Joe McKeehen Wins USPO Event #3: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em ($200,200)
Joe McKeehen entered the final table of the U.S. Poker Open Event #3: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em with the chip lead and went wire-to-wire en route to victory for $200,200 in a dominating performance where he eliminated all but one player at the final table including defeating both Ray Qartomy and Ali Imsirovic in a three-way pot during the last hand of the event.
McKeehen is one of the biggest names in poker with more than $17 million in live tournament earnings and three WSOP gold bracelets including notoriously shipping the 2015 WSOP Main Event for $7,683,346 and has now made a big footprint into the High Roller's scene with yesterday's impressive victory.
The final table, which took place at the PokerGO Studio at the ARIA Resort & Casino was broadcasted to poker fans around the world at the subscription based PokerGO.
Remember, an annual subscription to PokerGO costs $99.99, but you can save $20 off by using promo code “USPO21” at checkout. Sign up by going here.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe McKeehen | United States | $200,200 |
| 2 | Ray Qartomy | United States | $146,300 |
| 3 | Ali Imsirovic | Bosnia and Herzegovina | $100,100 |
| 4 | Steve Zolotow | United States | $77,000 |
| 5 | Jake Schindler | United States | $61,600 |
| 6 | Justin Saliba | United States | $46,200 |
| 7 | Barry Hutter | United States | $38,500 |
Final Table Action
McKeehen began the day with a massive chip with Imsirovic not too far behind. Stacks were shallow throughout with the final table kicking off with an average stack of approximately 23 big blinds.
Barry Hutter, who finished in third place for $114,000 in Event #1, didn't manage to get anything going in Event #3. Hutter committed most of his short stack with jack-ten with the rest going in on a jack-high flop. McKeehen called with cowboys and eliminated Hutter in seventh place for $38,500 after blanks came on the turn and river.
Justin Saliba was next to go in sixth place for $46,200 when he unsuccessfully jammed his short-stack with king-five suited from the small blind and didn't hold against McKeehen's jack-nine from the big blind.
Jake Schindler was the only player eliminated by someone other than McKeehen at the final table. Instead, Imsirovic took Schindler out in fifth place for $61,600 when his ace-ten held against jack-nine suited.
Steve Zolotow was short on chips when he jammed nine-five suited and was ousted in fourth place for $77,000 after he didn't improve against McKeehen's king-eight.
The final two hands provided tons of action. First, Qartomy doubled up and left Imsirovic with just a single big blind with his fours winning a flip against ace-nine.
Imsirovic (third - $100,100) committed his one big blind in the next hand with ten-six. McKeehen, with most of the chips in play, woke up with jacks and made a raise. Qartomy (second - $146,300) then jammed with fives and McKeehen called both his opponents. Not only did the jacks hold, but they improved to quads for a spectacular end to Event #3.
2021 U.S. Poker Open Championship Standings
Jake Daniels leads the 2021 U.S. Poker Open Championship Leaderboard after three events thanks to his victory in Event #1 for $218,500.
Meanwhile, after emerging victorious in Event #3, Joe McKeehen catapulted past Event #2 winner Sam Soverel into second place in the standings. Steven Zolotow and Barry Hutter also entered the top five on the leaderboard after their final table appearance in Event #3.
| Rank | Player | Points | Wins | Cashes | Earnings |
| 1 | Jake Daniels | 219 | 1 | 1 | $218,500 |
| 2 | Joe McKeehen | 200 | 1 | 1 | $200,200 |
| 3 | Sam Soverel | 195 | 1 | 2 | $194,500 |
| 4 | Steve Zolotow | 153 | 0 | 2 | $153,000 |
| 5 | Barry Hutter | 153 | 0 | 2 | $152,500 |
| 6 | Dan Shak | 152 | 0 | 1 | $152,000 |
| 7 | Ray Qartomy | 146 | 0 | 1 | $146,300 |
| 8 | Jordan Cristos | 130 | 0 | 1 | $130,000 |
| 9 | Ali Imsirovic | 100 | 0 | 1 | $100,100 |
| 10 | Stephen Chidwick | 95 | 0 | 1 | $95,000 |
*Images courtesy of Poker Central