Funkhouser, Rheem, and Prociak Win Early PGT Mixed Games Titles

The PGT Mixed Games sequence first debuted in February. Thanks to spectacular turnouts all through the pageant, PokerGO Tour organizers shortly started planning the PGT Mixed Games II for this fall. The nine-event sequence runs from Oct. 5-14, with quite a lot of codecs on provide and buy-ins starting from $5,000 as much as $25,000.

The first three tournaments are already within the books, and if they’re any indication, the second iteration is ready to comply with the primary in being a smashing success.

PGT Mixed Games #1 – $10,200 H.O.R.S.E.

The kickoff occasion was the $10,200 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. match. A complete of 72 entries have been made by the point that registration concluded, constructing a prize pool of $720,000 that was finally paid out among the many prime 11 finishers.

It took two days of play contained in the PokerGO Studio at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas to resolve a champion. In the top, it was David Funkhouser who emerged victorious with the primary trophy of the pageant. The Long Beach, California resident earned $187,200 for the win. This was the second-largest match rating of his profession, trailing solely the $200,356 he took house because the runner-up within the 2022 World Series of Poker $10,000 stud eight-or-better championship.

Funkhouser now has almost $694,000 in profession match scores to his title, with 45 recorded cashes and two titles. His earlier title got here greater than 11 years earlier in a $500 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. match on the 2012 Wynn Classic.

Plenty of huge names ran deep on this occasion solely to fall late on day 1, together with four-time bracelet winner Ben Yu (eleventh), two-time bracelet winner and Card Player contributor Stever Zolotow (tenth), and bracelet winner Andrew Kelsall (eighth).

The remaining desk was stacked with achieved match gamers like World Poker Tour champion and bracelet winner Dylan Linde (seventh), bracelet winner Dylan Weisman (sixth), three-time WPT champion and four-time bracelet winner Anthony Zinno (fifth), three-time WPT champion and PokerStars Caribbean Adventure most important occasion winner Chino Rheem (4th), and five-time bracelet winner Eli Elezra (third).

Funkhouser then overcame three-time bracelet winner Paul Volpe heads-up to safe the title, dragging the ultimate pot with prime pair in a spherical of maintain’em to safe the title. Volpe earned $136,800 because the runner-up, rising his profession earnings to just about $9.6 million.

PGT Mixed Games #2 – $10,200 Big Bet Mix

Rheem backed up his fourth-place displaying in occasion no. 1 with an outright victory within the second match on the schedule: the $10,200 buy-in large wager combine. Rheem bested a discipline of 57 entries to earn $171,000.

This was the 43-year-old poker participant’s tenth remaining desk of the 12 months, with seven coming up to now three weeks. The first 5 got here in the course of the latest Poker Masters pageant on the identical venue, together with a win in a $10,100 no-limit maintain’em occasion for $218,400. All advised his latest spree on the PokerGO Studio has seen him add $845,650 in scores to his profession earnings, bringing his lifetime whole to just about $13.7 million.

“I’m obviously trying to play much better, and I’m running really good here. I love playing in the studio. Things are going really well, I love playing with all these guys, you feel like a family here,” Rheem advised PokerGO reporters. “In my entire career, this is the sickest heater that I’ve been on in 20 years of playing poker. I’m just riding it trying to stay humble, stay present, appreciate everything, and stay grateful.”

Rheem has accrued 2,525 Card Player Player of the Year factors to this point in 2023, sufficient to climb to ninetieth place within the total standings offered by Global Poker.

His two cashes within the early going of this pageant have seen him transfer into the lead within the series-long factors race. He can be among the many prime 40 within the year-long PGT rankings.

Arthur Morris (ninth), four-time bracelet winner Nick Schulman (eighth), and Dan Shak all made the cash however have been eradicated late on day 1. Two-time Card Player POY award winner Stephen Chidwick held the chip lead among the many remaining six, however finally completed third for $79,800. This was his twenty third final-table end of the 12 months, with 5 titles received and greater than $8.1 million in to-date POY earnings. He stays in second place on the POY leaderboard with 8,459 factors, trailing solely Bin Weng and his 9,198 factors.

Other large names from the ultimate desk embrace five-time bracelet winner Adam Friedman (sixth), Ben Yu (fifth), six-time bracelet winner John Hennigan (4th), and eventual runner-up Andres Korn, who received a no-limit maintain’em bracelet again in 2017.

PGT Mixed Games #3 – $5,100 Ten Game Mix

While the buy-in went down, the quantity of video games within the combine went up for the third match of the sequence. The $5,100 ten-game combine drew 72 entries, making a prize pool of $360,000 to be unfold out amongst 11 in-the-money finishers. The largest share was awarded to David Prociak, who earned $93,600 for the win.

This victory fell simply outdoors of Prociak’s prime 5 largest match paydays. The bracelet winner now has greater than $2.1 million in profession earnings to his title.

Day 1 occurred on Saturday, Oct. 7. Nine gamers have been knocked out within the cash that evening, together with bracelet winner Jerry Wong (eleventh), three-time bracelet winner and WPT champion David ‘ODB’ Baker (tenth), two-time bracelet winner Maxx Coleman (ninth), Eli Elezra (eighth), bracelet winner Alex Livingston (sixth), six-time bracelet winner Jeremy Ausmus (fifth), and four-time bracelet winner Bradley Ruben (third).

Only Prociak and high-stakes common Philip Sternheimer returned for day 2 motion on Monday, Oct. 9. It took roughly 90 minutes for a winner to be determined. Sternheimer started with greater than a 2:1 chip lead. Prociak received an enormous confrontation with journey fives in restrict maintain’em to assist shut the hole, then dragged a large badugi pot with 762A to overhaul the lead.

The remaining hand noticed Sternheimer get all-in after the flop in pot-limit Omaha with aces and kings up in opposition to a set of sixes for Prociak. The set held up by the river to finish Sternheimer’s run in second place ($64,800).