Justin Liberto was crowned the Main Event champion of the Potomac Poker Open, winning $190,580 at the tournament at MGM National Harbor.
The Potomac Poker Open is in the books, and the folks at MGM National Harbor Hotel & Casino are enjoying a well-deserved break after two weeks of nonstop poker.
The latter half of August was filled with nearly two dozen tournaments that paid out well over $2,500,000 in prize money. Some of the participants qualified on BetMGM Poker online and others played onsite satellites at National Harbor, but all seemed to have a great time.
Potomac Poker Open Main Event Beats Guarantee
The highlight of this entire second running of the Potomac Poker Open was the Main Event, of course. The No Limit Hold’em event had a $3,000 buy-in and offered two starting flights. The big sweat for MGM National Harbor was the $1,000,000 guarantee on the prize pool, but they got it done. The final numbers were:
- Total entries: 373
- Total prize pool: $1,007,100
- Payouts: top 47 players
There were quite a few well-known players in this tournament mix, and some of them made it into the money. Some recognizable names included Joseph McKeehen, Cherish Andrews, Frank Funaro, and Bin Weng.
The final table started with nine players and quickly played forward.
Justin Liberto had the chip lead going into the final table, with Daniel Lim in second, followed by Marcia Kuntz and Tim Faro. Lim started strong by eliminating players, but the clock ticked late into the night, and the final six returned the next day to finish it. At that time, Lim was the far-and-away chip leader. Liberto made a comeback and even took the chip lead into heads-up play against Lim. It was a fight to the end, and Liberto pulled out the win.
Potomac Poker Open Main Event Results
The final table results were:
- 1st place: Justin Liberto $190,580
- 2nd place: Daniel Lim $167,430
- 3rd place: Marcia Kuntz $94,780
- 4th place: Pascal Theodosiadis $62,250
- 5th place: Tim Faro $47,940
- 6th place: Alexander Ayoub $39,660
- 7th place: Jon Bowman $33,235
- 8th place: Ryan Jones $27,170
- 9th place: Vamsi Magam $21,060
Liberto is no stranger to winning tournaments, especially on the East Coast. The Maryland native has collected more than $6 million dollars in live tournament earnings alone to date. His results date back to 2009 at Borgata in Atlantic City, and his wins include everything from WSOP Circuit events to WPTDeepStacks. He also had deep WPT runs and even earned a WSOP bracelet.
Notably, Liberto won the Potomac Winter Poker Open Main Event in February 2023 for $277,053. The most recent Main Event solidifies his PPO dominance.
Solid Potomac Poker Open Results All Around
Perhaps the most well-known player to win an event at the 2024 Potomac Poker Open was Christian Harder, who took down Event 20, the No Limit Hold’em Championship tournament, for $23,370.
Anthony Speziale started off the 2024 PPO by winning Event 1. The second event was a No Limit Hold’em with a $1,000,000 guarantee, but it fell short, creating an overlay for players. Brady Bash ended up with the title and $163,430 for that victory. Players like John Boney, Alexander Wiggins, Timothy Donaldson, Drew O’Connell, and Jeff Proctor won the larger events. But it was Liberto who impressed with his Main Event win – a back-to-back win no less.
Congratulations to everyone who cashed and won Potomac Poker Open trophies this year!
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