By Alex Drummond, Editor-in-Chief · April 12, 2026 · Fact-checked by Maya Chen
The 2026 U.S. Poker Open is under way at the PokerGO Studio inside ARIA Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, and the opening days have already produced considerable drama. Brock Wilson won Event 1, a $5,000 no-limit hold'em event with 93 entries and a $465,000 prize pool, taking $120,900 for the title. It was his third PokerGO Tour victory in roughly one month. In Event 2, Ontario's Kristen Foxen was eliminated during a volatile final-table run that saw her husband Alex Foxen go from massive chip leader to short stack in the span of two hands.
Event 1: Wilson's Hot Streak Continues
Wilson defeated Jeremy Ausmus in heads-up play to claim the top prize. Ausmus had held nearly half the chips when five players remained, but he was unable to convert that advantage. Wilson, who has been playing with notable consistency across PokerGO events this spring, closed it out to record his third title on the tour inside a single month.
That level of concentrated success at high-stakes PokerGO events is rare. The buy-ins and field compositions at USPO attract elite regulars, and winning three events in quick succession against that calibre of competition represents a sustained run of form rather than a single fortunate result.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brock Wilson | USA | $120,900 |
| 2 | Jeremy Ausmus | USA | $76,725 |
| 3 | Justin Zaki | USA | $55,800 |
| 4 | Natalie Ferguson | USA | $41,850 |
| 5 | Rodger Johnson | USA | $32,550 |
| 6 | Chino Rheem | USA | $23,250 |
| 7 | Kent Stephens | USA | $18,600 |
The $465,000 prize pool from 93 entries reflects the concentrated wealth typical of USPO fields, where a relatively modest entry count generates significant prize distributions because of the $5,000 buy-in floor. Natalie Ferguson's fourth-place finish was among the notable results for a field that draws consistently strong players at every seat.
Event 2: The Alex Foxen Collapse
Event 2, also a $5,000 no-limit hold'em event, drew 98 entries and built a $490,000 prize pool. Five players remain heading into Day 2, but the story of the day centred on what happened to Alex Foxen at the money bubble.
Foxen had accumulated a massive chip lead as the field approached the money. He applied pressure in the manner consistent with chip leaders at that stage, but Clemen Deng stopped the run with two consecutive significant hands. In the first, Deng held top two pair against Foxen's smaller two pair and held. In the second, Deng made a hero call with queen-high against Foxen's missed straight draw. Those two hands transferred a substantial portion of Foxen's stack and changed the dynamic of the final table entirely.
Foxen survived the bubble but was eliminated shortly after for a minimum cash. Michael Rossitto leads the five remaining players with 3,455,000 chips heading into Day 2, chasing what would be his second PokerGO title. Notable eliminations from Event 2 included Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel in ninth, Ebony Kenney in tenth, and popular poker content creator Brad Owen.
The Ontario Angle: Foxen's Defending Title on the Line
Kristen Foxen, born in St. Catharines, Ontario, entered this year's USPO as the defending Event 1 champion. She won that same $5,000 no-limit hold'em opener at the 2025 edition for $158,025, a result that formed part of a year in which she collected three PokerGO Tour titles and reached the top of the PGT leaderboard. Her elimination from Event 2 of the 2026 series means the title defence effectively ends at the first opportunity, though the series runs through April 22 and she may enter additional events.
The broader context for Ontario readers is Foxen's position in the game at this moment. She recently finished third in the Triton Jeju $125,000 no-limit hold'em event for $1,104,000, a result covered in detail in our Triton Jeju report. That finish, combined with her 2025 USPO title and PGT leaderboard position, had placed her at the top of the women's all-time live earnings list. She remains one of the few Ontario-born players competing regularly at the $25,000-and-above level on the global live circuit.
For a fuller look at her career and the other Ontario women making an impact at high-stakes live events, the Ontario top female poker players article profiles Foxen and the broader group in detail.
Series Context: Where the USPO Fits
The U.S. Poker Open is a PokerGO Tour event, distinct from the World Series of Poker bracelet events, though both are held at ARIA. The USPO occupies a specific tier: all 10 events are no-limit hold'em, buy-ins range from $5,000 to $25,000, and the field is drawn almost entirely from professional and semi-professional players. There is no recreational qualifier pathway and no satellite structure; players pay the buy-in directly at the venue in Las Vegas.
This year's series runs April 10 through 22, overlapping with the closing days of the GGPoker Big Hand Series Ontario. For Ontario players tracking the broader calendar, the USPO is where the highest-level play in the world is happening during this two-week window outside of WSOP bracelet events.
Because there is no direct qualifier pathway, the USPO is not a target event for most Ontario-based players. Its relevance to this audience comes through the results of Canadian players, Foxen above all, whose performances track the country's presence at the top of the global game. The Ontario poker tournament schedule covers the regulated domestic calendar for players who want accessible live options closer to home.