That's Wrap on 2025 – MSPT Player of the Year Winners & a New Millionaire

Ozturk Crushes JACK Cleveland, Helstern & Hankin Shine at Club Championship

The Major Series of Poker: The Tour (MSPT) [https://www.pokernews.com/tours/the-mid-states-poker-tour/] has joined forces with [I]PokerNews[/I] for a biweekly podcast, which is available in both audio and video formats. In the 14th episode, Chad Holloway and Kyna England talk about two big stops that recently wrapped up on the Season 17 schedule. The first was the 2026 Ohio Poker State Championship at JACK Cleveland, which was won by a familiar face in MSPT Hall of Famer Umut Ozturk. It was a big win for the former back-to-back MSPT Player of the Year, and with a win early in the season, makes you wonder if he'll go for POY again! Meanwhile, Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, played host to the $1,000,000 GTD Club Major Championship, and Chad was there to play both side events and the Main Event. See highlights from his poker adventures, as well as a hand he captured while playing with the legendary Howard Hankin. Whether you love him or hate him, a 'Hands with Howard' is always a sight to see. Plus, here who claimed Gold Cards at both stops, watch Chad scratch a couple of lottery tickets gifted by a fan of the show, and learn about Jorden Helstern's big win in the Club Major Championship. Finally, get an update on the current MSPT Season 17 Player of the Year race and a preview of upcoming stops. Don't forget you can save 15% off your Tilted Compass order by using code KYNA [https://tilted-compass.com/?ref=KYNA] at checkout. MSPT Podcast Presented By PokerNews will air every other week and release at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT / 8 a.m. PT on Wednesdays. The show will be available on the PokerNews YouTube channel as well as on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Time Stamps *Time | Topic* 00:00 | Welcome to the show 01:45 | Umut Ozturk wins MSPT Ohio Poker Championship 05:15 | MSPT JACK Cleveland side event winners 07:15 | Chad plays MSPT Potawatomi 09:00 | Mini Main Event 13:30 | Chad coolered 15:50 | Scratching two lottery tickets 18:04 | Side event winners from MSPT Milwaukee 20:00 | Chad's tough Main Event table 20:50 | Hand with Howard 24:38 | Who cashed the Main Event? 26:17 | Jorden Helstern wins MSPT Club Championship 28:20 | Updated MSPT leaderboards 31:55 | What's coming up? 35:40 | Tilted Compass – Get 15% off using code KYNA

Diamond Championship Largest MSPT Outside Las Vegas; Alex Foxen Wins Poker Bowl X

The Major Series of Poker: The Tour (MSPT) has joined forces with PokerNews for a biweekly podcast, which is available in both audio and video formats. In the 13th episode, Chad Holloway and Kyna England talk about their trip to Arizona's Talking Stick Resort for the Diamond Major Championship, which turned out to be the largest MSPT outside of Las Vegas in history! It was a phenomenal stop with players coming from around the country. See highlights from the stop, including both Chad and Kyna cashing, with the former getting a big double on the bubble and the latter notching another runner-up finish. You'll also see interviews with poker manager Michelle McGinn and Ante Up Magazine Arizona Ambassador Dustin Skarra, a winner interview with champ June "Oh Geez" Kim, and the results of the Team Stiner vs. Team Jones fantasy competition on StakeKings. From there, it's over to Las Vegas for the Poker Bowl X, which attracted hundreds of tough players. One of them was Alex Foxen, who claimed his second MSPT title after winning his first at the Venetian back in 2018. Finally, get an update on the current MSPT Season 17 Player of the Year race and a preview of upcoming stops. MSPT Podcast Presented By PokerNews will air every other week and release at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT / 8 a.m. PT on Wednesdays. The show will be available on the PokerNews YouTube channel as well as on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Time Stamps *Time | Topic* 00:00 | Welcome to the show 01:16 | MSPT Diamond Championship big success 04:00 | How did Chad & Kyna do? 07:15 | Chad's bubble double 09:48 | Interview w/ Michelle McGinn 10:53 | Interview w/ Dustin Skarra 14:58 | Team Stiner vs. Team Jones 17:50 | MSPT Talking Stick winner 25:14 | MSPT Poker Bowl X at Venetian 28:25 | Alex Foxen claims second MSPT title 30:28 | MSPT Season 17 POY standings 32:00 | A look at upcoming stops

