John Riordan entered the U.S. Poker Open Event #4: $10,000 Big Bet Mix with one of the shorter stacks in play before he came roaring back to elimina…
John Riordan entered the U.S. Poker Open Event #4: $10,000 Big Bet Mix with one of the shorter stacks in play before he came roaring back to elimina…

John Riordan entered the U.S. Poker Open Event #4: $10,000 Big Bet Mix with one of the shorter stacks in play before he came roaring back to eliminate two-time Global Poker Index Player of the Year Alex Foxen and Sean Perry to claim the title for $163,200. The tournament featured a rotation of three games; No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and No Limit Deuce to Seven and had a 48-entrant field that also included power heavyweights Daniel Negreanu, Ali Imsirovic, and Stephen Chidwick.
 
During six-handed play at the final table, Jim Collopy was eliminated and Sean Perry saw his once-dominant chip lead disappear as Foxen took control. In the early goings of the PokerGO live-streamed action, Riordan chipped up while Okin waited for a chance to double up. This chance came during the Pot-Limit Omaha section of this mix, but Okin’s ace-queen-six-deuce was no match for Perry’s ace-ace-king-king. Adding insult to injury, Perry flopped top set and while Okin held hope by turning a gutshot straight draw, the river blanked and he was sent packing.

Four-handed play last several hours as no fewer than 11 all-in confrontations resulted in a double-up before Maxx Coleman ultimately got ousted. Coleman doubled up Foxen during No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw and was left with a little more than one big blind when Perry busted him. On Coleman’s final hand he was left to draw two cards against Perry’s pat queen-eight. Coleman tabled ten-nine-four and while his first card, a seven, kept his hopes alive, the nine of hearts paired his hand to seal his fate.
 
As the increasing blinds forced players into a shove-or-fold approach, Foxen put his final 11 big blinds into the middle with jack-nine offsuit from the small blind. Riordan gave it some thought before calling with king-eight suited and the board gave him a winning pair of kings. The final hand took place during Deuce as Riordan put Perry all-in holding nine-eight-seven-six-six. Perry called all-in with queen-ten-seven-seven-deuce, drawing two, while Riordan requested one new card. Perry received two jacks from the dealer and despite pairing his six, Riordan took down the event.
| Place | Name | Championship Points | Prize | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | John Riordan | 163 | $163,200 | 
| 2nd | Sean Perry | 106 | $105,600 | 
| 3rd | Alex Foxen | 72 | $72,000 | 
| 4th | Maxx Coleman | 53 | $52,800 | 
| 5th | Brian Okin | 38 | $38,400 | 
| 6th | Jim Collopy | 29 | $28,800 | 
| 7th | Jeremy Ausmus | 19 | $19,200 | 
2021 U.S. Poker Open Championship Standings
| Rank | Player | Points | Wins | Cashes | Earnings | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jake Daniels | 219 | 1 | 1 | $218,500 | 
| 2 | Joe McKeehen | 200 | 1 | 1 | $200,200 | 
| 3 | Sam Soverel | 195 | 1 | 2 | $194,500 | 
| 4 | John Riordan | 182 | 1 | 2 | $182,200 | 
| 5 | Steve Zolotow | 153 | 0 | 2 | $153,000 | 
| 6 | Barry Hutter | 153 | 0 | 2 | $152,500 | 
| 7 | Dan Shak | 152 | 0 | 1 | $152,000 | 
| 8 | Ray Qartomy | 146 | 0 | 1 | $146,300 | 
| 9 | Jordan Cristos | 130 | 0 | 1 | $130,000 | 
| 10 | Sean Perry | 106 | 0 | 1 | $105,600 | 
