If you want an example of how fortunes can change quickly in poker, you need not look further than the 2025 U.S. Poker Open. After not even appearing on the leaderboard at the halfway point of the 2025 USPO, Shannon Shorr stormed from the back of the room to stun those in the competition by the end. Not only did Shorr take one of the preliminary tournaments, but he would also take the finale, the $25,000 Main Event, to earn the overall championship in the 2025 U.S. Poker Open.
Preliminary Win Puts Shorr in Contention, Main Event Seals It
The preliminary tournament victory is what truly started Shorr on his run. In winning Event #5, the final $10,000 tournament on the schedule, Shorr entered the Top Ten for the overall championship with the 220 points earned for that event. He still needed to match that victory with another deep run, and that run for Shorr would come in the Main Event.
Jose ‘Nacho’ Barbero was the leader of the pack when the final seven men came to the felt for the Main Event final table. With his 3.28 million in chips, Barbero had a nice lead over Landon Tice (2.685 million) and Shorr (2.08 million), and it appeared that whoever would be the champion would come from these men. Sam Laskowitz (925K), Nick Petrangelo (885K), Justin Saliba (655K), and Clemen Deng (440K) would be left to fight over the other positions.
Deng and Laskowitz departed rather quickly into the festivities inside the PokerGO Studios in Las Vegas. Shorr made a big move with his knockout of Saliba only thirty minutes into play. Once Shorr flopped a needed four to make a set against Saliba’s A-10 that had found an Ace, Shorr rocketed into second place behind Barbero with four players to go and would take the lead after five-betting Petrangelo off a hand moments later.
From there, Shorr could not be stopped. He eventually took Petrangelo out in fourth place with a rivered flush, then lost and regained the chip lead in the three-way battle with Barbero and Tice. Barbero was the player who took the tournament to heads-up play with the elimination of Tice in third. It would take another thirty minutes for Shorr to complete the deal, but he would goad Barbero into a call when Shorr had flopped two pair – and Barbero held Ace high – to complete the win in the Main Event and the Golden Eagle signifying the overall title.
Here are the final standings of the 2025 U.S. Poker Open:
1. Shannon Shorr, 538 points
2. Matthew Wantman, 512
3. Jose ‘Nacho’ Barbero, 402
4. Eric Blair, 364
5. Alex Foxen, 354
6. Brandon Wilson, 335
7. Yifu He, 319
8. Kazuomi Furuse, 285
9. Michael Rossitto, 278
10. Jim Collopy, 244
PGT Hits the Road to the Lone Star State
The dust is barely settling on the 2025 U.S. Poker Open action, the PGT is off to the next event on its schedule. The 2025 PGT Texas Poker Open has the first of its eight Day One flights taking off on April 23, with each flight featuring a $3000 buy-in and a $2 million guaranteed prize pool. In addition to the Main Event, the PGT will also offer four $5000 “High Roller” tournaments for participants at the Champions Club in Houston.
After the 2025 PGT Texas Poker Open, the PGT will be taking a break. They do not have another PGT qualifying event scheduled until May 30, when the 2025 World Series of Poker’s $25,000 Heads-Up Championship takes to the felt. At the start of that event, we will have a firm idea of the contenders in the race for the PGT World Championship come December this year.
(Photo courtesy of PokerGO)
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