Weissman, Lin & Soverel Early Winners at USPO; Negreanu Calls Shot

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Editor & Live Reporter U.S.
4 min read
USPO

The U.S. Poker Open (USPO) is underway in Las Vegas inside the PokerGO Studio and plenty of familiar faces have already nabbed titles. It marks the live return of the USPO following the U.S. Poker Open Online that was held on Global Poker last August and September.

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The USPO consists of ten No-Limit Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha events with buy-ins ranging from $10,000 to $50,000. The series got underway on March 23 and saw Joey Weissman winning Event #1: $10,000 NL Hold��em for $231,000 and will wrap up on April 3 with Event #10: $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em.

Other winners so far at the USPO include the entertaining Ren Lin (Event #2: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em - $231,000) and high-stakes grinder Sam Soverel (Event #3: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em - $213,900), while Daniel Negreanu came close to winning another PGT title in Event #4: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha before bowing out in fourth place for $77,000.

Early USPO Action

Weissman kicked off the series by winning the first event after defeating Justin Young finished runner-up for $168,000 and Andrew Moreno finished in third for $126,000.

Plenty of other well-knowns made deep runs in the event including Nacho Barbero (5th - $78,750), PokerCoaching.com's Jonathan Little (6th - $63,000) and eventual Event #2 winner Lin ($52,500).

Weissman picked up his second USPO title after previously taking down a $10,000 event at the 2021 USPO for $204,000. In 2022, the New York native won the inaugural BetMGM Poker Championship $3,500 Main Event in 2022 the same venue for $224,236.

Joey Weissman
Joey Weissman

Event #1: $10,000 NL Hold��em Final Table Results

 PlacePlayerCountryPrize
 1Joey WeissmanUnited States$231,000
 2Justin YoungUnited States$168,000
 3Andrew MorenoUnited States$126,000
 4Matthew McEwanUnited States$99,750
 5Nacho BarberoArgentina$78,750
 6Jonathan LittleUnited States$63,000
 7Ren LinUnited States$52,500
 8Joao SimaoBrazil$42,000
 9Darren EliasUnited States$42,000

After his deep run in Event #1, Lin made another run in Event #2 before overcoming heads-up opponent Barbero ($168,000), who earlier this month took down $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha at the PGT PLO Series for $234,000.

Others who made deep runs in the event include famed statistician Nate Silver, Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel (6th - $63,000) and reigning USPO overall champion Sean Winter (9th - $42,000).

Event #2: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Final Table Results

 PlacePlayerCountryPrize
 1Ren LinUnited States$231,000
 2Nacho BarberoArgentina$168,000
 3Robert ChorlianUnited States$126,000
 4Nate SilverUnited States$99,750
 5Aram ZobianUnited States$78,750
 6Erik SeidelUnited States$63,000
 7Steven VenezianoUnited States$52,500
 8Brock WilsonUnited States$42,000
 9Sean WinterUnited States$42,000

Seidel and Barbero both went on to make deep runs in Event #3, respectively finishing in ninth and sixth place, but it was Soverel who emerged victorious after defeating heads-up opponent Chris Brewer ($148,800).

There were other familiar faces who ran deep in Event #3 including Kristen Foxen (4th - $93,000) and Aram Oganyan (7th - $46,500).

Event #3: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Final Table Results

 PlacePlayerCountryPrize
 1Sam SoverelUnited States213,900
 2Chris BrewerUnited States$148,800
 3Brandon WilsonUnited States$111,600
 4Kristen FoxenCanada$93,000
 5Daniel ColpoysUnited States$74,400
 6Nacho BarberoArgentina$55,800
 7Aram OganyanUnited States$46,500
 8Calvin LeeUnited States$37,200
 9Erik SeidelUnited States$37,200

All eyes were on Negreanu as the beloved poker star called his shot on social media before the Event got underway.

Negreanu entered the final day of play three of five in chips and fell in fourth before hopping into Event #5: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em.

PLO coach Dylan Weisman went out in third for $100,100 to be denied his second USPO title before Allen Le defeated Ronald Keijzer to win $200,200 and his first PGT title.

 PlacePlayerCountryPrize
 1Allen LeUnited States$200,200
 2Ronald KeijzerNetherlands$146,300
 3Dylan WeismanUnited States$100,100
 4Daniel NegreanuCanada$77,000
 5Damjan RadanovSerbia$61,600
 6Masashi OyaJapan$46,200
 7Edgardo Rosario FigueroaUnited States$38,500
 8Ben LambUnited States$30,800
 9Sean WinterUnited States$23,100

Event #5 is currently underway with 76 runners in the field so far, according to PokerGO updates. The remaining schedule for the 2023 USPO is available in the table below.

2023 U.S. Poker Open Remaining Schedule

 DateEvent
 March 28Event #5: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em
 March 29Event #6: $15,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
 March 30Event #7: $15,000 No-Limit Hold'em
 March 31Event #8: $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em
 April 1Event #9: $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em
 April 3Event #10: $50,000 No-Limit Hold'em

Photo courtesy PokerGO

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Editor & Live Reporter U.S.

Connor Richards is an Editor & Live Reporter for PokerNews and host of the Life Outside Poker podcast. Connor has been nominated for two Global Poker Awards for his writing.

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