The inaugural PGT Kickoff series is running full steam at the PokerGO Studio at ARIA Resort & Casino. With three events already in the books, there are just two more events left to play out. Sunday saw the culmination of Event #3: $5,100 No-Limit Hold’em where Justin Young emerged as the champion.
Young’s final table journey was nothing short of extraordinary. He started the final table with just ten big blinds but the cash game pro played some top-notch poker to capture the title and $105,850 in top prize. Ryan Riess was the first causality from the final table. He was a short stack and got it in on the first hand of the final table with ace-jack against the pocket tens of Kristen Foxen. The board ran out nine-high, and Riess exited in seventh-place for $14,600. Young was still a short stack with eighteen big blinds when Event #1 winner David Coleman eliminated Viktor Ustimov in sixth place.
Young scored his first double when he called fellow short stack Adekunle Olonoh’s jack-ten shove with his pocket aces. Young hit a full house on the river, crossing a million chips and leaving Olonoh with just 35,000. Olonoh could not last long and got eliminated one hand later in fifth place for $25,550.
The four-handed play saw several consecutive doubles from short stacks, with Young taking a slight chip lead on the fourth double up. Young then scored his first elimination of the final table when Dylan DeStefano three-bet shoved for 1,275,000 with ace-eight and Young called with ace-queen. A queen on the board sealed DeStefano’s fate, and he was eliminated in fourth place for $34,625.
Final Hand
Young took a 2:1 chip lead into three-handed play where Foxen (button) opened with 300K with pocket queens. Young (SB) who was covering both his opponents moved all-in with pocket eights. Coleman (BB) snap-called with pocket kings. Foxen did not back down either and made the call.
Unfortunately for Foxen and Coleman, an eight appeared on the flop and it was followed by the trey turn and the seven river. This sealed the title and $105,850 top prize for Young. Event #1 winner Coleman had to settle for the runner-up finish worth $69,350 – his third overall cash of the series. Foxen had to settle for the $49,275 third-place prize. This was her first cash of the 2024 PGT season.
Final Table Payouts (USD)
1. Justin Young, $105,850 (212 points)
2. David Coleman, $69,350 (139)
3. Kristen Foxen, $49,275 (99)
4. Dylan DeStefano, $34,675 (69)
5. Adekunle Olonoh, $25,550 (51)
6. Viktor Ustimov, $18,250 (37)
7. Ryan Riess, $14,600 (29)
The opening event of the series was the PGT Kickoff 2024 Event #1: $5.1K NLHE, where this event’s runner-up finisher David Coleman emerged victorious from a field of 89 entries to win his first PGT title for $77,875. The victory followed his recent win at the Venetian Deep Stack Series. Coleman has registered three cashes at the 2024 PGT Kickoff and is on top of the leaderboard with 442 points.
Dylan Weisman was crowned as the champion of Event #2: $5,100 No-Limit Hold’em event. Weisman defeated Russia’s Sergei Kislinskii (runner-up for $78,750) in heads-up, winning $121,500 in top prize.
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Image Credit: PokerGo
