Seidel Cashes, Foxen Pounces in Opening Event of 2025 U.S. Poker Open
Kristen Foxen performed a miraculous comeback in three-handed play to win the opening event of this year’s U.S. Poker Open in Las Vegas last night. Ping Liu lost the lead in the latter stages of the PokerGO Tour event, with Foxen claiming the top prize of $158,025, as others such as David Peters, Justin Saliba and Patrick Leonard all cashed at the purple felt in the PokerGO Studio.
Seidel Scores Again
Winning a Golden Eagle trophy isn’t for everyone. In the past few years, getting your hands on a coveted U.S. Poker Open (USPO) trophy has been tough for the very best to achieve. That makes it all the more impressive that Kristen Foxen has won the first up for grabs in 2025 in Las Vegas.
There were 129 entries in the opening event of this year’s USPO, and with just 19 of those players being paid, that meant a tense bubble where the difference between cashing for nothing and banking $9,675 was an all too real balancing act where someone would fall to their – financial – doom.
It was the popular player John Riordan who bubbled the event, after he ran 
into Erik Seidel’s 
. Seidel, who sells on PokerStake and is one of the site’s most popular and profitable players, didn’t look in danger of losing the hand when the chips went in pre-flop but a sweaty flop of 
gave Riordan top pair and a gutshot straight draw. The 
on the turn as no good for the at-risk Riordan, but he could still survive with any eight, jack or nine. Sadly for him – but happily for PokerStake’s Seidel – a 
on the river didn’t change anything.
As it happened, Seidel couldn’t last much further himself, albeit banking $12,900 rather than the min-cash claimed by players such as Eric Blair, Dylan Weisman and Eric Baldwin. Seidel slid out of contention in 14th place, before Jim Collopy (12th for $16,125), Patrick Leonard (10th for $17,738) and Japanese star Masato Yokosawa (8th for $25,800) all departed. Yokosawa’s elimination was the final table bubble, as he fell to Liu’s turned set and that put Liu in second spot on the leaderboard, behind only Francis Anderson at the top of the counts.
Peters Pushed Out
No sooner had the final table been formed was one of the seven on the rail. Justin Saliba was out when he shoved with king-five only for Ping Liu to call with ace-jack of spades. A flop of 
was no help to the at-risk Saliba and his desperate need to double up relied on running cards. They didn’t come as soon as a 
landed on the turn and an insignificant on the river came when Saliba was on his feet about to claim $25,800 in seventh place.
Next to go was another American poker hero, in the shape of David Peters. All-in with a short stack but the best hand, Peters’ 
was usurped by his caller Liu’s 
. Two sixes arrived on flop and river respectively, leaving Peters to collect $32,250 as he left in sixth place.
A third American of the six who made the final table without winning exited in fifth place for $38,700. The satellite winner Michael Arellano, who despite defeat raked in a very respectable ROI, was all-in with the best of it, holding 
to Kristen Foxen’s dominated . The board was a cruel one, however, coming as it did 
to hand Foxen the pot on the river.
Liu Loses as Foxen Finds a Finish
With four players remaining, Anthony Hu became the victim of a lost coinflip as Francis Anderson punched his ticket. Pre-flop, pocket fours were at risk for Hu against Anderson’s . The flop of 
was bad news for Hu, but after a 
turn, two outs were boosted by nine to 11 outs, only for an offsuit 
to fall on the river and send play three-handed at Hu’s expense as he left with $51,600.
A lengthy battle ensued three-handed, where Ping Liu led both players. Liu retook the lead, then held 10 million chips, almost double his opponents’ stacks combined. Again, the tables turned as Anderson doubled then Foxen took the lead before Anderson rose to the top. When Foxen flopped trips, however, Anderson was left with scraps and they soon got hoovered up by Foxen in the next hand, queen-high beating jack-high to send Foxen into heads-up with a 4:1 chip lead.
In the final hand of the night, Foxen was all-in with the best of it with 
and she won she turned a flush against Liu’s 
, sealing a victory worth $158,025, while Liu walked away with a score of $96,750 as runner-up. With PokerStake’s Erik Seidel in the money in Event #2 already, some of Foxen’s fellow PokerStake players are in fine fettle for the U.S Poker Open already.
| PokerGO Tour U.S. Poker Open $5,100 Event #1 Final Table Results: | |||
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Kristen Foxen | Canada | $158,025 |
| 2nd | Ping Liu | United States | $96,750 |
| 3rd | Francis Anderson | United States | $70,950 |
| 4th | Anthony Hu | United States | $51,600 |
| 5th | Michael Arellano | United States | $38,700 |
| 6th | David Peters | United States | $32,250 |
| 7th | Justin Saliba | United States | $25,800 |