$2,700 Main Event
Day 3 Completed
2023 Potomac Winter Poker Open
$2,700 Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
2023 Potomac Winter Poker Open
Buy-in
$2,700
Entries
533
Level
31
Blinds
125,000 / 250,000
Ante
250,000
Entries
7
Players Left
1
Level 31
: Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Event #11: $2,700 Main Event at the Winter Potomac Poker Open attracted 533 entrants, generating a prize pool of $1,274,400. On Monday, February 6, just seven players returned for Day 3, all of them looking to capture the title of main event champion and the first-place prize of $277,053.
Once the dust settled after just four hours of play, local poker pro and WSOP bracelet winner Justin Liberto emerged victorious, besting start of day chip leader Caitlyn Cobb in heads-up play to add another tournament victory to his already impressive poker resume.
"I feel happy, I feel fortunate how it all happened," said Liberto when asked what the victory meant to him. It is indeed fortunate that he was playing in the tournament at all. "I actually was in the Bahamas until Day 1b and I landed here at 6:30 p.m. I got here at 9 p.m. and late registration closed at 9:45 p.m., so I got to play one level before late reg ended."
One can only imagine how different things would have been had his flight been even slightly delayed.
As for Liberto's plans for the future, he does intend to cut back on live poker. "I just had a kid that's about to turn one so I play a little less frequently than I did for the past decade." Still, he is not in full retirement mode just yet. "I'm going to keep being out there, keep trying to win, keep trying to make some more money."
Event #11:$2,700 Main Event Final Table Results
| Position | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Liberto | United States | $277,053 |
| 2 | Caitlyn Cobb | United States | $172,044 |
| 3 | Joseph Lebrun | United States | $123,617 |
| 4 | Mark Dickstein | United States | $90,482 |
| 5 | Christopher Brown | United States | $68,818 |
| 6 | Shouyi Gao | United States | $52,250 |
| 7 | Anthony Lam | United States | $39,506 |
| 8 | Hal Rotholz | United States | $31,860 |
| 9 | Tim Faro | United States | $22,302 |
Day 3 Action
Anthony Lam came into the day as the second shortest stack with just 17 big blinds and was sent to the exits early on when his king-jack fell to Liberto's ace-ten. Shouyi Gao was the short stack entering play and, though he was able to find a pay jump with Lam's elimination, hit the showers in 6th place after an unfortunate river card saw his king-queen felled by Cobb's queen-jack.
Cobb continued her red-hot run by next downing the ladies of Christopher Brown to bring his tournament to a close in 5th place. Mark Dickstein struggled to get much of anything going throughout the day and eventually bowed out in 4th in a blind on blind confrontation with Liberto.
All of those eliminations took place in a short space of time. It would take a little longer, however, for the final three to be cut down to two. With the ever increasing blinds, though, it was only a matter of time before someone was sent to the rail. That unfortunate individual was Joseph Lebrun when he called off for his tournament life with top pair against Liberto who held two pair.
That elimination set up a heads-up showdown between Cobb and Liberto. Although Liberto held the chip lead for much of the remainder of the tournament, winning a battle of attrition against Cobb, she did double on several occasions to remain in contention. After a couple of hours of play, her luck ran out when her top pair fell to Liberto's full house to bring the tournament to a close.
Although Cobb was unable to secure the victory, she was visibly thrilled with her deep run and the accompanying $172,044 second-place prize. What makes the result all the more impressive is the fact that this is one of her first live tournaments after she was introduced to poker by her husband, local player Justin Arnwine.
Congratulations to Justin Liberto on winning Event #11: $2,700 Main Event at the Potomac Winter Poker Open! That concludes coverage of this event but be sure to stay tuned as Pokernews continues to provide updates from some of the biggest poker tournaments around the world.
Level 31
: Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Caitlyn Cobb limped on the button and Justin Liberto raised to 750,000 in the big blind. Cobb called to send the two players to the flop.
Liberto checked to Cobb following the 
flop and she led out for 1,500,000. That did not push Liberto off of his hand as he flatted.
The 
turn saw Liberto check for a second time and then call once more after Cobb fired a second barrel of 2,000,000.
Liberto checked for a final time after the board pairing 
river. Cobb moved all in and Liberto instantly called, turning over 
for the full house. That, unsurprisingly, was the best hand as Cobb could only table 
for a pair of queens to send her out of the tournament at the final hurdle. Still, Cobb seemed in good spirits as she headed to the payout cage in 2nd place.
Stay tuned for a full tournament recap and winner's interview to follow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
26,550,000
5,200,000
|
5,200,000 |
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level 31
: Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Justin Liberto opened to 500,000 on the button and Caitlyn Cobb defended in the big blind.
Action checked through the 
flop to the 
turn at which point Cobb led out for 750,000. Liberto called to see a river.
The river came 
and Cobb fired off another bet, this time sizing up to 1,400,000. Liberto responded by raising to 3,600,000 which was met by a quick fold from Cobb.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
21,350,000
6,350,000
|
6,350,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
5,200,000
-6,350,000
|
-6,350,000 |
Level 31
: Blinds 125,000/250,000, 250,000 ante
Caitlyn Cobb opened to 500,000 on the button and Justin Liberto called in the big blind.
Liberto checked to Cobb on a flop of 
and she continued for 600,000. That did not dissuade Liberto who called.
The turn saw Liberto check for a second time and then call in fairly short order after Cobb moved all in for 4,500,000.
Caitlyn Cobb: 
Justin Liberto: 
Cobb had flopped a set to leave Liberto drawing dead to the meaningless 
river to further close the chip discrepancy between the two players.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
15,000,000
-1,500,000
|
-1,500,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
11,550,000
1,500,000
|
1,500,000 |
Level: 31
Blinds: 125,000/250,000
Ante: 250,000
Level 30
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Caitlyn Cobb opened to 400,000 on the button only to see Justin Liberto three-bet to 1,050,000 in the big blind. Cobb made the call to send the two players to the flop.
Liberto continued for 475,000 on the 
flop and Cobb called.
The 
turn did not slow down the action, with Liberto betting out 1,500,000 and Cobb again calling.
Liberto checked to Cobb following the 
river and she promptly moved all in. With a 'nice hand' Liberto relinquished his holding to send a sizable pot over to Cobb.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
16,500,000
-2,750,000
|
-2,750,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
10,050,000
2,750,000
|
2,750,000 |
Level 30
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
19,250,000
-50,000
|
-50,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
7,300,000
-50,000
|
-50,000 |
Level 30
: Blinds 100,000/200,000, 200,000 ante
Justin Liberto opened to 550,000 in the small blind and was called by Jospeh Lebrun in the big blind.
Liberto continued for 325,000 on a flop of 
and Lebrun made the call to send the two players to the turn.
The turn came , prompting Liberto to fire a second barrel of 1,150,000. That bet was still not enough to convince Lebrun to go away as he again just called.
The river completed the board and, after some thought, Liberto moved all in. That sent Lebrun deep into the tank as he pondered his decision for several minutes. Eventually he called off for his tournament life and tabled 
but that was no good as Liberto held 
to send Lebrun crashing out of the tournament in 3rd place and setup heads-up play between Liberto and Caitlyn Cobb.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
19,300,000
10,425,000
|
10,425,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
7,350,000
-6,100,000
|
-6,100,000 |
|
Busted | |
Level: 30
Blinds: 100,000/200,000
Ante: 200,000