Sam Soverel went wire-to-wire at the final table of U.S. Poker Open 2021 Event #2 ($10,000 PLO) by starting the day as the overwhelming chip leader and closing it out as the winner, collecting the $175,500 first-place prize for his first USPO victory.
The Pot Limit Omaha event saw 65 entries generate a $650,000 prize pool with plenty of notable names taking part. Plenty of well-known high rollers ran deep including Ben Yu who finished in ninth for $26,000 and Alex Foxen who bubbled the final table in seventh place for $32,500. Only six returned for Day 2 and joining Soverel was 2019 USPO PLO champ Jordan Cristos, long-time grinder Marc Brody, and Upswing Poker coach Dylan Weisman.
Nearly an hour into the final table, at 20K/40K (40K bb ante) Soverel opened to 110K with 
to which Jordan Cristos bet pot, to 370K, with 
. Right behind him, Michigan grinder Matthew Ploof four-bet shoved his 
for a total of 685K. Soverel folded and Cristos made the call, putting Ploof at risk. The 
flop missed both hands, leaving Cristos aces in the lead. The 
turn brought little drama and Ploof needed one of the final two kings to survive. The river came the 
and Ploof made his exit in sixth place for $39,000, his first-ever USPO cash.
Minutes later, Soverel raised to 105K with 
on the button. Maxx Coleman, who started the day as the short stack, defended his big blind holding 
. The pair took a flop of 
and after double-checking his cards, Coleman bet pot (270K). Soverel snap-raised enough to put Coleman all-in and Coleman made the call. The turn came the , leaving Coleman with nine outs to improve. The river was the 
, giving Soverel a hand-winning set and sending Coleman to cage to collect his $52,000 payday for finishing in fifth place.
Four-handed play lasted nearly 90 minutes and with blinds up to 40K/80K (80K bb ante), Soverel opened to 240K with his 
. A short-stacked Dylan Weisman re-pot to 720K with 
and after some deliberation, Soverel made the call. The flop came 
and Soverel bet enough to put Weisman all-in. Weisman called and the 
peeled off on the turn. The river was the 
, and the pot was shipping to Soverel as Weisman said his goodbyes, eliminated in fourth place for $65,000.
After taking a tough beat against Cristos minutes ten minutes earlier, Mark Brody’s stack was crippled down to roughly five big blind when he bet pot (280K) on the button with the 
. Sovereel folded and Cristos raised enough to put Brody all-in with 
. The flop came pairing Cristos and leaving Brody looking for help. The turn brought a little hope, as the 
gave Brody some extra flush outs but gave Cristos two pair. And when the hit the river, Brody did make his flush but Cristos improved to a full house, ending Brody’s run in third place for $84,500.
As soon as Brody made his exit, Cristos offered an ICM chop to the chip leading Soverel, who politely said he’d prefer to play it out.
The first hand when blinds increased to 50K/100K (100K ante) Cristos made it 300K to go on the button holding 
and Soverel made the call from the big blind with his 
. Soverel checked the 
flop to Cristos who bet 400K with his top pair. Soverel called holding bottom two pair and the hit the turn, improving Soverel to a full house. Soverel checked it over to Cristos who moved all in for less than pot and Soverel snapped called leaving Cristos drawing dead to the 
river. Cristos, who won this very event in 2019, collected $130,000 as the runner-up and Soverel earned $175,500 and the title of USPO Event #2 winner.
U.S. Poker Open Event #2 Final Table
- Sam Soverel – $175,500
- Jordan Cristos – $130,000
- Marc Brody – $84,500
- Dylan Weisman – $65,000
- Maxx Coleman – $52,000
- Matthew Ploof – $39,000