Stephen Chidwick Wins 2nd Title at 2018 US Poker Open

Four events into its eight event schedule, Stephen Chidwick has already emerged as a likely contender to collect the US Poker Open Champion title and trophy after taking down his second tournament of the series.
As the start of the week, the UK pro got off to a great start after overcoming a field of 44 players at Event #3: $25,000 NLHE to claim a first place prize of $374,000, before a couple of days later doing likewise to a similar sized field at Event #04: $25,000 Mixed Game Championship for $382,500. Following a victory which further consolidates his position at number two on England’s ‘All Time Money List’ with $10,839,863 in winnings, Chidwick stated:
“The trophy will be a very nice cherry on top if I can close this out. I think I have a pretty good shot right now. I’m excited to push hard through the last five days of poker and then take a few weeks off and go skiing.”
Having reached to the final table, Chidwick eventually progressed all the way through to heads-up play where he faced Chris Vitch for the title. At this stage the two players had roughly equal chip counts, and the lead would subsequently swing in both directions before Chidwick managed to see off his remaining foe during a 2-7 Triple Draw round to seal his back-to-back win.
Final Table Results:
1: Stephen Chidwick $382,500
2: Chris Vitch $247,500
3: Isaac Haxton $168,750
4: Benjamin Pollak $112,500
5: Dan Shak $90,000
6: Phil Hellmuth $67,500
The other two players also winning US Poker Open Champion events so far include Justin Bonomo, who took down Event #1: $10,000 No Limit Hold’em for $190,400, and Mike Gorodinsky who collected $179,200 for winning Event #2: $10,500 Pot-Limit Omaha. Taking part in the US Poker Open Champion is a “Who’s Who” list of the game’s best players, with Daniel Negreanu already picking up $221,250 for his two tournament cashes, and Phil Hellmuth for a single cash worth $67,500. Meanwhile, Germany’s Rainer Kempe has managed just one cash for $83,200, and US pro Cary Katz two cashes for $105,400.