USPO #5 - $25,000 NLH
Day 2 Completed
2019 US Poker Open
USPO #5 - $25,000 NLH
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2019 US Poker Open
Buy-in
$25,000
Prize Pool
$1,475,000
Entries
59
Level
21
Blinds
30,000 / 60,000
Ante
60,000
Level 21
: 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Last September, 24-year-old Ali Imsirovic won back-to-back events at the 2018 Poker Masters on his way to capturing the overall series championship and prestigious purple jacket. After taking the past couple months off from the game, he returned to the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas and claimed another title.
This time he beat a 59-entry field to win the 2019 US Poker Open Event #5: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em for $442,500, the fourth-largest score of his burgeoning career.
"I'm much less risk-averse than other players and I'm more aggressive, so I might make fewer final tables but when I do I usually have a lot of chips and perhaps a little better chance of getting the win," Imsirovic said after the win. "Today just went so fast. As first the two short stacks doubled up but then I had back-to-back bust outs against Nick Petrangelo and Dan Shak, and the heads up with Cary didn't last too long either. If he had doubled up, however, we might've been here a while longer."
Event #5: $25,000 NLH Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ali Imsirovic | United States | $442,500 |
| 2 | Cary Katz | United States | $295,000 |
| 3 | Dan Shak | United States | $206,500 |
| 4 | Nick Petrangelo | United States | $147,500 |
| 5 | Kristen Bicknell | Canada | $118,000 |
| 6 | Joseph Cappello | United States | $88,500 |
Final Table Action
Imsirovic began the final table as chip leader and it took him approximately two hours to close things out. First, Nick Petrangelo got things started by eliminating the short-stacked Joe Cappello, who saw his Big Slick straightened out by king-jack all in preflop.
Dan Shak then won a race with pocket nines against queen-jack to dispatch Kristen Bicknell in fifth place, and a short time later Petrangelo ran pocket jacks smack dab into Imsirovic’s two black aces. The rockets held and Imsirovic pulled out to a massive lead.
When Shak jammed two pair with an inferior flush draw into Imsirovic, who had trips with a better flush draw, it set up a heads-up match with the latter holding a 10:1 lead over Cary Katz.
In the final hand of the tournament, Katz check-raised all in after flopping a flush drawn and Imsirovic called with middle pair. Katz turned more outs by turning a small pair, but he missed when an offsuit eight bricked the river.
Katz, who earlier in the series finished fifth in Event #2: $10K PLO for $51,200, had to settle for second place and $295,000 in prize money.
PokerNews coverage of the 2019 USPO continues now with live updates from Event #6: $25,000 PLO, which you can follow here.
Remember, you can watch all USPO final tables exclusively on PokerGO. Subscribe to PokerGO for just $10 a month or $99 a year to watch nine straight days of U.S. Poker Open final table action plus PokerGO’s full catalog of programming.
Level 21
: 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Ali Imsirovic raised to 180,000 holding the 
on the button and Cary Katz defended holding the 
.
Katz checked his flush draw on the 
flop and Imsirovic bet 140,000. Katz check-raised all in for 1.07 million and Imsirovic pondered for a bit before making the call.
The 
turn gave Katz a couple more outs, but Imsirovic was confident it was "too many outs." Indeed it was as the 
bricked the river to send Katz out the door in second place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
7,375,000
675,000
|
675,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 21
: 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Stephen Chidwick is unbeatable at the U.S. Poker Open, especially when he flops the nuts. The British high roller breaks down this crucial $10K NLH final table hand on Run It Back with Remko!
Level 21
: 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Ali Imsirovic raised under the gun and Dan Shak defended from the small blind. When the flop fell 
, Shak checked and Imsirovic bet 75,000.
Shak called and then led out for 150,000 on the 
turn. Imsirovic raised to 550,000 and then snap-called when Shak three-bet all in for 1.92 million.
Shak: 
Imsirovic: 
Shak had two pair with a flush draw but was way behind Imsirovic's trip threes with a better flush draw. The 
river was no help to Shak and just like that he was sent to the rail in third place.
With that, Imsirovic begins heads-up play with a 10:1 chip lead over Cary Katz. The final two players are now on a short break.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
6,700,000
2,180,000
|
2,180,000 |
|
|
680,000
-280,000
|
-280,000 |
|
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level 21
: 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Ali Imsirovic raised to 120,000 from the button and then snap-called when Nick Petrangelo three-bet all in for 1.16 million.
Imsirovic: 
Petrangelo: 
The 
gave both players a set, while the turn left Petrangelo looking for the one outer on the river. It wasn't in the cards though as the bricked instead.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,520,000
1,310,000
|
1,310,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level 21
: 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Poker Central's Remko Rinkema spoke to Jordan Cristos about his win in Event #2: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha and his jump into some of the high roller events at the U.S. Poker Open.
Level 21
: 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Remember, you can watch US Poker Open final table action live streams exclusively on PokerGO. Click here to get access for just $10 a month or get an annual subscription for just $99.
Remaining 2019 USPO Live Stream Schedule
| Date | Event | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday, February 19 | Event #6: $25,000 PLO | 17:00 ET/14:00 PT |
| Wednesday, February 20 | Event #7: $25,000 NLH | 17:00 ET/14:00 PT |
| Thursday, February 21 | Event #8: $25,000 8-Game Mix | 17:00 ET/14:00 PT |
| Thursday, February 21 | Event #9: $50,000 NLH Early Action | 20:00 ET/17:00 PT |
| Friday, February 22 | Event #9: $50,000 NLH | 17:00 ET/14:00 PT |
| Friday, February 22 | Event #10: $100,000 NLH Main Event Early Action | 19:30 ET/16:30 PT |
| Saturday, February 23 | Event #10: $100,000 NLH Main Event | 17:00 ET/14:00 PT |
Level 21
: 30,000/60,000, 60,000 ante
Kristen Bicknell open-shoved for 755,000 from the button and Dan Shak jammed over the top for 1.035 million in the small blind. Ali Imsirovic folded and it was off to the races.
Shak:
Bicknell: 
Bicknell was looking to improve but that proved easier said than done as the board ran out an unhelpful 
.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,910,000
630,000
|
630,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
Level: 21
Blinds: 30,000/60,000
Ante: 60,000