Chino Rheem defeated 67 entrants in the recent U.S Poker Open (USPO) $15,000 pot-limit Omaha event. It was his first time to win a live poker tournament title since January 2019.
Rheem is having a great month as he has won five cash prizes so far, won one title, and finished as a runner-up at three final tables. The World Poker Tour (WPT) champion won the 2019 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure main event.
The player's latest score raised his lifetime poker tournament earnings to over $11.6 million. Besides receiving the money and title, Rheem amassed 432 Card Player Player of the Year (POY) points that enabled his rise to the 43rd position in the 2022 POY race that Global Poker sponsors.
More About Rheem's Omaha Events Win
Rheem's victory was a day after he finished second in the USPO $15,000 no-limit hold 'em event and won $210,000. The two big scores helped him move to the first position in the USPO Player of the Series points race and to surpass Tamon Nakamura.
The player has garnered 481 points in the series and has similar PokerGO Tour (PGT) points. He is 14th in the PGT year-long standings.
The ten finishers in the $15,000 pot-limit Omaha event won money. Yet, only six of them played on the final day. Isaac Kempton, a Wynn Millions runners-up, topped the leaderboard at the beginning of the final day while Rheem held the third chip position.
Dylan Weisman, a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, was the first final finisher to exit the tournament. He got an eight-straight and his last short stack on the river before running into a jack-high straight for Phil Hellmuth, a 16-time bracelet winner.
Weisman won $61,600 after finishing in sixth place, and it was his third time to reach the series' final table. His deep runs came in a $10,000 big bet mix tournament and a PLO event.
Adam Hendrix was the second finalist to get eliminated. Rheem's pocket kings out flopped his pocket aces after the chips were preflopped.
Hendrix, a USPO Event No. 3 champion, won $80,400 after finishing third. Also, he holds the third position in the Player of the Series points race.
Phil Hellmuth's Determination in the Tournament
Hellmuth was determined to win his first tournament in the PokerGO Studio. He got many chips in preflop, including a suited ace and pocket aces. But, ran into Rheem's flopped jack-high straight.
Rheem called fast, and Hellmuth was the first to go all-in. But the latter didn't get assistance on the river or turn, exited the event in fourth place, and won $100,500. He has over $24.3 million lifetime earnings now.
Isaac Kempton preserved most of his chips by accurately laying down sevens full of aces to Rheem, who held aces full of tens. Both players flopped trip tens after the next hand, with Kempton having the highest kickers and Rheem taking the lead after improving to tens full of fives.
Kempton urgently needed a king or ace on the river to continue contending for the title when Rheem called. The former got tens full of fours from the river but exited the event in third place and won $130,650.
He currently tops in the PGT points race and is third in the 2022 Player of the Year standings.
Rheem had a 3.5:1 cheap lead when he entered into heads-up play against Scott Seiver, a three-time bracelet champion. Seiver earned a vital double-up with an overpair, wrap draw, and king-high flush draw. He dominated Chino's lower flush draw, inside straight draw, and middle pair on a flop.
Seiver raised with KClub SuitJClub Suit10Diamond Suit6Spade Suit from the button in the final hand. Rheem used KSpade Suit9Diamond Suit9Club Suit3Diamond Suit to call and made the flop come down QClub Suit9Spade Suit6Heart Suit. Seiver won $201,000 as a runner-up and has over $24.5 million lifetime tournament earnings.
