The 2025 US Poker Open concluded at the Aria Casino in Las Vegas. Shannon Shorr won two events with victories in Event #5 $10,100 NLH and Event #8 $25,200 NLH to lock up the coveted golden eagle trophy awarded to the player of the series. Shorr edged out Matthew Wantman, who won Event #4 $10,100 NLH, and final tabled three events. Other winners in the USPO high roller series included Kristen Foxen, Kazuomi Furuse, Michael Rossitto, Brandon Wilson, and Alex Foxen.
Ship it to Shannon Shorr! The pro from Alabama got hot at the right time winning two events in the back-half of the 2025 US Poker Open at the Aria Casino. Shorr's victory in the last event propelled him to the top of the leaderboard and he surged ahead of Matthew Wantman who had a sensational series with three final table appearances, two Top 3 finishes, and one victory.
2025 USPO Event #1 $5,100 NLH attracted 129 entrants and a prize pool worth $645,000. The top 19 places paid out. The final six included Kristen Foxen, Ping Liu, Francis Anderson, Anthony Hu, Michael Areliano, and David Peters. Erik Seidel cashed but busted in 14th place. Kristen Foxen was short-stacked with three to go, but she rallied and knocked out Ping Liu in second place. Foxen secured the victory with paid out $158,025. She also began the series in the top spot on the leaderboard with 158 points thanks to her third PGT event win of the year. With the victory, she overtook Chino Rheem in first place and became the first player to pass the 1,000-point mark on the overall year-end leaderboard.
Event #2 $10,100 NLH attracted 108 entrants and a prize pool worth $1.08 million. Only the top 16 places paid out. Among the noteworthy pros who went deep but missed the final table were Patrick Leonard (10th place), Chino Reem (11th place), and Daniel Negreanu (15th place). The final six included Kazuomi Furuse, Nacho Barbero, Eric Blair, Erik Seidel, Nick Schulman, and David Peters. Seidel cashed in the first two events, but his run in the second event ended in fourth place. Blair hit the bricks in fourth place, which set up a fun heads-up joust between Furuse and Nacho. Alas, Nacho was knocked out in second place and Furuse was the last player standing. The pro from Japan banked $275,400 for his first PGT title. He cashed in the first two events and seized first place on the leaderboard with 285 points.
Event #3 $10,100 NLH had a field of 109 runners. The prize pool was worth $1.09 million with only 16 players securing a cut of the cheesecake. Among the notables who went deep but missed the final table included Jeremy Ausmus, Dylan Linde, Eric Blair, Dan Shak, and Joey Weissman. The final six included Michael Rossitto, Jim Collopy, Andrew Moreno, Christian Roberts, Isaac Kempton, and Matthw Wantman. Collopy and Rossitto were the last two standing, but Collopy was sent packing in second place. Rossitto banked $277,950 for his first PGT victory. He secured 278 leaderboard points and moved into second overall behind Furuse.
Event #4 $10,100 NLH attracted 103 runners and a prize pool just over a cool million. The top 15 places paid out, and some of the familiar faces who went deep included Eric Blair, Jim Collopy, Sam Soverel, Cary Katz, and Nacho Barbero. The final seven included Matthew Wantman, Yifu He, Stephen Chidwick, Mas Yokosawa, Isaac Kempton, Patrick Leonard, and Chino Rheem. He and Wantman battled heads-up for the title, but Wantman emerged the victory. He banked $231,300 and 263 total points for his fourth PGT title. The win also marked his second cash in the USPO and he rocketed to the top of the leaderboard with 318 total points, which was 33 points ahead of Furuse in second.