Kyna & Faraz Get High in Colorado; Stiner vs. Steven Jones Clash in Arizona

The Major Series of Poker: The Tour (MSPT) [https://www.pokernews.com/tours/the-mid-states-poker-tour/] has joined forces with PokerNews for a biweekly podcast, which is available in both audio and video formats. In the 12th episode, Chad Holloway and Kyna England talk about the latter's deep run at the MSPT Showdown Series at Bally's Black Hawk, where she came up one spot short of capturing her second MSPT title. She competed at a tough final table that included Faraz Jaka and Vinny Moscati, among others. Hear all about Kyna's deep run, including a friend she met along the way from whom she learned about the animal charity Roscoe's Rescue [https://roscoesrescueco.org/gifts]. The duo then wrapped up the Golden State Poker Championship at Sycuan Casino outside San Diego, where Zilong Zhang took down the Main Event and Scott Aulds claimed a second side event title, before giving an update on the current MSPT Season 17 Player of the Year race. From there, it's a look ahead to this weekend's MSPT Diamond Championship at Talking Stick Resort in Arizona, which is where two of the venue's most well-known players, Ryan Stiner and Steven Jones, will hold a special fantasy competition on StakeKings [https://www.pokernews.com/news/2026/01/mspt-talking-stick-steven-jones-ryan-stiner-stakekings-50476.htm]. Chad sat down with them both for a special interview you don't want to miss. While both Kyna and Chad will be in Arizona, they also look ahead to the upcoming Poker Bowl X at Venetian Las Vegas, as well as a handful of stops back in the Midwest coming up between now and the end of March. MSPT Podcast Presented By PokerNews will air every other week and release at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT / 8 a.m. PT on Wednesdays. The show will be available on the PokerNews YouTube channel as well as on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Time Stamps *Time | Topic* 00:00 | Welcome to the show 02:00 | Kyna's trip to Bally's Black Hawk 04:28 | Playing with Faraz Jaka 05:44 | Vinny Moscati denies Kyna 08:05 | Roscoe's Rescue 10:00 | Bally's Black Hawk Gold Card winners 11:57 | Wrapping up the Golden State Poker Championship at Sycuan 14:30 | Season 17 Player of the Year race 16:20 | MSPT Diamond Championship at Talking Stick 17:28 | Interview w/ Ryan Stiner & Steven Jones 33:00 | Early side event winners from Talking Stick 35:00 | Poker Bowl X 36:05 | Upcoming Events

MSPT Season 17 is Underway + a Major Announcement

The Major Series of Poker: The Tour (MSPT) [https://www.pokernews.com/tours/the-mid-states-poker-tour/] has joined forces with PokerNews for a biweekly podcast, which is available in both audio and video formats. In the 11th episode, Chad Holloway and Kyna England are back to kick off Season 17! That includes making predictions for 2026 and which players they think will do well, such as Angela Jordison and DJ Buckley, recapping the MSPT New Year's Poker Open at Venetian, which was won by Matthew Wantman, and a look at the current stop taking place at Sycuan Casino in San Diego. Speaking of which, Scott Aulds took down the $400 Mini Main Event at that stop to claim his third MSPT Gold Card, so Chad chatted with him about his victory and success at Sycuan. Learn more about his victory, as well as other side event winners from the Golden State Poker Championship. Kyna then talks about her plans to play the MSPT Bally's Black Hawk, while both hosts will head to the Major Diamond Poker Championship at Arizona's Talking Stick from Jan. 24 - Feb. 1, followed by the MSPT Poker Bowl X at the Venetian Feb. 4-7. Finally, there was a Major announcement regarding the MSPT's return to Canada later this year! Don't forget you can save 15% off your Tilted Compass order [https://tilted-compass.com/?ref=KYNA] by using code KYNA at checkout. They've got great backpacks, hoodies, and more! MSPT Podcast Presented By PokerNews will air every other week and release at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT / 8 a.m. PT on Wednesdays. The show will be available on the PokerNews YouTube channel as well as on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Time Stamps *Time | Topic* 00:00 | Welcome to the show 01:06 | Highlights from the New Year's Poker Open 08:38 | MSPT currently at Sycuan Casino 10:07 | MSPT Sycuan side event winners 12:03 | Interview with Scott Aulds 20:40 | Predictions for 2026 22:15 | Kyna headed to Black Hawk, CO 23:45 | Chad at Talking Stack 27:10 | DJ Buckley primed for big year 29:45 | MSPT headed back to Canada's Playground 34:00 | Save 15% at Tilted Compass today!

That's Wrap on 2025 – MSPT Player of the Year Winners & a New Millionaire

The Major Series of Poker: The Tour (MSPT) has joined forces with PokerNews for a biweekly podcast, which is available in both audio and video formats. In the 10th episode, Chad Holloway and Kyna England are back to recap the latest MSPT stop, which took place at Running Aces in Minnesota. The Winter Poker Classic marked the last opportunity for players to accumulate coveted Season 16 Player of the Year (POY) points, and both Umut Ozturk and Jacob Long were in attendance to do just that. Their tight race literally came down to the final table of the final side event of the season. Speaking of those side events, Josh Reichard claimed two more gold cards, while Kou Vang finished runner-up in the Main Event to become the MSPT's second millionaire and to surpass Rich Alsup atop the MSPT all-time money leaderboard. Meanwhile, MSPT Hall of Famer Aaron Johnson became a millionaire on his own accord by taking down the WPT Prime Championship in Las Vegas, learn about the Senior POY and ICON of the Year winners, and take a look ahead to Season 17, which included a pretigious new event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood Rock 'N' Roll Poker Open (RRPO). Don't forget you can save 15% off your Tilted Compass order [https://tilted-compass.com/?ref=KYNA] by using code KYNA at checkout. They've got great backpacks, hoodies, and more! MSPT Podcast Presented By PokerNews will air every other week and release at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT / 8 a.m. PT on Wednesdays. The show will be available on the PokerNews YouTube channel as well as on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Time Stamps *Time | Topic* 00:00 | Welcome to the show 01:02 | MSPT Season 16 POY Results 04:15 | MSPT Winter Poker Classic side event winners 05:45 | ICON of the Year 06:24 | Jeff Copeland wins Senior of the Year 08:50 | MSPT Running Aces Main Event 10:00 | Kou Vang becomes MSPT millionaire 12:35 | Mini Main Event champ 13:50 | Aaron Johnson wins WPT Prime 17:45 | Tilted Compass – use code "KYNA" to save 15% 19:25 | A look ahead to Season 17 in 2026 25:17 | Upcoming stops 27:25 | MSPT partners with Seminole Hard Rock Florida 29:22 | MSPT World Rankins 30:38 | New Year's Resolutions