Alex Foxen Claims USPO Event, Nacho Barbero in Box Seat for Finale
The climax of the PokerGO Tour U.S. Poker Open is one of the most exciting in years. With one final table to play, three players could yet win the coveted leaderboard title after drama in Events #6 and #7. Matthew Wantman leads in the ‘clubhouse’ but with the current leader not involved in Event #8, two men are hoping they can get over the line as winner at the death to claim the ultimate victory.
Brandon Wilson Takes Down Event #6 for $382,000
The sixth event of this year’s U.S. Poker Open (USPO) saw 98 entrants pay $15,000 each and create a prizepool of $1.47 million to be divided between the final 14 players. With a top prize of $182,200 on the line, the bubble burst when Kristina Holst was eliminated by Alex Foxen, whose pocket queens beat Holst’s 
with all the chips committed pre-flop.
Once inside the money places, Joao Simao (14th for $36,750) made a min-cash when his pocket nines were crushed by PokerStake player Aram Zobian’s 
across a queen-high board which offered no hope for the Brazilian player. John Riordan (13th for $36,750), Stanley Tang (11th for $44,100), Isaac Haxton (10th for $44,100), and Cary Katz (9th for $44,100) all busted before the final eight players were round the last table in the tournament.
The final table saw Aram Zobian bust in eighth place when the PokerStake player’s 
was unable to double up when Sean Winter’s 
flopped a four to reduce the field to seven and send Aram to the rail to collect $58,800 that would be shared out between him and his PokerStake backers too!
Winter led at the start of the final day, but Alex Foxen doubled through the leader and After Darren Elias left in seventh for $58,800, Zobian’s fellow PokerStake player David Coleman busted in sixth for $73,500. Foxen’s elimination in fifth for $102,900 was followed by that of Martin Zamani (4th for $132,300) and Sean Winter (3rd for $176,400), as Matthew Wantman doubled into the lead as he bid to win the second of his series after claiming the Event #4 title earlier in the week. Ace-king beat ace-four however, as Brandon Wilson took a definding lead then the title with the following all-in as his 
made a flush against Wantman’s 
with all the chip in the middle pre-flop.
| PGT 2025 U.S. Poker Open $15,000 Event #6 Final Table Results: | |||
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Brandon Wilson | United States | $382,200 |
| 2nd | Matthew Wantman | United States | $242,550 |
| 3rd | Sean Winter | United States | $176,400 |
| 4th | Martin Zamani | United States | $132,300 |
| 5th | Alex Foxen | United States | $102,900 |
| 6th | David Coleman | United States | $73,500 |
| 7th | Darren Elias | United States | $58,800 |
Alex Foxen Claims Win in Event #7 for $340,000
There were 81 total entries in the penultimate event of this year’s USPO, where Alex Foxen joined his wife Kristen in winning an event. However, despite winning the latest title of a stellar career, neither Alex or Kristen are still in the hunt for the championship title. With only 11 players being paid in this event, two who ran deep in Event #6 also bagged profit in Event #7, with Stanley Tang (11th for $36,450) and Brandon Wilson (10th for the same amount) min-cashing.
Two PokerStake players reached the last seven, with Cherish Andrews converting her backers’ investments into profit as she came seventh for $48,600. All-in with pre-flop, she ended up losing the hand to Nick Seward’s 
. Coleman went next, cashing for $60,750 when his pair of jacks on the river when he had an open-ended straight draw finished well behind Foxen’s flopped set of kings.
Exits for Justin Zaki (5th for $85,050), Nick Seward (4th for $115,425) and John Riordan (3rd for $157,950) followed, as Foxen ended up in the final duel against Neil Warren. He began with a lead of 8.35m chips to Foxen’s 1.77m but couldn’t hold onto that lead, as Foxen doubled by winning a coinflip then won with flush-over flush to hold 80% of the chips himself. Warren doubled back once but with 
in the final hand, got his chips in good and was outrun by Foxen’s 
. A board of 
ended the event in Foxen’s favor as the former Global Poker Index world number one bagged $340,200 and the famous USPO ‘Golden Eagle’ trophy.
| PGT 2025 U.S. Poker Open $15,000 Event #7 Final Table Results: | |||
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Alex Foxen | United States | $340,200 |
| 2nd | Neil Warren | United States | $218,700 |
| 3rd | John Riordan | United States | $157,950 |
| 4th | Nick Seward | United States | $115,425 |
| 5th | Justin Zaki | United States | $85,050 |
| 6th | David Coleman | United States | $60,750 |
| 7th | Cherish Andrews | United States | $48,600 |
Talented Trio Chase Ultimate Leaderboard Prize
With one event to conclude, just seven players remain in the Championship Event of the 2025 USPO, with Matthew Wantman leading the chase to take the Golden Eagle trophy and a $25,000 PGT Passport home as the leaderboard winner. That’s because he leads the current Top 10 in the event. For the same reason, anyone who isn’t in play in Event #8 can no longer win, so PokerStake’s Aram Zobian will definitely be relinquishing his title as USPO champion.
In fact, given the distance between five of the final seven players in Event #8, the $25,000-entry USPO Championship Event, only the Argentinian player Nacho Barbero and American Shannon Shorr can overtake Wantman due to their previous consistency over the seven events so far.
For either Barbero or Shorr to overtake Wantman, they will have to be victorious in the final event to take home the Golden Eagle trophy. Interestingly, each man has a very decent chance of doing so, meaning Matthew Wantman has a sweat on his hands. With 3.28 million chips, Barbero goes into the final table of Event #8 with the chip lead over Landon Tice on 2.68 million chips. In third place, Shannon Shorr’s 2.08 million chips mean he’ll be a real threat, especially with the other four players still involved all below a million chips.
| PGT 2025 U.S. Poker Open $25,000 Event #8 Final Table Chipcounts: | |||
| Place | Player | Country | Chips |
| 1st | Nacho Barbero | Argentina | 3,280,000 |
| 2nd | Landon Tice | United States | 2,685,000 |
| 3rd | Shannon Shorr | United States | 2,080,000 |
| 4th | Sam Laskowitz | United States | 925,000 |
| 5th | Nick Petrangelo | United States | 885,000 |
| 6th | Justin Saliba | United States | 655,000 |
| 7th | Clemen Deng | United States | 440,000 |