Event #5 $10,100 NLH has a much smaller field with only 76 entrants. The prize pool was $760,000 with $220,400 set aside to the champ. The top 11 places paid out with Darren Elias, Jim Collopy, Cary Katz, and Stehen Chidwick falling short of the final table. The stacked final seven included Shannon Shorr, Eric Blair, Yifu He, Isaac Haxton, Brock Wilson, David Chen, and Chino Rheem. He took third place, and Blair and Shorr slugged it out for the title. Blair settled on a runner-up finish, while Shorr won $220,400 for first place and added 220 points for his fifth-career PGT title. Blair cashed in all five events with two Top 3 finishes, which is why he moved into first place on the leaderboard with 331 points. Wantman was third with 318 an He was second with 319.
Event #6 $15,100 NLH attracted 98 runners with a prize pool of $1.47 million. The top 14 places paid out with first place snagging $382,200. The final seven featured Brandon Wilson, Matthew Wantman, Sean Winter, Martin Zamani, Alex Foxen, David Coleman, and Darren Elias. Among those who went deep but missed the final table included Cary Katz, Isaac Haxton, Stanley Tang, Peter Wang, Aram Zobian, John Riordan, and Joao Simao. Wilson picked up his third-career PGT title after he denied Wantman a second victory in this series. Wantman secured $242,550 for a runner-up finish and added 194 points. Wilson snatched up 306 points and $382,200 for his win. Wantman cashed for a third time through six events and added a second Top 3 finish, which thrust him into first place with 512 points. He opened a huge lead over Blair in second with 331 points.
Alex Foxen won a ninth PGT crown when he was the last player standing in Event #7 $15,100 NLH. He outlasted 81 runners and only the top 11 places paid out of the $1.215 million prize pool. Foxen padded his bankroll with $340,200 and also picked up 272 points. He held off a final seven that included Neil Warren, John Riordan, Nick Seward, Justin Zaki, Dabid Colman, and Cherish Andrews. Wantman still retained first place on the leaderboard with 512 points with one event remaining, but Foxen's second cash put him in second place with 354 points.
The final event on the docket also had the highest buy-in. Event #8 $25,200 NLH attracted 73 entrants and a prize pool worth $1.825 million. Only the top 11 places paid and those fortuitous souls included Shannon Shorr, Nacho Barbero, Landon Tice, Nick Petrangelo, Justin Saliba, Sam Laskowitz, Clemen Deng, Dylan Weisman, Mas Yokosawa, Isaac Haxton, and Eric Blair. Nacho Barbero entered the final day as the chipleader, but he could not close the deal. Shorr knocked out Nacho in second place. Nacho earned $346,750 for a runner-up finish in the $25K event. Not too shabby, eh! Shorr stepped into the winner's circle for his sixth PGT title, and second one of the series. He banked $529,250 including 318 points.
Through seven events, Shorr was ninth on the leaderboard with 220 points. After his win in Event #8, he had just two cashes but both were victories and he won over $749,650. Shorr ascended to the top of the leaderboard with 538 points and surged ahead of Wantman in second place with 512. Nacho finished in third with 402 points thanks to two Top 3 finishes. Shorr won the stunning golden eagle trophy as the Player of the Series at the 2025 USPO.
The USPO also created a shake up on the overall 2025 PGT Season Leaderboard. Eric Blair finished in fourth at the USPO with six cashes and two Top 3 finishes, but he picked up 364 points which was enough to secure the top spot on the year-end leaderboard. Blair had 1,124 total points thanks to two previous victories, six final tables, and 12 total cashes. Alex Foxen moved into second with 1,031 points based on two wins and nine cashes. Chino Rheem slipped to third with 1,026 points with two wins, eight final tables, and 11 cashes. Everyone in the Top 3 won a least $1 million on the PGT this season. Kristen Foxen is the only other player north of 1K points, and she sat in fourth place with 1,015 points (with three wins and seven cashes). Joey Weissman was fifth with 923 points.
2025 U.S. Poker Open Final Standings
1. Shannon Shorr - 538 Points; $749,650; 2 Wins
2. Matthew Wantman - 512; $528,350, 1 Win
3. Nacho Barbero - 402; $540,150
4. Eric Blair - 364; $385,725
5. Alex Foxen - 354; $443,100; 1 Win
