Umut Ozturk won the 2026 MSPT Spade Poker Championship Main Event at FireKeepers Casino in Battle Creek, Michigan, collecting a career-best $280,290 and his third title on the tour.
The $1,110 tournament attracted 2,442 entries across its starting flights and generated a $2,367,240 prize pool, more than double its $1 million guarantee. The official MSPT report says 266 players reached the money before the field was reduced to a nine-player final table.
Ozturk arrived at the last table with another former Player of the Year winner, Jacob Long, and bracelet winners Dan Sepiol and Scott Bohlman still in contention. Greg Wiggins eventually emerged as his heads-up opponent after eliminating several finalists. The two began their duel with close stacks and agreed to an even payout after a few hands. Both received $280,290, while Ozturk held the small chip advantage and took the championship trophy.
Gian Bencivenga finished third for $164,811, Sepiol earned $123,028 in fourth and Derek Gregory received $96,798 for fifth. The complete final-table figures reported by PokerNews match the tour's published results.
A pivotal moment came with eight players remaining, when Ozturk called Frank Lagodich's all-in bet holding pocket tens against ace-eight. The pair held through the board, giving Ozturk the double-up that kept his title run alive. He later eliminated Bencivenga in third place before the deal with Wiggins.
The win added several milestones to Ozturk's tour record. MSPT lists it as his 19th final table and 75th cash, while his updated player profile shows $1,337,177 in MSPT earnings. The result was also his second MSPT Main Event victory of 2026 following his Ohio Poker State Championship win in February.
Independent coverage from F5 Poker confirms the field, prize pool and heads-up deal. Ozturk dedicated the victory to his mother, who died after he left a previous FireKeepers stop in May to be with her following a terminal-cancer diagnosis.
