Renowned poker pro and coach, Jonathan Little, emerged victorious in Event #3: $10,100 No-Limit Hold’em for $229,500 of the PokerGo Cup on January 29, 2024. The two-time World Poker Tour champion defeated a stacked final table in the event, capturing his first PGT title and $229,500 in top prize. This was the seventh-largest score of Little’s career and he now has nearly $8.4 million in live earnings. The PokerCoaching.com founder looked quite happy and shared his significant PGT triumph on Twitter.
Event #3: $10,100 No-Limit Hold’em drew in 85 entries for a $850,000 prize pool. The top 13 finishers made the money, but only seven advanced to the final day. Two-time WSOP bracelet winner Jesse Lonis began the second and final day as the chip leader, with Little being in the middle of the pack.
Six-time WSOP bracelet winner and two-time WPT champion Daniel Negreanu was the first to fall. His pocket fives couldn’t outrun Alex Foxen’s queen-ten and he was eliminated in seventh place ($34,000).
He was followed by Wilson who lost a preflop coin flip to Dan Shak to finish sixth ($42,500). The next to fall were Daniel Weinand ( fifth for $59,500) and start of the day chip leader Jesse Lonis (fourth for $59,500. A little later, Shak exited in third place for $106,250. He first lost a hand with A-10 suited against the pocket fours of Foxen. He was soon all-in where his Q-8 failed against the A-J of Little.
Heads-Up Play
Heads-up play kicked off with Little holding 6,425,000 to Foxen’s 4,200,000. Foxen was able to close the gap and move into the lead. However, Little regained control and finally won the title. On the final hand, Little shoved from the button with Kc 10s and Foxen called with Kh 2s. The board ran out 8c 7d 6s 8s 5d, giving Little the pot as well as the title. Foxen pocketed $148,750 as the runner-up.
Final Table Payouts (USD)
- Jonathan Little – $229,500
- Alex Foxen – $148,750
- Dan Shak – $106,250
- Jesse Lonis – $76,500
- Daniel Weinand – $59,500
- Brock Wilson – $42,500
- Daniel Negreanu – $34,000
Cary Katz Champions Event #4: $10,100 No-Limit Hold’em for $226,800
The next PokerGo Cup winner was crowned on 31 January 2024 in Cary Katz who emerged victorious in Event #4: $10,100 No-Limit Hold’em for $226,800. He came into the final table as the middle of the pack in chips but played some top-notch poker, eventually emerging victorious to win the title and $226,800 in top prize.
The $10,100 buy-in tournament drew 81 entrants to build a prize pool of $810,000. The top 12 players finished in the money. Eric Baldwin was the unfortunate bubble boy. PGT regulars Justin Saliba (10th) and Kristen Foxen (8th) scored their first cashes in the ongoing event, while Erik Seidel (12th) and Brock Wilson (7th) each scored their second cash. Katz, the 2023 PokerGO Cup Champion, after scoring five cash finishes in eight events, moved to third on the 2024 leaderboard and is now just behind the current leaderboard topper Jonathan Little (252 points) and Dylan Weisman (240 points).
The final table play was much deeper than normal and it took over an hour for the first player to fall in Jesse Lonis who shoved his 22 bb stack with queens only to run square into Stoyan Madanzhiev’s pocket aces. The board ran king-high and Lonis was eliminated in sixth place for $40,500. The start of the day chip leader Madanzhiev continued his aggression and won several pots before Jeremy Ausmus shoved his last ten bb stack with A-5 and found himself dominated by Aram Zobian’s A-Q. Both players flopped an ace, but Ausmus found himself outkicked and eliminated in fifth place for $56,700.
During the four-handed play, Katz made a move in level 16 when he rivered a full house with pocket threes against Madanzhiev’s turn pair of fives, finally snatching the chip lead away from the Bulgarian. He continued his aggression and eliminated Chino Rheem who ran his ace-ten into Katz’s ace-queen for his final 18 big blinds and got busted in fourth place for $76,950. The next to fall was Aram Zobian who pitted pocket fives against Madanzhiev’s pocket jacks. The board ran out ten high, and Zobian was eliminated in third place for $105,300.
Heads-Up Play
The elimination gave Madanzhiev the chip lead into heads-up, which belonged to Katz as he took pot after pot, whittling his opponent down to just ten big blinds. On the final hand, Katz shoved with king-jack against the Bulgarian’s king-five. A jack secured the title for Katz, and the Bulgarian settled for the runner-up payout worth $145,800.
Final Table Payouts (USD)
- Cary Katz – $226,800
- Stoyan Madanzhiev – $145,800
- Aram Zobian – $105,300
- Chino Rheem – $76,950
- Jeremy Ausmus – $56,700
Jesse Lonis $40,500Keep following Pokerpronews for the latest updates and news from the ongoing PokerGoCup!
