Although he started the day with the chip lead, Jared Bleznick was forced to battle back from a short stack late during the final table of Event #8 ($10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha) of the U.S. Poker Open 2021 in which he took home the $189,000 first-place prize and locked down his first USPO title.
It seemed like PLO specialist Maxx Coleman was going to roll to victory for much of the day. Coleman took over the chip lead early, amassed a massive stack, and eliminated three of the final six players at the table. But the experienced Bleznick hung around and when he got short-stacked, found critical double-ups. He won key hands late that allowed him to grind Coleman down and close out the tournament with the win after a lengthy heads-up battle.
After the eliminations of Adam Hendrix (9th, $18,900), David Peters (8th, $25,200), and Dylan Weisman (7th, $31,500) the final six returned to the featured table at the PokerGO Studio on Friday to crown a winner.
Roughly thirty minutes into the final table with blinds at 20,000/40,000 (40,000 bb ante), Frank Crivello opened to 120,000 holding 
. When the action folded around to Chris Usude in the big blind, he made the call with his 
. Both players had roughly 10 big blinds remaining in their stacks as the flop came down 
. Usude bet 300,000 (pot) and Crivello snap-shoved all-in. Usude wasted no time in making the call and the 
hit the turn and gave Usude a king-high flush, leaving Crivello looking to fill up to a full house on the river. The river was the 
, shipping the pot to Usude. Crivello, left with one big blind, went broke on the very next hand and was eliminated in sixth place for $37,800.
It took nearly an hour for the next player to hit the rail. With the blinds up to 25,000/50,000 (50,000 bb ante) Coleman, who had surged into a large chip lead, opened to 100,000 from the cutoff with 
. When it folded to a short-stacked Joseph Sanders in the big blind, he bet 325,000 (pot) and Coleman made the call. The flop came out 
and Sanders moved all in for his final 560,000. After getting a count, Sanders made the call. The turn was the 
leaving Coleman looking for one of 16 outs. The river came the 
, giving Coleman the nut flush and sending Sanders to the cage in fifth place for $50,400.
Coleman continued to apply pressure when, with blinds at 40,000/80,000 (80,000 bb ante) he opened on the button to 175,000 with 
. From the small blind, Ali Imsirovic bet pot and slid out 605,000 holding 
. When the action returned to Coleman, he bet enough to put Imsirovic all-in. Imsirovic made the call and the pair saw a flop of 
, giving Imsirovic top set but leaving Coleman with additional flush outs. The 
turn was no help to either player, but the river brought in the king-high flush for Coleman and send out Imsirovic in fourth place for $63,000.
At one point in during three-handed play, Coleman held over 80% of the chips in play as Jared Bleznick and Usude battled to see who would benefit from the over $37,000 payjump. When the blind reached 50,000/100,000 (100,000 bb ante) Usude called from the small blind with 
and Coleman checked his option holding 
. The 
flop brought a check from Usude holding top pair, after which Coleman then bet 300,000. Usude check-raised all-in and Coleman quickly made the call. The turn was the , giving Coleman the flush and leaving Usude drawing dead to the river. Usude finished in third place and collected $88,200.
Coleman started heads-up play with a 3-1 chip lead and all the momentum. However, Bleznick quickly found a double and evened out the stacks. What took place after was a hard-fought heads-up battle in which the players took turns holding overwhelming chip leads.
Even with the antes as high as they were, the pair battled nearly a hour and a half. Eventually, Bleznick soared to the largest lead of the tournament and with blinds 75,000/150,000 (150,000 bb ante) the final hand took place.
Bleznick raised to 450,000 holding 
and Coleman defended his big blind with 
and left himself roughly seven big blinds behind. The flop came out 
and Coleman moved all-in. After taking a few moments, Bleznick made the call. The turn was the 
, giving Coleman 17 outs one time. But the 
river was not one of them and Coleman settled for a runner-up finish and $126,000 while Jared Bleznick grabbed the title and $189,000 with the win.
Not the standard @PokerGO post-game interview. Thanks to Maxx Coleman (@mc4chess) & one Jared Bleznick (@harrington25) for the time #bringitinfortherealthing pic.twitter.com/D67eAYDsO7
— Jeff Platt (@jeffplatt) June 12, 2021
U.S. Poker Open Event #8 Final Table Payouts
- Jared Bleznick – $189,000
- Maxx Coleman – $126,000
- Christopher Usude – $88,200
- Ali Imsirovic – $63,000
- Joseph Sanders – $50,400
- Frank Crivello – $37,800