Day 1a of the MSPT 2026 Wisconsin Poker State Championship has come to an end at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, with the opening flight tallying 293 entries to kick things off.
With action needing to play down to 11% of the field, almost full 16 levels were required to hit that mark, with the hard stop being reached with 17:40 remaining at 4,000/8,000/8,000.
Jay Payne
When chips finally went into bags, it was Michael Smith who found himself atop the chip counts, leading the 33 advancing players after putting a respectable 771,000 on his slip to end the night, edging out Jay Payne (632,000) and MSPT champ Craig Trost (607,000) as they were the only others to clip the 600k mark.
MSPT Champ Craig Trost
Rounding out the top five stacks after the first flight was Rinaldo Teodoro (595,000) & WSOP bracelet winenr Will Givens (578,000), who secured the final elimination on the night, while Imran Sajwani (571,000), and MSPT Champ Wes Cannon (548,000) passed the half-milly marker for Day 2.
Two-Time MSPT Champ Jeremy Dresch
Others who found a Day 2 berth included two-time MSPT champ Jeremy Dresch (454,000), 2023 Michigan Poker State Champion Travis Young (383,000), WSOP bracelet winner Mike Wilklow (375,000), Loren Rice (331,000), and fellow bracelet winner Chad Holloway (88,000).
Dejuante Alexander
Among those to try and fall on Day 1a included Dejuante Alexander, Shane Thorne, Maxwell Sheridan, Kevin Andriamahefa, and Steven Dembiec, just to name a few.
Steven Dembiec
Those players, as well as any newcomers, have two more starting flights to jump back into action.
This is a best-stack forward event: If a player qualifies for Day 2 more than once, they may only play the higher chip stack; any lower stack(s) will be removed from play at the start of Day 2 and receive the lowest Day 2 payout.
Player of the Year points will only be awarded for the higher stack. Players will only receive credit for a single MSPT Main Event cash finish.
Day 1b will kick off at noon local time on Friday, while the third and final flight, Day 1c, will take place at the same time on Saturday.
The surviving players from each flight will then return at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday to play down to a winner.
Join us tomorrow as we continue to bring you all the action and eliminations straight from the tournament floor at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino!
MSPT Season 17 Wisconsin Poker State Championship Remaining Schedule
| Date |
Time |
Tournament |
Chips |
Blind Levels |
Gold Card Event |
| 25-Sep |
10:00 AM |
$265 Milestone Satellite - 1 in 5 advance to Main Event |
30,000 |
20 Minutes |
| 25-Sep |
12:00 PM |
$1,110 WPSC Main Event NLH Day 1B (2-Day Event) |
30,000 |
40 Minutes |
5B |
| 25-Sep |
5:00 PM |
$250 Monster Stack NLH |
30,000 |
20 Minutes |
7 |
| 25-Sep |
7:00 PM |
$265 Milestone Satellite - 1 in 5 advance to Main Event |
30,000 |
20 Minutes |
| 26-Sep |
9:00 AM |
$265 Milestone Satellite - 1 in 5 advance to Main Event |
30,000 |
15 Minutes |
| 26-Sep |
12:00 PM |
$1,110 WPSC Main Event NLH Day 1C (2-Day Event) |
30,000 |
40 Minutes |
5C |
| 26-Sep |
7:00 PM |
$250 Monster Stack NLH |
30,000 |
20 Minutes |
8 |
| 27-Sep |
9:00 AM |
$400 Seniors (50+) NLH |
30,000 |
30 Minutes |
9 |
| 27-Sep |
11:00 AM |
$1,110 WPSC Main Event NLH Day 2 (2-Day Event) |
- |
40 Minutes |
5 |
| 27-Sep |
12:00 PM |
$400 Black Chip Bounty Ultimate Stack NLH |
30,000 |
30 Minutes |
10 |
| 27-Sep |
3:00 PM |
$250 Last Chance Monster Stack NLH |
30,000 |
20 Minutes |
11 |
Stay tuned for all updates on this event only on MSPTPoker.com.