Masashi Oya ends 2021 by winning MSPT Venetian for $161,780

The MSPT's 2021 season came to an end yesterday, closing out a huge year for the Mid-States Poker Tour.

851 players ponied up the $1,100 buy-in for the 2021 Mid-States Poker Tour Venetian NYE Main Event. This was the last event of the season, finishing on December 30 a few hours before Old Year's Day. The $1,100 tourney had a prize pool of $821,215.

That money was supposed to pay 90 places. However, 91 players actually got cash as two players split the 90th place prize of $2,135. Unfortunately for those two players, half of a min-cash left them each about 50 bucks in the red.

At the very top of the tree was Masashi Oya who took down the event for $161,815 and his first live tournament cash ever.

"Japan's Masashi Oya defeats an absolutely incredible 851 player field @VenetianPoker," the @MSPTPoker Twitter account wrote, "to ship our NYE $1,100 Main Event taking home the [cup], the chip, and $161,780 cash!"

Oya is a Japanese player and was one of only two non-U.S. players at the final table, the other being Mohammed Bennane of France.

Among the other players who made the money were big names like Katie Lindsay (61st - $2,464), Ben Palmer (53rd – $2,628), Shannon Shorr (32nd - $3,285), Ryan Laplante (24th - $4,599), and Nicholas Pupillo (18th – $6,734) who has seven MSPT final tables under his belt.

Although Kyna England did not cash in this event, her points lead from seven previous cashes — including a first place and a third — gave her the 2021 MSPT Player of the Year award. She was awarded the trophy today.

Taylor Howard did give Engand a sweat in the last few hours of the tourney. If Howard had finished 7th or better he'd have taken the trophy instead. One imagines they broke out the Champagne early in the England household when Howard hit the rail in 27th place instead.

The MSPT will be back for more mid-stakes tourneys across the mid-states area in 2022. The first event of the new year will be the MSPT Sycuan which will run from January 6 to January 16, 2022.

2021 Mid-States Poker Tour Venetian NYE Main Event complete final table results

Featured image source: Twitter