Big Names Capture PGT Texas Poker Open High Roller Titles

The inaugural PokerGO Tour Texas Poker Open is now in the books, with more than $3.9 million in prize money awarded across the nine events of the series that qualified for PGT points. More than $2.2 million of that came in the $2 million guaranteed $3,300 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event that was won by Ren Lin. Below is a look at the results from the eight high roller events that ran during the series, which spanned from April 26 through May 3 at the Champions Club Texas in Houston.

PGT Texas Poker Open High Roller #1: $5,100 Turbo NLH

The first high-stakes side event saw 13 players post the buy-in of $5,100 for some turbo no-limit hold’em action. The top two finishers earned a share of the $65,000 prize pool, with Victoria Livschitz capturing the title and the top prize of $45,500.

Livschitz has made six final tables already this year in events awarding Card Player Player of the Year points, accruing $357,000 across those scores. She now has more than $1.7 million in recorded tournament earnings after this victory.

Two time bracelet winner Michael Wang placed second for $19,500.

PGT Texas Poker Open High Roller #2: $5,100 Turbo NLH

Livschitz backed up her win with a third-place showing in the second turbo no-limit hold’em high roller. This time around there were 18 total entries, building a $90,000 prize pool. Livschitz took home $14,400 for her efforts.

Aram Zobian, fresh off of a series championship victory in the U.S. Poker Open, came out on top ($48,600), while Jeremy Becker earned $27,000 as the runner-up. Zobian has more than $6.5 million in career tournament earnings, including a WSOP bracelet win.

Zobian sits inside the top 20 in the 2024 POY standings, and is also ranked second on the season-long PGT leaderboard.

PGT Texas Poker Open High Roller #3: $5,100 Turbo NLH

The third turbo event drew an even larger field, with 33 entries made by the end of registration. That resulted in a $165,000 prize pool that was split among the top five finishers.

The lion’s share was captured by reigning WPT World Championship winner Dan Sepiol. He took home $52,740 for the win. Josh Arieh finished second for $54,510. The two cut a deal based on their chip counts at the time and then ran a pot-limit Omaha flip to determine who would take home the title and the belt buckle trophy.

Zobian placed third for another $26,400. Three-time WPT champion Chino Rheem cashed for $18,150 as the fourth-place finisher.

Sepiol was not yet finished making deep runs at this series, though.

PGT Texas Poker Open High Roller #4: $5,100 NLH

The fourth and final $5,100 no-limit hold’em event saw 49 entries build a prize pool of $245,000. Sepiol made it down to heads-up for the second staight tournament in a row, but ended up finishing second to Clemen Deng.

Deng earned $87,750 as the champion, while Sepiol cashed for $53,900. This score pushed Deng past $1.1 million in earnings. Sepiol climbed to more than $7.1 million in career cashes.

Bracelet winner Andrew Lichtenberger rounded out the podium finishers, taking home $35,525 for a third-place showing.

PGT Texas Poker Open High Roller #5: $5,100 PLO

The first of several pot-limit Omaha high rollers drew a 105-entry turnout, creating a prize pool of $525,000. The top 15 finishers cashed, with six-figure payouts for the final two.

In the end, four-time bracelet winner Brad Ruben came out on top, earning $115,250 for the win. Frederic Normand finished second for $105,250, while bracelet winner Tyler Brown placed third for $60,375.

Ruben earned 480 POY points for the win. With 1,568 total points, he now sits in 61st place in the overall rankings presented by Global Poker.

Ren Lin, just a few days removed from winning the main event, placed ninth for $15,750.

PGT Texas Poker Open High Roller #6: $10,100 NLH

Joey Weissman bested a field of 29 entries in the $10,100 buy-in no-limit hold’’em event, earning $116,000 for the win. The bracelet winner based out of Las Vegas defeated three-time bracelet winner Upeshka De Silva heads-up to secure the title.

Weissman now has nearly $7.2 million in lifetime earnings.

The $290,000 prize pool was split amongst the top five, with current POY and PGT race points leader David Coleman adding to his haul with a fourth-place finish for $31,900. Coleman has four wins and 13 POY-qualified final tables.

PGT Texas Poker Open High Roller #7: $5,100 PLO

The final two events of the festival were pot-limit Omaha affairs. The $5,100 buy-in saw 38 entries made, creating a $190,000 prize pool.

David Mzareulov dragged the last pot, earning $68,400 for the win. He ended up cashing in five events at this festival, including four final-table showings in the high roller tournaments. He now has more than $2.4 million in career earnings after cashing for $293,950 at Champions Club Texas.

Tyler Brown recorded his third final-table finish of the series, adding $20,900 to his haul.

PGT Texas Poker Open High Roller #8: $10,100 PLO

Isaac Kempton took down the second and final $10,100 buy-in event. This time around the tournament was contested over pot-limit Omaha. The 16-entry field made a $160,000 prize pool for the top three finishers to share. Kempton cashed for $86,400 to eke over $5 million in career earnings.

Andrew Lichtenberger earned $48,000 as the runner-up, while David Mzareulov completed his incredible run with a $25,600 score for another final-table finish.

Photo credits: PokerGO / Antonio Abrego, 8131 Media / Alicia Skillman.

Most Viewed Articles