The final large-field no-limit hold’em tournament poker main event of 2022 came to a close late on Dec. 30. A heads-up deal saw Jacob Perry come away with the title and $99,084 in prize money as the winner of the 2022 Mid-States Poker Tour Venetian.
The New Jersey resident outlasted a field of 643 total entries in the $1,100 buy-in tournament in order to secure the largest payday yet on his tournament resume. He now has more than $470,000 in career cashes to his name.
Perry was also awarded 840 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. This was his third POY-qualified score of the year. With 978 total points, he sits just outside the top 600 in the overall POY standings presented by Global Poker.
This event played out over the course of three days. While the two starting flights drew 643 collective entries, only 71 players moved on to day 2. Among those that ran deep were two-time bracelet winners Joao Simao (64th) and Barry Shulman (56th), five-time bracelet winner Jeremy Ausmus (51st), Shannon Shorr (44th), Kyna England (41st), bracelet winner Ryan Laplante (30th), 13-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Josh Reichard (24th), bracelet winner Mitch Halverson (22nd), bracelet winner Joseph Di Rosa Rojas (21st), and Roland Israelashvili (15th).
The nine-handed final table was set a bit after 6:00 pm local time, with 2021 Card Player Poker Tour Venetian main event winner Ezequiel Waigel in the lead.
Peter Mullin lost a three-way all-in with pocket sixes facing the A-K of Abhisek Panda and the A-Q of bracelet winner Tamas Lendvai, with aces and queens winning for Lendvai. Mullin earned $10,548 as the ninth-place finisher. Lendvai (8th – $13,341) ended up being the next to fall when his K-Q suited ran into the A-K of Panda.
Richard Alati got all-in with A-3 facing the pocket kings of Angela Jordison and was unable to come from behind. He earned $17,064 for his strong showing. Kenny Huynh (6th – $23,269) soon followed when his K-10 clashed with the A-Q of a surging Panda. Huynh made kings up, but Panda made broadway by the river to narrow the field to five.
Jordison’s run came to an end via a battle of the blinds, with her A-10 running into the A-J of Waigel. Neither player improved and Jordison was eliminated in fifth place ($31,335). This was her eighth final-table finish of the year, with one title won and more than $477,000 in POY-qualified earnings accrued across those scores. Jordison now sits in 33rd place in the POY standings as a result, with 3,610 total points accrued in 2022.
Waigel won a race against two-time bracelet winner Nipun Java (4th – $41,573), with A-Q suited besting pocket sevens to give him the lead heading into three-handed play. Panda was able to battle ahead in time for the next big hand, though. Waigel got all-in with top pair of queens and an ace kicker, only to find himself up against top set for Panda. Waigel was drawing dead with one card coming and was sent home with $58,016 for his third-place showing.
Panda entered heads-up play with 11,000,000 to Perry’s 4,900,000. Perry made a flush in a big pot to pull even, and then moved slightly ahead. The final two then began to hash out a deal that eventually brought the event to an end, with Perry securing the title and $99,084 while Panda locked up $97,612 as the runner-up.
Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:
| Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points |
| 1 | Jacob Perry | $99,084 | 840 |
| 2 | Abhisek Panda | $97,612 | 700 |
| 3 | Ezequiel Waigel | $58,016 | 560 |
| 4 | Nipun Java | $41,573 | 420 |
| 5 | Angela Jordison | $31,335 | 350 |
| 6 | Kenny Huynh | $23,269 | 280 |
| 7 | Richard Alati | $17,064 | 210 |
| 8 | Tamas Lendvai | $13,341 | 140 |
| 9 | Peter Mullin | $10,548 | 70 |
Winner photo via MSPT Twitter account.
