The latest three events in the 2023 U.S. Poker Open saw Phil Hellmuth, Allan Le and Isaac Kempton all win their first-ever USPO events, while others such as Ren Lin and Nacho Barbero continued to battle towards the overall lead in the series with four events remaining. With Events #1 – #3 already producing huge drama, all eyes were on events in Pot Limit Omaha and No Limit Hold’em at the PokerGO Studio at ARIA Casino & Resort in Las Vegas.

Allan Le Wins Event #4 for $200,000

The fourth event of the 2023 USPO saw 77 entrants put up the $10,000 buy-in to take part in the Pot Limit Omaha event. With only 11 players being paid, players such as Sean Winter (9^th for $23,100) and Ben Lamb (8^th for $30,800) came close to the final six without making the last day of the action.

Once the final table began, Japanese player Masashi Oya crashed out first, earning $55,800 for his sixth-place finish. After Serbia high roller Damjan Radanov left in fifth for $61,600, Canadian superstar Daniel Negreanu took his leave in fourth place for $77,000. The final three comprised of two homegrown talents and a Dutch master. Dylan Weisman left in third when Allan Le made a set of kings to top Weisman’s middle pair on the flop.

Heads-up, Allan Le used his stack to great effect, grinding down Keijzer’s stack and eventually won with a pair of sevens, when the Dutchman’s drawing hand could not hit post-flop. After the huge success of the recent PokerGO Tour PLO Series, Le’s victory made sure there was another new winner in the USPO event, a trend that would continue through the next two events as well.

Phil Hellmuth Wins First-Ever USPO Title in Event #5

The Poker Brat was never going to enter the fray quietly, and so it proved as Phil Hellmuth won his first-ever U.S. Poker Open event in Event #5 for $211,200. The glory will be worth far more than the money to Hellmuth, however, as he cashed for the second time in the series with an outright win, proving to any straggling doubters that remain how proficient he is at closing the deal in big ticket events.

Aged 57, Hellmuth’s poker career has been one filled with success in the 33 years since he won the WSOP Main Event aged just 24 in 1989. Hellmuth’s latest triumph makes a mockery of those who say he can’t win high rollers in Las Vegas. Hellmuth’s success in the event came at the expense of several superstars in the poker world.

With 88 entrants putting up the $10,000 buy-in in the No Limit hold’em event, only 13 players would be lucky enough to cash. Cary Katz, who sits second on the 2023 PGT Leaderboard, cashed in 12^th place for $17,600, before an unfortunate Cherish Andrews busted to Jeremy Ausmus after being ahead in numerous hands and failing to see the firtunes favor her strength. Andrews, who sold 21% of her buy-in on PokerStake nevertheless more than trebled her investors stakes, winning $35,200 in 9^th place.

At the final table, an early exit for the Event #4 winner Allan Le saw him depart in sixth for $52,800, before mixed game specialist George Wolff busted in fourth for $88,000 and Jess Lonis went one place further in third for $105,600 – the first six-figure score of the tournament. Hellmuth face Jeremy Ausmus heads-up in what was a titanic clash.

Just two years ago, Ausmus beat Hellmuth to the title in the PLO High Roller event that also featured Daniel Negreanu three-handed. That win signified just how good Ausmus was, as he bullied his way to the gold completely unfazed by the notoriety shared by his two opponents. This time, it was different. On an all-club flop, Hellmuth hit a flush and a straight flush draw, with Ausmus committing his chips with top pair and a queen-draw to a better flush. The three of clubs came on the turn, giving Hellmuth the straight flush and meaning Ausmus was drawing dead to the river. Hellmuth, trademark smile in place, had proved the doubters wrong yet again.

Kempton is King After Exciting Event #6

Isaac Kempton showed once again why he is such a highly regarded player as he took down the $15,000-entry Event #6 in Pot Limit Omaha. After an opening set of events that had shown why Nacho Barbero is so well-rated, Kempton announced his own credentials and moved into contention for the overall leaderboard victory.

With 62 entries in total, only nine players cashed in this event, with a very short-handed table of just four players making the final day. The first person to make the money but miss out on that result was Michael Wang, who busted in ninth place for a min-cash $27,900. He was followed from the felt on Day 1 by Chris Brewer (8^th for $37,200), Jim Collopy (7^th for $46,500), nine-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel (6^th for $55,800) and Greek player Roussos Koliakoudakis (5^th for $74,400).

On the last day, the title was on the line between four great American mixed game players, with Ben Lamb the first of them to fall, busting for $93,000 when Gregory Shuda made a club flush on the turn and Lamb bricked draws to a full house on the river. Martin Zamani finished one place higher up the list of results when his pair of queens made top set on the flop. Zamani was in great shape to double through Shuda, but Shuda’s set of fives turned improbable quads and Zamani failed to hit a one-outer miracle on the river to bust for $130,200.

Heads-up, however, was very different. Shuda may have come into the final duel with the momentum of recent eliminations behind him, but that counted for nothing when Kempton got to work. Over 80 minutes, the impressive Kempton ground down his opponent and in the end, a pair of queens were good enough to give him yet another signature win on his ascent up poker’s all-time money list.

With six events in the can, it is Ren Lin who leads the field in the race for the 2023 U.S. Poker Open title and the $50,000 added Championship bonus prize. With stars such as Nacho Barbero, Phil Hellmuth, Sam Soverel and Chris Brewer all chasing the leader in the top 10, it’s sure to be a massive fight on the hands of every player involved in the push for the line.