In an exciting conclusion to their latest event, the PokerGO Tour put the wraps on their 2024 PGT Mixed Games Series. The $25,000 Ten-Game Championship Event proved to be a test of poker skills for the men who came out for the battle. As that battle played out, the race for the overall championship came down to the final day of action.
Thirteen Men in the Game to Start Day Two
The Championship Event saw a total of 41 players come to the fore, which put the prize pool for the tournament just over the $1 million mark ($1,025,000, to be exact). The downside of this was that only six players would earn anything from the event, meaning there would be some disappointed faces around the PokerGO Studios in ARIA on Friday afternoon. Knowing that more than half the field would have nothing to show for their efforts, the final thirteen men went to work on Friday to determine a champion.
Not only did many of the players want to take home that PGT trophy, but they were also looking to potentially take the Mixed Games Series overall title. Max Hoffman led that overall chase as they entered Day Two of the Championship Event, and Hoffman was in decent shape looking up only at Walter Chambers (1.035 million) and Alex Livingston (1.83 million) on the Championship Event leaderboard. There were still threats for the overall title, however, in the forms of Dan Zack, Philip Sternheimer, and Jeremy Ausmus.
Fortunately for Hoffman, many of those in contention for the overall title were on shorter stacks. Ausmus was first out in thirteenth place, falling in Limit Hold’em to Jared Bleznick after Bleznick caught two pair on the flop with his A-4 to best Ausmus’ pocket sixes. Sternheimer was next to go, dropping to Zack in twelfth place, as the tournament crept closer to the final table bubble.
After the elimination of Adam Friedman in eighth place, the final seven convened with one more elimination to the money. It would take almost an hour for that to occur and, when it did, it was a case of the rich getting richer. Livingston did the deed against Bleznick, catching a Broadway straight while Bleznick hit a seven-high version. As Bleznick left the table empty-handed, the final six were in the money.
Lengthy Battle for the Money
The ten-game mix saw the chips flying around the table, but it was either Livingston or Hoffman who maintained the lead through much of the evening. Zack and Dylan Weisman would dismiss Chambers and Racener in sixth and fifth places, respectively, and Zack would eventually rise to challenge Livingston. What happened to Hoffman? His chips slid through his fingers and eventually ended up in the hands of Weisman, who bested Hoffman in No Limit Deuce to Seven Triple Draw when each took one on the final draw and Weisman made a 9-8-5-4-2 to defeat Hoffman’s A-8-7-4-3 (the Ace in Deuce to Seven is played high).
Livingston made his move at this mark, taking chips from both Weisman and Zack to take over the chip lead. Weisman would fight back, however, in eliminating Zack in third place in Limit Deuce to Seven Triple Draw in a massive cooler. Zack drew two on the final draw and, after Weisman stayed pat, Zack showed down almost perfectly with the 7-6-4-3-2. The problem was Weisman WAS perfect, showing a 7-5-4-3-2 for a Deuce to Seven wheel and the hand win.
Livingston and Weisman made a deal before heads-up play started, with Weisman getting about $6000 more than Livingston. They did leave $40,000 and the points for first and second on the table, however, leaving the duo something to play for. Play for it they did as, over the next two hours, they slugged it out for the 2024 PGT Mixed Games Series Championship Event title.
Only 600K in chips separated the men at the start, so it was not a surprise to see Livingston take an early edge. What was surprising is that he never let Weisman back in the game. Whether the game was Razz, No Limit Hold’em, Omaha Hi/Lo, or the finishing hand of No Limit Deuce to Seven Triple Draw, Livingston had the edge over Weisman, eventually making a 9-8 hand to best Weisman’s 10-6 to end the tournament.
1. Alex Livingston, $324,465* (221 points)
2. Dylan Weisman, $290,535* (148)
3. Dan Zack, $153,750 (92)
4. Max Hoffman, $112,750 (68)
5. John Racener, $82,000 (49)
6. Walter Chambers, $61,500 (37)
Hoffman Holds Off Zack for Overall Title
When he was eliminated in fourth place, Max Hoffman had only one worry left in the race for the overall championship of the 2024 PGT Mixed Games Series. That was Dan Zack, who was still in the tournament as Hoffman picked up his fourth-place winnings. The good news for Hoffman was that Zack would have to battle through Livingston and Weisman and win the tournament to snatch the overall title from Hoffman.
Unfortunately for Zack, his departure in third place locked up the overall title for Hoffman. For winning this series title, Hoffman received a PGT Gold Cup and a $10,000 PGT Passport, good for entry into ANY PGT tournament during the next calendar year. And Hoffman pulled off the trick without winning an event during the schedule, although five strong cashes will have a way of overcoming a first-place effort.
1. Max Hoffman, 331 points
2. Dan Zack, 287
3. Jerry Wong, 261
4. John Hennigan, 256
5. Daniel Negreanu, 252
Up next for the PGT will be something for the Omaholics amongst us. The PGT PLO Series, a host of tournaments in Pot Limit Omaha, will begin on March 18-29. The week after that, the 2024 U. S. Poker Open takes to the stage in ARIA’s PokerGO Studios, which always draws out the crème of the poker world for battle. Along with other tournaments around the world, it is a busy time to be a high-stakes poker player.
(Photo courtesy of PokerGO.com)
