PGT Mixed Games Series Provides Thrills in Opening Events

Players such as Daniel Negreanu, Dan Zack, Dylan Weisman and Benny Glaser have descended on the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas in order to win a PGT Mixed Games Series trophy. With it will come hundreds of thousands of dollars but standing in their way are some of the best in the business as proven by the results in the first four series events.

Maksim Pisarenko Wins Event #1 for $117,000

It didn’t take long for some classic poker footage to come from the action at the purple felt. The PokerGO Studio’s first final table saw the ARIA crowd watching Daniel Negreanu, Mike Gorodinksy and Benny Glaser in action. With a top prize of $117,450 on offer at the first final table in Las Vegas, fans watching live on PokerGO saw great drama as six superb finalists were whittled down to a first-time PGT event winner.

In what was an incredibly close-run leaderboard at the start of the $5,100 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. Event #1, American Dennis Maschke led the way and it was Mike Gorodinsky who left the final table first, losing to Maschke in Omaha Hi-Lo for a result worth $21,750. Daniel Negreanu lasted just one place further. Kid Poker suffered defeat in two hands to British pro Benny Glaser, cashing for $30,450 in fifth place.

After Maksim Pisarenko took out Andrew Kelsall in fourth place for $39,150, Dennis Maschke also fell victim to the Russian, with a hand of Stud Hi-Lo going against him to leave just two players in the hunt for the title. Pisarenko’s leading stack of 7.7 million chips was some way ahead of Benny Glaser’s 5.47m chips and the British five-time WSOP bracelet winner couldn’t add another title to his $7.5 million in live tournament earnings in poker. Glaser’s busted flush draw in Stud lost to Pisarenko’s king-high straight and the first title belonged to the Russian professional, with Glaser collecting $76,125 in second place.

Johnny Wins the World

Johnny World, a.k.a. John Hennigan took down Event #2, winning a huge $120,150 top prize when he beat fellow mixed games specialist Adam Friedman heads-up for the title. With 89 entries, 13 players made the money, including Event #1 final table player Andrew Kelsall (11^th for 13,350), Allen Kessler (9^th for $13,350) and Patrick Moulder (7^th for $17,800). When the final six sat down at the live-streamed final table on PokerGO, Hennigan already had an impressive lead, with 6.2 million chips compared to the field with a maximum of 2.2 million.

Christopher Claasen busted first in sixth place for $22,250 when his pocket kings lost to Max Hoffman’s pocket aces in the hole in Pot Limit Omaha. Hoffman lost out in fifth after a long period without any eliminations, cashing for $31,150 when his straight draw failed against Ken Aldridge’s pair of queens. Nick Guagenti ran pocket nines into pocket tens to lose a vital pot to Friedman, busting in fourth place for $40,050.

Three-handed, Aldridge was taken out by Hennigan in Stud, as the former cashed for $55,625 and that pot helped Hennigan to an 8:1 chip lead. That lead was never under threat, as ‘Johnny World’ won in Stud yet again, Friedman missing his drawn on seventh street to end Event #2 as the runner-up for $77,875. Hennigan, however, was top dog, winning a $120,150 top prize and yet another mixed game trophy.

 Mori Eskandani Wins Event #3 for $201,000

The third event of the 2024 Mixed Games Series saw PokerGO President and Global Poker Award winning producer Mori Eskandani take home the $201,600 top prize. Eskandani beat crowd favorite Jeremy Ausmus to the title as he won the biggest event of his career so far, edging himself past the million-dollar mark on The Hendon Mob.

With 63 entrants, nine made the money, with John Monnette (9^th for $18,900), Ben Diebold (8^th for $25,200) and Talal Shakerchi (7^th for $25,200) all just missing the final table in the $10,200-entry event. Event #1 winner Maksim Pisarenko was the first player to leave the final table, missing out in sixth place for a score of $34,650 when Ausmus began his race to the chip lead.

The impetus of Ausmus continued as he took out Jerry Wong in fifth place in Razz for $47,250. When Benny Glaser eliminated Daniel Negreanu in fourth for $63,000, Kid Poker’s second final table from three events ending inside the top six but outside the top three. Benny Glaser soon left in third place for $88,200, his failed draws on sixth and seventh street in Razz handing Ausmus yet more chips and an almost 2:1 chip lead going into heads-up.

While Ausmus led from the off, Eskandani was far from finished, and after closing the gap in Stud Hi-Lo, took the lead in Omaha after a ten high straight and eight-seven low sent him into the final hand with the chips advantage. Hitting two pair in Omaha Hi-Lo, Eskandani held the title in his hands and when Ausmus couldn’t hit on the river it was all over, the PokerGO President capturing the biggest result of his poker career for $201,600.

Event #4 Won by Dan Zack for $195,000

The fourth event of this year’s Mixed Games Series III festival saw the series’ inaugural winner back in February 2023, Daniel Zack, proclaimed the champion again. Beating Jim Collopy heads-up after the latter had cut a swathe through many of the opponents who lost their tournament lives inside the nine money places, it was Zack who made the last kill, winning $195,200 in the process.

There were 61 entrants in the $10,200-entry 8-Game Event #4, and after Andres Korn bubbled the event, Phil ‘the Poker Brat’ Hellmuth snuck into the money, cashing for $18,300 in ninth place. After Andrew Kelsall made it three cashes from four events in eighth for $24,400, John ‘Johnny World’ Hennigan left in seventh place for the same cash amount, Mike Gorodinsky taking out the Event #2 winner in Razz.

Players such as Chris Vitch (6^th for $33,550) and Gorodinsky (5^th for $45,750) both busted, before Dylan Weisman took out Joshua Rhodes in fourth for $61,000 in 2-7 Triple Draw. Three-handed play saw the lead change hands on multiple occasions but eventually, Weisman it was who missed out, the overnight chip leader with seven remaining sliding out in third place for $85,400 when Zack got the better of him in Pot Limit Omaha.

Heads-up, Collopy had a slim lead but Zack fought back and once again utilizing his vast PLO experience, took a lead he wouldn’t lose. The final hand took place in Limit Hold’em as Collopy went to the flop with all of his chips committed behind pocket sixes. Zack’s ace-nine offsuit needed help and looked not to have got it on the board as first the flop of K-8-7 landed before another seven fell on the turn. A nine on the river gave Zack a better two pair, however, and that meant the title, along with the $195,200 top prize. Collopy could only look on as Zack lifted the trophy, compensated somewhat by $122,000 second-place prize.