Like the Seattle Seahawks at the end of last night’s 29-13 Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots, Alex Foxen is padding his stats. Over the weekend, the super high roller dropped down to the midstakes and crushed the competition, winning MSPT Poker Bowl X.
Foxen topped the 740-entry field to win $165,235 and his second MSPT title, also at The Venetian.
Not your average final table
The MSPT Poker Bowl is an annual tournament that’s conveniently scheduled to end before the Super Bowl. Thanks to the nature of the scheduling, the MSPT Poker Bowl generally attracts a much tougher Las Vegas field than a usual $1,600 tournament. Also, thanks to the PokerGO Tour switching to its mixed-games series, many of the best Texas hold’em players in the world had to fill their time.
In addition to Alex Foxen, the reigning PokerGO Tour Player of the Year, Dan Sepiol made back-to-back MSPT Poker Bowl final tables. Sepiol, who won the 2023 WPT World Championship for nearly $5.3 million, won an MSPT title in 2021 but couldn’t improve on his eighth-place Poker Bowl finish in 2025, finishing in ninth for $20,519.
Kenneth Kim, another WSOP bracelet winner, continued his hot last six months, adding another $25,652 to over $1.3 million in career earnings. He won the 6,090-entry $600 WSOP Deepstack for $318,842 this past summer, an event this author finished 76th in.
Hunter Cichy, who blew up in 2015 with a flurry of sensational results, finished in seventh for $32,422 to add to his $1.6 million in career earnings.
Aaron Klausman, a South Florida grinder, finished in sixth for $41,426, giving him the second-largest score of a very impressive career.
Speaking of grinders, Nick Palma, who is approaching 400 career documented cashes, enjoyed a fifth-place run for $53,495 to take his career earnings over $3.5 million.
Justin Lapka, known as ‘Lappy Poker’ online, finished fourth for just under $70,000, giving him the fifth-largest score in his career. Lapka, the two-time WSOP online bracelet winner, now moves up to over $1.25 million in career live tournament earnings.
2012 WPT Player of the Year and 2024 WSOP Main Event final tablist, Joe Serock, earned just over $90,000 for a third-place finish. The one-time online bracelet winner is nearing $7 million in career earnings.
After reaching heads-up play with Foxen, unknown Miquel Maines was impressive to finish second to make $122,698. He was unfortunate to flop top pair with K-4 offsuit against Foxen’s flopped set of threes.
With the win, Foxen also earned a $3,500 seat in the $2,000,000 GTD MSPT Championship Rock n Roll Poker Open at Seminole Hard Rock in November.
MSPT Poker Bowl X final table results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Foxen | $165,235 |
| 2 | Miquel Maines | $122,698 |
| 3 | Joe Serock | $92,076 |
| 4 | Justin Lapka | $69,817 |
| 5 | Nick Palma | $53,495 |
| 6 | Aaron Klausman | $41,426 |
| 7 | Hunter Cichy | $32,422 |
| 8 | Kenneth Kim | $25,652 |
| 9 | Dan Sepiol | $20,519 |
MSPT Poker Bowl history
In 2009, the MSPT started as the Minnesota State Poker Tour and launched at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota. Just 18 months later, the series crossed state lines and became the Mid-States Poker Tour.
In 2017, MSPT, now known as the Major Series of Poker – The Tour, reached an agreement with The Venetian to launch an annual event that would end before the start of the Super Bowl, allowing everyone to enjoy the big game.
After beginning with a $300,000 guarantee, turnout was much larger than expected, more than doubling the prize pool, with Jordan Young taking the inaugural $117,381 top prize.
The guarantee has increased throughout the years and featured a $1,000,000 guarantee this year. The guarantee was eclipsed by just over $50,000, with superstar Alex Foxen claiming top honors.
MSPT Poker Bowl champions
With the win, Alex Foxen has won the second-largest prize in MSPT Poker Bowl history, only behind Ron West, who topped a 1,027-player field in 2022.
| Year | Event | Entries | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | MSPT Poker Bowl | 695 | Jordan Young | $117,381 |
| 2018 | MSPT Poker Bowl II | 827 | Kfir Nahum | $108,410 |
| 2019 | MSPT Poker Bowl III | 1,022 | Brian Wilson | $143,929 |
| 2020 | MSPT Poker Bowl IV | 1,093 | Bob Whalen | $140,152 |
| 2021 | MSPT Poker Bowl V | 908 | Johnny Oshana | $130,000 |
| 2022 | MSPT Poker Bowl VI | 1,027 | Ron West | $168,488 |
| 2023 | MSPT Poker Bowl VII | 665 | Zack Fuentes | $117,060 |
| 2024 | MSPT Poker Bowl VIII | 360 | Terry Fleischer | $98,101 |
| 2025 | MSPT Poker Bowl IX | 892 | Anthony Scarborough | $152,243 |
| 2026 | MSPT Poker Bowl X | 740 | Alex Foxen | $165,235 |
