Michael Esquivel Wins MSPT Canterbury Park; Mark Hodge Joins Hall of Fame
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This past weekend, the Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) hosted its 157th Main Event. The $1,100 buy-in tournament at Minnesota��s Canterbury Park attracted 472 runners and saw Michael Esquivel deny Matt Kirby a record fourth MSPT title and capture a $98,113 first-place prize.
The win became a career-high score for Esquivel and brought his lifetime tournament earnings up over $300k. His prior best cash was $63,666 for finishing second in the 2018 Heartland Poker Tour St. Charles.
In the final hand of the tournament, Kirby committed his last 15 big blinds holding king-ten suited and was looking to improve against Esquivel��s ace-deuce. Kirby paired his ten on the flop but his lead was short-lived as the turn was an ace. A deuce on the river gave Esquivel two pair and sent Kirby to the rail in second place for $43,444.
Not only did Esquivel deny Kirby a fourth MSPT title, but he also deprived him of his second one at Canterbury Park this season. Back in February, Kirby topped a 479-entry field to win the MSPT Canterbury Park for $99,573.
MSPT Canterbury Park Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Esquivel | Clarendon Hills, Illinois | $98,113 |
| 2 | Matt Kirby | Bemidji, Minnesota | $60,283 |
| 3 | Joe Maas | Corcoran, Minnesota | $43,444 |
| 4 | Sam Chase | St. Paul, Minnesota | $32,856 |
| 5 | Andy Tran | Eau Claire, Wisconsin | $24,642 |
| 6 | Xong Lee | Monticello, Minnesota | $18,710 |
| 7 | Jean-Luc Bardu | Lakeville, Minnesota | $14,603 |
| 8 | Ian Matakis | Fairbault, Minnesota | $11,409 |
| 9 | Brian Clark | St. Paul, Minnesota | $8,670 |
| 10 | Joe Matheson | Andover, Minnesota | $6,845 |
Others to cash the Main Event were three-time champ Blake Bohn (11th - $6,845), Gerald Cunniff (13th - $5,476), Eric Wasylenko (17th - $4,563), Luke Blindert (24th - $3,514), Aaron Johnson (26th - $3,057), Sherry Hammers (37th - $2,236), Rich Alsup (46th - $2,054), and Zeph Baer (54th - $2,054).
Mark Hodge Wins Way into MSPT Hall of Fame
The MSPT launched its own Hall of Fame in 2017, but unlike other HoFs theirs don��t vote players in. Instead, there is a list of criteria players must meet in order to get in. That criteria include:
- Achieve a minimum of 25 MSPT Main Event Cashes and 1 MSPT Win OR 1 MSPT Player of the Year
OR - Achieve a minimum of 10 MSPT Main Event Final Tables and 1 MSPT Win OR 1 MSPT Player of the Year
Poker pro Kou Vang �C who made headlines over the summer for inciting a rant from Phil Hellmuth during the WSOP Main Event �C was the first player to be inducted in 2018, while Rich Alsup and Aaron Johnson followed him.
Thanks to his 23rd-place finish for $3,514 in the Canterbury Park Main Event, Mark Hodge became the fourth player to win their way into the MSPT Hall of Fame. Hodge doesn��t have a MSPT title to his name, but he was the Season 6 Player of the Year and has amassed $159,832 in earnings on the tour. He also has five final table appearances and the key 25 Main Event cashes.
Images courtesy of MSPT.
