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The very first event of Mid-States Poker Tour’s 10th season was held on Sunday. The $1100 buy-in 2019 MSPT Cleveland Poker Open at Jack Cleveland Casino drew 725 runners and generated a $703,250 prize pool, which made it the largest major poker tournament in Cleveland history.
Sean Munjal emerged as the winner on Day 2 earning the $140,654 top prize. He told MSPT officials after his win, "I feel amazing! This is my first huge score. I was never a tournament player, I always played cash, I play a lot of higher stakes PLO cash games across the country, but I never play tournaments much. This was my first tournament of the year, so I’m off to a good start!"
He continued saying: "The first thing I’m going to do is pay off all my student loan debt. To be honest, I’ve been playing poker for close to ten years, and for me, this is a dream come true. I’m really excited about it and I think I’m going to use this to propel myself into other tournaments, play bigger games and stuff like that." Before his MSPT win, Munjal had around $38k in tournament cashes including a prior best $7,723 for finishing 10th in the 2015 MSPT FireKeepers Casino.
Adam Friedman ends up in 3rd place
Adam Friedman, last year’s World Series Poker bracelet winner was one of 581 participants in the inaugural MSPT Cleveland Poker Open, earning $52,976 for that finish. Once again, he ended up in 3rd place, though this time he earned a prize for $63,293.
His fate came down in Level 32 (80,000/160,000/20,000) when he limped the small blind holding the Ace of Diamonds and 7 of Hearts and Munjal checked his option from the big with the Ace of Spades and 10 of Hearts.
Both players checked the Ace of Hearts, 2 of Hearts and Jack of Spades flop before Friedman led out for 200,000 on the Queen of Hearts turn. Munjal raised to 600,000 and then snap-called when Friedman moved all in for 2.2 million. The Jack of hearts river gave both players a flush but of course, Munjal’s was best.
Munjal later complimented Friedman’s victory in an interview: "Adam was one of the toughest opponents in the field today, I actually kinda blew up at him when I knocked him out, but it was because throughout the day he was difficult to deal with. So, props to him, he came and played a great tournament. He’s phenomenal."
Final hand
Munjal took the 2:1 chip lead and went into heads-up play against Anthony Carbone, things came to a head in Level 33 (100,000/200,000/30,000). It happened when Carbone limped the button holding the King of Hearts and Jack of Diamonds and raised to 700,000 with the Ace of Hearts and King of Spades.
Carbone then jammed for around 4 million and Munjal snap-called. The 5 of Hearts, 3 of Clubs and 10 of Hearts flop didn’t do Carbone any favors, but the Queen of Hearts turn did give him a straight draw. Unfortunately for him, the 5 of Spades river was a brick and Carbone had to settle for 2nd place and $86,500 in prize money.
MSPT continues with its 10th season next weekend with the MSPT Majestic Star in the Chicagoland area January 25-27.
Final Table Results
Position, Name, Hometown, Prize Money
1. Sean Munjal, Ann Arbor, MI, $140,654
2. Anthony Carbone, Buffalo, NY, $86,500
3. Adam Friedman, Gahanna, OH, $63,293
4. Joel Brink, Estero, FL, $47,047
5. Igor Ioffe, Reminderville, OH, $35,866
6. John Mingus, Louisville, KY, $27,427
7. Ed Mogilnicki, Cleveland, OH $21,098
8. Sean Troha, Cleveland, OH $16,175
9. Clinton Hubble, Midland, MI, $12,659
10. Michael Pempin, Strongsville, OH, $10,478
Others to cash the Main Event were Sherry Hammers (11th - $10,478), Jake Hornbacher (16th - $7,033), Jeff Scarborough (32nd - $3,094), MSPT Season 8 Player of the Year Chris Meyers (34th - $3,094), MSPT Season 9 POY Aaron Johnson (38th - $2,602), MSPT Season 4 POY Pat Steele (41st - $2,602), Joe Ebanks (66th - $2,110), and Mikiyo Aoki (73rd - $1,969)
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