The 2024 PokerGO Tour Mixed Games series kicked off on February 28 with the first of 10 events on its schedule. An impressive 87 entries were made in Event #1: $5,100 H.O.R.S.E. tournament, building a prize pool of $435,000 that was finally shared by the top 13 finishers. In the end, Russia’s Maksim Pisarenko emerged victorious, taking home the largest slice of the prize pool. Pisarenko defeated five-time bracelet winner Benny Glaser in heads-up to secure the trophy and the $117,450 top prize.
This was the second-largest score for Pisarenko, surpassing the $189,840 payday he earned for a third-place finish in the 2019 EPT Sochi main event. He now has $740,000 in total lifetime earnings.
This event ran for two days inside the PokerGO Studio at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Five-time bracelet winner John Monnette was busted in seventh place to bring day 1 to a close. Dennis Maschke led the final six into Day 2, with six-time bracelet winner and two-time WPT Daniel Negreanu being second in chips. Three-time bracelet winner Mike Gorodinsky was the first to fall and he was eliminated by Negreanu. Despite scoring that knockout, Negreanu was the next to fall in fifth place. Pisarenko sent Andrew Kelsall home in fourth place ($39,150). During the three-handed play, Dennis Maschke exited in third place ($54,375), bringing the field to the final two players.
Pisarenko entered heads-up play holding 7,725,000 to Glaser’s 5,475,000. After a back-and-forth heads-up battle, all chips went in on fourth street in stud with his ace high leading Pisarenko’s king high. Both players ended up getting straight, with Pisarenko’s king-high straight besting a six-high one for Glaser. The UK poker player had to settle for the runner-up prize money worth $76,125.
Event #1: $5,100 H.O.R.S.E. Final Table Payouts (USD)
- Maksim Pisarenko $117,450
- Benny Glaser $76,125
- Dennis Maschke $54,375
- Andrew Kelsall $39,150
- Daniel Negreanu $30,450
- Mike Gorodinsky $21,750
- John Monnette $17,400
John Hennigan Seals Wire-To-Wire Victory in Event #2: $5,100 8-Game Title
John Hennigan is a popular mixed-games poker crusher. The World Poker Tour champion and six-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner has amassed more than $9.3 million in tournament earnings.
The 53-year-old’s latest score saw him best a field of 89 entries to emerge victorious in the 2024 PokerGO Tour Mixed Games Event #2: $5,100 8-Game event. Hennigan took home $120,150 after outlasting Adam Friedman in the heads-up battle. This was the second final-table finish of the year for Hennigan, following his eighth-place finish in a $10,000 NLH at PokerGO Cup in January.
The top 13 finishers took a share of the total $445,000 prize pool. The second and final day saw a total of six players return to the PokerGO Studio inside ARIA Resort & Casino Las Vegas. Hennigan began with the lead and went wire to wire, sealing the title after a heads-up with Adam Friedman.
Hennigan started the heads up battle with a commanding chip lead against Friedman, beginning with over 12,125,000 to his opponent’s 1,325,000. It did not take long for him to win the title. The final hand saw all of the chips go in on third street in stud. Hennigan’s trip fours were able to best kings and nines of Friedman to win him the title. Friedman earned a hefty $77,875 as the runner-up.
Event #2: $5,100 8-Game Final Table Payouts (USD)
- John Hennigan $120,150
- Adam Friedman $77,875
- Ken Aldridge $55,625
- Nick Guagenti $40,050
- Max Hoffman $31,150
- Christopher Claassen $22,250
PokerGO President Mori Eskandani Wins PGT Mixed Games Event #3: $10,200 H.O.R.S.E.
Mori Eskandani, the PokerGO President, who was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2018 due to his role in the production of many celebrated poker television programs in the game’s history, is killing it at the PGT felts. The 68-year-old Las Vegas resident, who has over $1 million in tournament earnings to his name, recently topped a field of 63 entries in the 2024 PGT Mixed Games Event #3: $10,200 H.O.R.S.E to secure his seventh career title and a massive $201,600 in top prize money.
The second and final day of this tournament began with five players remaining and five-time bracelet winner Benny Glaser leading the way. Eskandani was third in chips but he maneuverd his way into the lead in early heads-up play to defeat Jeremy Ausmus. On the final hand, all of the chips went in preflop with Ausmus holding Ac 10d 9s 8d against the 5s 4s 3s 2h of Eskandani. The board ran out 7h 5h 4h 3h Jh giving Eskandani the title. Ausmus earned $126,000 as the runner-up.
Event #3: $10,200 H.O.R.S.E Final Table Payouts (USD)
- Mori Eskandani $201,600
- Jeremy Ausmus $126,000
- Benny Glaser $88,200
- Daniel Negreanu $63,000
- Jerry Wong $47,250
- Maksim Pisarenko $34,650
The PGT Mixed Games is a ten-event poker festival that kicked off on February 28 and will continue through March 8. Keep following PokerproNews for the latest updates and news from the ongoing series!
Image Credit: PGT
