Ali Imsirovic Catapults into the USPO Championship Lead after Winning Event #9: $10K NLHE ($217,800)
PokerGO Tour Leaderboard captain Ali Imsirovic is now also on top of the U.S. Poker Open Championship leaderboard after winning the U.S. Poker Open Event #9: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em for $217,800 at the PokerGO Studio at the ARIA Resort and Casino for his fourth cash this festival.
Imsirovic faced Andrew Lichtenberger and an epic back-and-forth heads-up battle with the winner guaranteed the top spot on the U.S. Poker Open Championship.
To say Imsirovic is on fire could be a huge understatement as Saturday's victory marks the sixth title for Ismirovic in PokerGO Tour high roller events this year alone.
The event itself was another success for the U.S. Poker with the 99 entries for a $990,000 tieing a festival record just set a few days ago when David Peters finished on top of a field of 99 entries to win Event #7: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em for $217,800.
The final table was broadcasted to poker fans around the world at the subscription-based PokerGO.
U.S. Poker Open Event #9: $10,000 NLHE Final Table Payouts
| Place | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ali Imsirovic | Bosnia and Herzegovina | $217,800 |
| 2 | Andrew Lichtenberger | United States | $158,400 |
| 3 | Cary Katz | United States | $118,800 |
| 4 | Vanessa Kade | Canada | $94,050 |
| 5 | Erik Seidel | United States | $74,250 |
| 6 | Thomas Winters | United States | $59,400 |
| 7 | Jake Schindler | United States | $49,500 |
Event #9 Final Table Recap
Imsirovic entered the final table with nearly half the chips in play and was miles ahead of his nearest competitors in Vanessa Kade, Cary Katz, Erik Seidel, and Lichtenberger.
Katz eliminated the short-stacked Thomas Winters (sixth - $59,400) and Jake Schindler (seventh - $49,500) before also ousting eight-time WSOP bracelet winner and Poker Hall of Fame member Seidel (fifth - $74,250) when his jacks won a flip against ace-queen.
Kade found herself short on chips before she was eliminated in fourth place for $94,050 on a rollercoaster of a hand. Lichtenberger jammed with ace-five and was called by Kade with king-queen suited. Kade flopped top pair and faded a blank on the turn before Lichtenberger hit his three-outer with an ace coming on the river to improve to a better pair than Kade.
Lichtenberg held more than half the chips in play during three-handed action but stacks were relatively close to even after Imsirovic eliminated a short-stacked Katz in third place for $118,800 when his queen-jack suited held against nine-trey suited.
The lead bounced back and forth between the final two players before Imsirovic stormed ahead and Lichtenberger was suddenly left with a small stack of 7.5 big blinds. Lichtenberger then jammed king-jack. Imsirovic quickly considered whether to play his jack-six before he made the call and it appeared that Lichtenberger still had some fight left.
However, Imsirovic was laughing after a six spiked the turn to give him a pair and Lichtenberger had to settle for the healthy runner-up prize of $217,800 after he couldn't get a save on the river.
2021 U.S. Poker Open Championship Standings
After winning Event #9 for his fourth cash this festival, the 2018 Poker Masters Purple Jacket winner Imsirovic found himself in a familiar spot as the leader of the 2021 U.S. Poker Open Championship Standings.
Meanwhile, Event #9 runner-up Lichtenberger catapulted into second place on the leaderboard thanks to three strong finishes this festival including a third-place performance in Event #7.
USPO Event #3 champion Joe McKeehen slid into third place with Steve Zolotow and Event #7 winner David Peters rounding out the top five spots in the Championship Standings.
| Rank | Player | Points | Wins | Cashes | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ali Imsirovic | 406 | 1 | 4 | $406,400 |
| 2 | Andrew Lichtenberger | 308 | 0 | 3 | $308,000 |
| 3 | Joe McKeehen | 302 | 1 | 2 | $302,200 |
| 4 | Steve Zolotow | 289 | 0 | 3 | $289,000 |
| 5 | David Peters | 243 | 1 | 2 | $243,000 |
| 6 | Dan Shak | 236 | 0 | 3 | $235,500 |
| 7 | Maxx Coleman | 231 | 0 | 3 | $230,800 |
| 8 | Cary Katz | 227 | 0 | 3 | $226,900 |
| 9 | Alex Foxen | 223 | 0 | 4 | $223,300 |
| 10 | John Riordan | 222 | 1 | 3 | $221,800 |
2021 U.S. Poker Open Results
| Event | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event #1: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em | 95 | $950,000 | Jake Daniels | United States | $218,500 |
| Event #2: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha | 65 | $650,000 | Sam Soverel | United States | $175,000 |
| Event #3: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em | 77 | $770,000 | Joe McKeehen | United States | $200,200 |
| Event #4: $10,000 Big Bet Mix | 48 | $480,000 | John Riordan | United States | $163,200 |
| Event #5: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em | 85 | $850,000 | Joey Weissman | United States | $204,000 |
| Event #6: $10,000 8-Game | 68 | $680,000 | Eli Elezra | United States | $183,600 |
| Event #7: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em | 99 | $990,000 | David Peters | United States | $217,800 |
| Event #8: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha | 63 | $630,000 | Jared Bleznick | United States | $189,000 |
| Event #9: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em | 99 | $990,000 | Ali Imsirovic | Bosnia and Herzegovina | $217,800 |
*Images courtesy of Poker Central