Shannon Shorr has become the sixth annual champion of the U.S. Poker Open, topping the leaderboard to claim the prestigious Golden Eagle Trophy and a $25,000 PGT Passport.
The previous champions of the USPO include Stephen Chidwick (2018), David Peters (2019, 2021), Sean Winter (2022), Martin Zamani (2023), and Aram Zobian, who secured the trophy in 2024. Shorr showcased a top-notch performance, winning Events #5 and #8 to emerge victorious.
Shorr won 2025 USPO Event #5: $10,100, earning a $220,400 payday. He followed that by closing out the finale of the 6th Annual U.S. Poker Open with a win in Event #8: $25,200, scoring $529,250. From the two victories, the Alabama resident earned a total of 538 leaderboard points, defeating Matthew Wantman and Nacho Barbero in the overall race.
Shannon Shorr Wins His 6th PGT Title
The final event of the USPO, Event #8, saw 73 entries pay the $25,200 buy-in, creating a prize pool of $1,825,000. The final table featured seven players, led by chip leader Nacho Barbero, with Shorr entering as the third in chips.
The first two eliminations came from short-stack battles. Justin Saliba knocked out Clemen Deng in 7th place for $73,000. Shortly after, Nick Petrangelo eliminated Sam Laskowitz in 6th, who took home $91,250.
Despite his early knockout, Saliba couldn’t maintain his momentum and was eventually eliminated by Shorr in 5th place. Shorr three-bet shoved with pocket fours and was called by Saliba’s ace-ten. The board favored Shorr, ending Saliba’s run with a $127,750 payout.
Shorr continued his dominance by eliminating Nick Petrangelo in 4th. Shorr flopped a flush against Petrangelo’s pair of nines. Petrangelo, who began the final table as the third-shortest stack, exited with $173,375.
Nacho Barbero then set up the heads-up duel by eliminating Landon Tice. Tice called off his stack with bottom pair (tens) against Barbero’s two pair (king-three).
Heads-Up Battle
The heads-up match between Shorr and Barbero lasted about 30 minutes, with both players exchanging the chip lead several times. Eventually, Shorr took control heading into the final hand.
In the decisive hand, Shorr held 10♥-6♥ while Barbero had A♦-J♥. Shorr limped pre-flop, and Barbero raised. The flop came 10♦-6♠-2♥. Barbero bet again, and Shorr called. The turn was the Q♣, and Barbero check-called Shorr’s 700k bet. The river 7♣ completed the board, and Barbero checked again. Shorr moved all-in, and Barbero called, revealing ace-high—no match for Shorr’s top two pairs.
Barbero, the infamous ACR Poker ambassador, had to settle for $346,750, while Shannon Shorr shipped his career 6th PGT title, along with the top prize of $529,250 and the Golden Eagle Trophy.
2025 U.S. Poker Open Event #8: $25,200 Final Table Payouts
| Rank | Player | Payout |
| 1st | Shannon Shorr | $529,250 |
| 2nd | Nacho Barbero | $346,750 |
| 3rd | Landon Tice | $246,375 |
| 4th | Nick Petrangelo | $173,375 |
| 5th | Justin Saliba | $127,750 |
| 6th | Sam Laskowitz | $91,250 |
| 7th | Clemen Deng | $73,000 |
Shannon Shorr now has over $15.6 million in career tournament earnings, with a significant portion coming from the PokerGO Tour, where he has cashed 28 times for a total of $3,427,350. Shorr also won his first live WSOP event a few weeks ago, taking down the WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Las Vegas $1,700 NLH Main Event for his career second circuit gold ring.
U.S.Poker Open 2025 Champions
| Event | Entrants | Winner | 1st Prize |
| Event #1: $5,100 No-Limit Hold’em | 129 | Kristen Foxen | $158,025 |
| Event #2: $10,100 No-Limit Hold’em | 108 | Kazuomi Furuse | $275,400 |
| Event #3: $10,100 No-Limit Hold’em | 109 | Michael Rossitto | $277,950 |
| Event #4: $10,100 No-Limit Hold’em | 103 | Matthew Wantman | $231,300 |
| Event #5: $10,100 No-Limit Hold’em | 76 | Shannon Shorr | $220,400 |
| Event #6: $15,100 No-Limit Hold’em | 98 | Brandon Wilson | $382,200 |
| Event #7: $15,100 No-Limit Hold’em | 81 | Alex Foxen | $340,200 |
| Event #8: $25,200 No-Limit hold’em | 73 | Shannon Shorr | $529,250 |
keep following PokerProNews for the latest udpates and results from the live poker events across the world.
Source – PGT Blog
