MSPT POY Battle Heats Up

[user127999]

Mark Hodge came to Iowa to play a little poker.

"I came to play a lot of poker," he said. "My plan is to play all 14 levels both days."

So far that plan is working, but that's not necessarily a good thing. Hodge played all 14 levels on Day 1a only to bust late in the last level of the night.

"I ran out of steam," he said. "Hopefully I can keep it going today."

Should he do so, run deep and cash, Hodge, who currently sits fifth in the MSPT Player of the Year race, would pick up some valuable points on leader Blake Bohn, who skipped this event due to other commitments.

Hodge currently holds 2,640 points to Bohn's 3,000.

There are also a few players in between in what appears to be a tight race that is likely to come right down to the wire.

Here's how the chase for MSPT looks for the top five points leaders:

Place	Player	Points
1	Blake Bohn	3,000
2	Nicholas Pupillo	2,950
3	Peixin Liu	2900
4	Bill Rogers	2900
5	Mark Hodge	2640

All players who cash in an MSPT Main Event earn POY points and at the end of the calendar year, the top-ranked player will win a $1,100 Main Event seat to the Mid-Season Championship at The Venetian in Las Vegas, $400 cash toward airfare, $250 towards every MSPT event next season and a $5,000 Custom Home Audio package from Holm Audio.