Daniel Geeng Wins PGT PLO II $25,200 Omaha Championship To Capture Series Title

Daniel Geeng needed a top-two finish in the $25,200 buy-in pot-limit Omaha championship event at the 2023 PGT PLO Series II to lock up the player of the series award and the $25,000 bonus that comes with it. The Hanover, New Hampshire resident came through in the clutch, closing out the series with an outright victory for a career-best tournament score of $487,500. This was his first major live event win.

All told, Geeng cashed for $851,160 in total prize money during this series, which spanned from Oct. 19-30 inside the PokerGO Studio at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. That total includes the $148,000 in bounties he earned during his runner-up showing in the $15,100 progressive bounty event. Geeng ultimately cashed in four of the ten tournaments offered during this unique PLO-centric festival, with his pair of top-two finishes coming in the highest buy-in events on the schedule.

Before his impressive breakout performance at this series, Geeng had only just shy of $120,000 in recorded tournament earnings to his name. Now, he is a PGT series champion.

This tournament drew 75 entries to create a final prize pool of $1,875,000, the largest of the series. The top 11 finishers ultimately made the money, with the bubble bursting late on day 1. Three-time bracelet winner Jim Collopy was knocked out in 11th place before the remaining ten contenders bagged up for the night with Geeng in the lead.

The final day saw several big names fall on the way down to the official final table, including event no. 4 champion Adam Hendrix (10th), 2022 World Series of Poker main event third-place finisher Michael Duek (9th), and bracelet winner and 2019 WSOP main event third-place finisher Alex Livingston (8th).

Bracelet winner John Riordan (7th – $93,750) was the next to fall, with his pocket aces unable to hold against the Q-10-10-9 of Harsheel Kothari, who rivered two pair to narrow the field to six.

Mark Berente got the last of his short stack in with a pair and a gutshot against the pocket aces of Benjamin Juhasz. Berente picked up a flush draw on the turn as well, but a blank on the river saw him eliminated in sixth place ($112,500).

Despite scoring that knockout, Juhasz was ultimately the next to be sent to the rail. He got all-in on a K106 flop with J1098 facing the AKK3 of Geeng. The 3 on the turn and 3 river saw Geeng improve to a full house, while Juhasz settled for $150,000 for his fifth-place showing. With four cashes for $425,100 in total earnings and a win in event no. 7, Juhasz ended up in second place in the final series standings.

Geeng’s next big clash saw the chips go in on a J62 flop. Geng held middle pair and a king-high flush draw, which was trailing the top pair and nut flush draw of bracelet winner Eelis Parssinen. The turn gave Geeng queens up to take the lead, and a brick on the send sent Parssinen home with $187,500. The Finnish player finished third in the series points race with $423,380 in earnings, including a victory in event no. 2.

Geen had more than three times as many chips as the nearest contender when three-handed action began. Harsheel Kothari’s run in this event ended in brutal fashion, with his flopped set of queens losing to the pocket kings of Veselin Karakitukov after the chips went in. Karakitukov spiked the higher set on the turn and held from there to send Kothari packing in third place ($243,750).

Heads-up play began with Geeng holding just shy of a 2:1 chip lead over Karakitukov. It didn’t take long for the final hand of the tournament to arise. Geen raised with KK83 from the button and Karakitukov defended his big blind with 6422. The flop came down K72 and Karakitukov check-raised Geeng’s continuation bet with his bottom set and a flush draw. Geeng flat called with his top set and the 8 rolled off on the turn. Karakitukov checked and Geeng bet 900,000. Karakitukov check-raised all-in for 4,025,000 and Geeng quickly called. The 7 on the end gave Geeng kings full of sevens for the win. Karakitukov earned $337,500 as the runner-up. He cashed three times during the series for a total of $402,400, enough to land in ninth place in the final series ranks.

Here is a look at the payouts and rankings points awarded at the final table:

Check out the final top ten in the series standings:

Photo credits: PokerGO / Antonio Abgrego.

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