PGT PLO Series Sees Daniel Negreanu Among Early Event Winners

Four events of the ten to take place in the 2024 PokerGO Tour PLO Series have concluded and at the top of the Championship leaderboard, it could hardly be tighter. With players such as Daniel Negreanu, Eelis Parssinen and Allan Le all winning events inside the opening four of the series, there’s everything to play for with six final tables to come at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas.

Allan Le wins Opening Event of the Series

The first event of the 2024 PokerGO Tour PLO Series was a $5,000 entry PLO event, which saw Allan Le underline his credentials as a mixed game master at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. There were 132 entries in total, a phenomenal turnout for an opening event of such magnitude and with an elite level buy-in.

Just 19 players made the money and that meant Bradley Ruben missed out in 20^th place. His exit was followed by a flurry of fallouts as stars of the felt such as Chris Frank (17^th), Jim Collopy (16^th) and Joao Simao (15^th) each took home a min-cash of $9,900 before  Steve Zolotow’s elimination in seventh place for $26,400 brought about the six-handed final table.

Once the last day begun, the PokerGO cameras saw a dramatic fight to the finish. Bryce Yockey had the chip lead at the start of play, with Sean Troha the first to leave. He busted to Le’s Broadway straight and that propelled the eventual winner into a position of control.

After Swiss player Fernando Habegger came fourth, Le was running the rule over the table, holding over 9.5 million chips, with Yockey and Joao Pedro having only 7 million between them. When Le busted Pedro to take a huge lead, the writing was on the wall and he completed a remarkable final table domination when his 3:1 lead heads-up was converted in double-quick time, Yockey’s pocket kings in the hole take down by Le’s pocket aces.

Eelis Parssinen Takes Second Event Title

The second event of the PLO Series saw Finnish player Eelis Parssinen take the title and a total prize fund of $153,825 including bounties. It was the American Sam Soverel who bubbled the event, busting in 16^th place with only the top 15 players of 103 entries making money.

Cashes for Joao Simao (15^th for $10,300), Event #1 winner Allan Le (9^th for $15,540) and Bryce Yockey (8^th for $20,600) preceded the final table, where some of the toughest PLO players in the world assembled. The six-time WSOP bracelet winner Josh Arieh can certainly count himself among that number but six was an unlucky number for the Atlanta, Georgia-raised player, as he slid out in that position for $43,250.

Eliminations for Event #1 ‘Bubble Boy’ Bradley Ruben, Spanish player Lautaro Guerra and Dutchman Ronald Keijzer followed before Isaac Kempton reached the heads-up battle for the trophy. The Finnish pro Parssinen got the better of him, however, as a lowly pair of tens ended up holding firm and handing the winner over $163,000 in winnings, with Kempton some way back on $112,475.

Daniel Negreanu Grabs Glory in Event #3

In Event #3, the Poker Hall of Famer and Canada’s finest, Daniel ‘Kid Poker’ Negreanu, won the day and a top prize of $147,500. With 118 entrants in the third event of the series, which cost $5,000 to take part in, 17 places were paid. Players such as Alex Condon (16^th for $11,800), Tyler Brown (13^th for $11,800) and Alex Livingston (9^th for $17,700) all fell just short of the final table, as Sean Troha was ousted in seventh place and Negreanu led the final six into the last day.

Once the final table action began, Lance Patel’s exit for $29,500 was followed by that of the former Mixed Games Series II winner Dylan Weisman in fifth for $38,350. Two Canadians and two Americans remained four-handed, but Curtis Muller’s elimination in fourth place for $50,150 meant Negreanu was alone in representing the ‘Maple Leaf’.

First, Negreanu took out Bruno Furth with trip nines beating top two pair, then came the final battle. With a strong lead, many expected Kid Poker to see it out quickly, but Anuj Agarwal was anything but a pushover, taking an early lead in proceedings, missing a couple of opportunities to seal the deal. Negreanu battled back and taking the lead, didn’t miss his second chance at glory. All-in with the bigger stack and A-K-Q-9, Negreanu beat Agarwal’s A-5-4-3 when his king paired, meaning it was the poker legend who picked up the top prize of $147,500 and his second PGT trophy of 2024.

Samuli Sipila Claims Fourth Event for Overall Lead

In Event #4, Finland took the lead in country terms as Samuli Sipila won the biggest top prize yet of the 2024 PGT PLO Series, claiming $240,300 up top. With 89 entries in $10,000 buy-in event, 13 places got paid, with stars such as Bryce Yockey (13^th for $22,250), Ronald Keijzer (10^th for $26,700) and Ian Matakis (7^th for $35,600) all cashing.

It was Arthur Morris who went into the final day in the lead, but after the eliminations of Russia’s Artem Maksimov (6^th for $44,500), Andre Cruz (5^th for $62,300) and Germany’s Chris Frank (4^th for $80,100), Morris was unable to make the final duel, his sevens and queens no good against Sipila’s kings and queens and earning him $111,250 in third place.

Heads-up, Sipila had the edge in chips and got the better of Stefan Christopher after a rollercoaster ride. Between them, both men doubled half a dozen times when they were at risk of elimination, but eventually Christopher fell in second for $155,750. Sipila led on the flop, dropped behind on the turn but then won with a counterfeit two-pair on the river to claim the biggest prize of the PGT PLO Series so far. Topping the leaderboard with 240 points, he leads fellow Finnish professional Eelis Parssinen and Allan Le as he pursues the Championship title which comes with a $10,000 PGT Passport.