Chidwick wins 2019 US Poker Open Event #1

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Stephen Chidwick continued his triumphant run at the U.S. Poker Open by winning Event #1: $10,000 No Limit Hold’em for $216,000 after winning two events and the championship at the inaugural edition in 2018. The 29-year old Brit outlasted a field of 90 entrants – up 32% compared to last year - who created a prize pool of $900,000 and a final table that includes both Joseph Cheong and Sean Winter. Chidwick now leads the early championship standings, the race for the trophy and the $100,000 first prize.

"I kept running as I did last year, this is my favorite place to play in the world by far, and I came in focused and ready to play my best.”

Three-handed Sean Winter and Joseph Cheong drew things to near even, but Chidwick regained control after sending Cheong home with ace-king versus ace-deuce. The heads-up portion of the tournament didn't last long, as things continued to go Chidwick's way. Chidwick hit a gutshot straight with the card that gave Winter a set of eights, and that was all she wrote for the latter.

Looking back on the event, Chidwick was thrilled with the strong turnout for Event #1, up 32% compared to last year's first event, which had the same buy-in and format.

"I'm really happy to see it. I think the Poker Central team and ARIA are doing an amazing job and part of the increase is probably due to the $100,000 that's been added for the series champion."

"I think people really like playing at the PokerGO Studio and they're telling their friends about it. I think the fields are just going to keep getting bigger and bigger."

Chidwick is now in the early lead to repeat and is expected to play all the events. The No. 1 on the U.K.’s all-time money list is going to make it tough to catch up, given that he has final tabled six of the nine USPO events organized since the inception of this event in 2018.

"It would be amazing to go back-to-back but that's a long way away and there's lots of poker left to be played. I'm not going to get ahead of myself and just try to play my best.”