6c5c] and Chidwick hit a flush to send the Chip Leader Coaching founder to the rails.
At around 11:55 pm PST, Bleznick became the bubble boy. Like so many other players throughout this series, he was eliminated by Chidwick. On a flop of [5dThJs], Bleznick put his remaining 255,000 chips into the pot with [TcTd5c5h] and was called by [AdKhQd6h]. The turn was the [Ah] and the river was the [Ks], giving Chidwick the nut straight and Bleznick a trip home while simultaneously ensuring the final six players a Day 2 berth on the PokerGO live stream.
Joining Chidwick at the final are five renowned poker pros. Anthony Zinno, one of the most consistent players in the game is second in chips. Cary Katz is appearing at his third final table for the series, while Ben Lamb is at his second. Sean Rafael and Tom Marchese reached the final table in their first 2019 U.S. Poker Open event.
| Seat | Player | Chips |
| 1 | Ben Lamb | 450,000 |
| 2 | Tom Marchese | 265,000 |
| 3 | Sean Rafael | 890,000 |
| 4 | Stephen Chidwick | 2,375,000 |
| 5 | Cary Katz | 665,000 |
| 6 | Anthony Zinno | 1,225,000 |
You can follow the final table action on PokerGO Monday beginning at 5 p.m. ET with cards in the air at 4 p.m. EST. We’ll also have live updates for Day 1 of Event #7 – $25,000 No Limit Hold’em right here at PokerCentral.com from 5 p.m. EST. New to PokerGO? Subscribe right now to not miss a minute of the action.
Event #6 Final Table
Seat 1: Ben Lamb – 450,000
Seat 2: Tom Marchese – 265,000
Seat 3: Sean Rafael – 890,000
Seat 4: Stephen Chidwick – 2,375,000
Seat 5: Cary Katz – 665,000
Seat 6: Anthony Zinno – 1,225,000
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen Chidwick | 2,375,000 |
100,000  |
| Anthony Zinno | 1,225,000 |
-15,000  |
| Sean Rafael | 890,000 |
-60,000 |
| Cary Katz | 665,000 |
-60,000 |
| Ben Lamb | 450,000 |
30,000 |
| Tom Marchese | 265,000 |
-50,000 |
Jared Bleznick Eliminated by Stephen Chidwick
Stephen Chidwick raised to 55,000 from under the gun and Cary Katz called next to act. Jared Bleznick called from the big blind, and the flop landed [5dThJs].
Bleznick pushed his entire 255,000 in chips forward but was bound to a bet of 195,000. Chidwick announced a raise of pot for 780,000, and Katz immediately threw in one of his time extension banks.
Roughly 20 seconds passed, and Katz mucked. Although Bleznick still had 60,000 behind, both players then tabled their cards.
Bleznick: [TcTd5c4h]
Chidwick: [AdKhQd6h]
Bleznick held middle set but was drawing against Chidwick’s straight draw and backdoor flush draw.
The turn of the [Ah] thrust Chidwick into the lead, and when the [Ks] completed the board on the river, Bleznick was eliminated in seventh-place and on the Event #6 money bubble.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen Chidwick | 2,275,000 |
450,000 |
| Jared Bleznick | Busted |
-325,000 |
Anthony Zinno Gets the Best of Stephen Chidwick, Cary Katz
In a battle of the tables three biggest stacks Stephen Chidwick opened to 55,000 from the high jack and found calls from Cary Katz in the cutoff and Anthony Zinno on the button.
The flop came [AdQhTh] Chidwick check and Katz knuckled as well.
Zinno used most of his shot clock before cutting out a bet of 125,000.
Chidwick quickly released his hand as did Katz and Zinno inched closer to the chip lead.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen Chidwick | 1,825,000 |
-130,000 |
| Anthony Zinno | 1,240,000 |
155,000 |
| Cary Katz | 725,000 |
-50,000 |
Event #6 Final Table Line-Up
Following the elimination of Sean Winter in eighth-place, Event #6 is now down to the final table.
Players are currently on the money bubble, and once one more player is eliminated, play will end for the night.
Seat 1: Ben Lamb – 420,000
Seat 2: Tom Marchese – 315,000
Seat 3: Sean Rafael – 950,000
Seat 4: Jared Bleznick – 325,000
Seat 5: Stephen Chidwick – 1,955,000
Seat 6: Cary Katz – 775,000
Seat 7: Anthony Zinno – 1,085,000
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen Chidwick | 1,955,000 | - |
| Anthony Zinno | 1,085,000 |
-340,000 |
| Sean Rafael | 950,000 |
400,000 |
| Cary Katz | 775,000 | - |
| Ben Lamb | 420,000 |
-105,000 |
| Jared Bleznick | 325,000 |
15,000 |
| Tom Marchese | 315,000 |
5,000 |
Sean Winter Eliminated in 8th Place by Stephen Chidwick
It was bound to happen eventually. After cashing in the first five events of the US Poker Open, Sean Winter’s good fortune came to an end just short of the money in Event #6. Stephen Chidwick raised pre-flop to 70,000 on the button and was called by Winter who was seated in the big blind.
The flop came [Ac5h5c] and both players checked. The [5s] appeared on the turn and the small blind checked to Chidwick, who tossed in a bet of 55,000. Winter came along for the ride and they saw a river of [6c]. Winter again checked and Chidwick moved all-in and was snap-called by an inferior hand.
Chidwick: [KhKcTdTc]
Winter: [QsQdAd8s]
We are now officially on the money bubble.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen Chidwick | 1,955,000 |
305,000 |
| Sean Winter | Busted |
-215,000 |
Stephen Chidwick Maintains Chip Lead
Action folded to Stephen Chidwick in the small blind and made it 60,000 to go. Tom Marchese made the call from the big blind.
The dealer spread the [Jd5c3c] and Chidwick bet 45,000. Marchese quickly made the call.
The turn saw the [Qh] hit the board and Chidwick potted it to 203,000. Marchese folded and Chidwick collected the pot.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen Chidwick | 1,650,000 |
-85,000 |
| Cary Katz | 775,000 |
125,000 |
| Tom Marchese | 310,000 |
-245,000 |
| Sean Winter | 215,000 |
75,000 |
Soft Hand-for-Hand Begins
With the remaining players on the final table bubble, Tournament Director Paul Campbell has put into place soft hand-for-hand.
If any table gets two hands ahead of the other table, they will pause and wait for the other table to catch up.
Updated Chip Counts
With eight players remaining, two away from the money, here is a list of chip counts as the players take a 10-minute break.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen Chidwick | 1,735,000 |
-25,000 |
| Anthony Zinno | 1,425,000 |
225,000 |
| Cary Katz | 650,000 |
30,000 |
| Tom Marchese | 555,000 |
47,000 |
| Sean Rafael | 550,000 |
35,000 |
| Ben Lamb | 525,000 |
-100,000 |
| Jared Bleznick | 310,000 |
-220,000 |
| Sean Winter | 140,000 |
-40,000 |
Chance Kornuth Eliminated by Stephen Chidwick
Chance Kornuth was all in for his tournament life holding [KdQd9s3s] against Stephen Chidwick who held [As7s6c5c].
The board ran out a flush for Chidwick and Kornuth he was eliminated.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen Chidwick | 1,760,000 |
195,000 |
| Chance Kornuth | Busted |
-170,000 |
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