Soverel secured his 14th PGT championship, extending his record; Ausmus, on the other hand, achieved his eighth victory on this tour.
The Pot-Limit Omaha tournament is in full swing at The Venetian Macao in Las Vegas, with several top players from the tournament poker world returning to the ranks of champions on the PokerGO Circuit. Following Bruno Furth's victory in the opening event of the PGT PLO series, regulars Sam Soverel and Jeremy Ausmus have also added new chapters to their legendary status in the PGT.
Soverel won the second event of the series. This was a $5,300 buy-in, single-day event. He defeated a field of 55 players to win the $89,100 first-place prize and 134 PGT points. Ausmus finished seventh in the same event. The following day, he emerged victorious from a field of 49 players in a $5,300 buy-in PLO quattro bounty, winning the $51,450 prize and multiple bounties.
For Soverel, this is his record-breaking 14th PGT victory, ahead of Alex Foxen and Stephen Chidwick by two. Ausmus, on the other hand, secured his eighth PGT title, tying for sixth on the all-time PGT championship list.
Dylan Linde and Artem Maksimov both made it to the final table in two consecutive events, while Chino Rheem also won prize money in both events.
Soverel continues the record
The tournament lasted nearly 10 hours, and the second match finally entered the money bubble around 10:30 p.m. Rheem (8th place – $10,800) became the first player to be eliminated from the money bubble, as Soverel defeated Rheem's straight on the turn with an 8-high straight.
As mentioned earlier, Ausmus was eliminated in seventh place ($10,800), followed by Maksimov (6th place – $16,200). Maksimov held top and bottom pair on a Q♦6♣4♥ board, but he ran into Linde's top two pair and couldn't recover. Ky Nguyen went all-in on a 7♥5♠3♥ board with 9♦9♣6♠6♦, only to be hit by Michael Wang's 7-high straight on the flop. Nguyen couldn't get an 8 or a backdoor finish and was eliminated in fifth place ($21,600).
Soverel eliminated Jeremy Druckman in fourth place. He made a Q-high straight on the river, beating Druckman's two pair from the flop. Linde then made a full house with A♣K♦7♦5♣ on a K♥K♠7♠ board, seemingly in a crucial double-up position. However, when both players went all-in on the river, a Q♥ allowed Soverel to make an even bigger full house with A♦K♣Q♦8♥. Linde only needed to avoid three outs to win before the river, and two outs to split the pot, but ultimately finished in third place ($37,800).
Soverel and Wang battled heads-up for nearly two hours, with their chip stacks fluctuating and the lead changing hands multiple times. Ultimately, Wang went all-in with A♥Q♠7♣6♥, while Soverel held J♦5♠4♠3♥. The community cards revealed 9♠7♠3♣K♥5♦, giving Soverel two pair (fives and threes) and the victory.
Soverel also earned 240 Card Player of the Year points with this win, adding to his tally in this annual competition sponsored by CoinPoker.
$5,300 Pot-Limit Omaha – Final Table Results
| Ranking | player | bonus | POY points | PGT points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Soverel | $89,100 | 240 | 134 |
| 2 | Michael Wang | $56,700 | 200 | 85 |
| 3 | Dylan Linde | $37,800 | 160 | 57 |
| 4 | Jeremy Druckman | $27,000 | 120 | 41 |
| 5 | Ky Nguyen | $21,600 | 100 | 32 |
| 6 | Artem Maksimov | $16,200 | 80 | 24 |
| 7 | Jeremy Ausmus | $10,800 | 60 | 16 |
Bounty War
Unaffected by their narrow defeat the previous day, Ausmus returned to the Venetian on March 24th to compete in the PLO Quad Bounty Tournament. Starting with the remaining 13 players, each elimination is worth $8,000, except for the final one-on-one stage where the bounty is $2,000.
John Riordan, Rheem, and eventual champion Ausmus all racked up bounties multiple times throughout the tournament. During the bubble phase, Rheem, with only three clean outs, made a 10-high straight flush on the turn, eliminating Thomas Brown in 14th place. Philip Shing, meanwhile, brought the tournament into the money from the main prize pool and then flopped a K-high flush to defeat Eric Backlund, securing the final table.
Jordan Glazer was eliminated in seventh place ($5,880), followed short-stacked Linde. Linde held Q♠Q♥10♥7♦ against Riordan's Q♦J♦8♠2♠, and seemed poised for a double-up after the flop of K♦5♥3♣. However, the turn J and river 8 gave Riordan two pair, eliminating Linde in sixth place ($8,820).
Riordan pulled off another backdoor comeback, eliminating Maksimov in fifth place ($11,760). Although Maksimov went all-in on the flop of K♣10♠3♣ with A♦A♣4♣4♦, ahead of Riordan's K♥9♦7♦2♦, Riordan hit a J on the turn and an 8 on the river, making a J-high straight to take the pot.
Riordan's hot streak continues. On the flop of K♥9♣8♣, he went all-in with K♠10♣6♥4♣ against Rheem's 9s, seemingly needing a flush or straight to turn the game around. The turn card, K♣, made his flush but also gave Rheem a full house. However, the river card, 6♣, gave Riordan an even bigger full house, completing his third backdoor comeback.
Ausmus reaches the top
After Rheem was eliminated in fourth place ($15,435), Ausmus, Riordan, and Shing traded the lead multiple times during the three-way battle. In the end, Shing eliminated Riordan in third place with just a pair of 7s on the flop ($21,315).
Ausmus quickly secured the victory. Both players went all-in on a board of 10♣5♠3♠, with Shing leading Ausmus's A♠J♣8♥7♠ with Q♠Q♣10♠7♦. Ausmus needed either a spade or an Ace to turn the tide. Although the turn card, a 2♦, didn't bring him that, the river card, an A♦, gave him the winning pair and secured the championship.
With this victory, Ausmus earned 129 PGT points. Shing finished as runner-up, taking home 1TP, 4T, 32,340 in prize money.
$5,300 Pot-Limit Omaha Quadruple Bounty Tournament – Final Table Results
| Ranking | player | bonus | PGT points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeremy Ausmus | $51,450 | 129 |
| 2 | Philip Shing | $32,340 | 81 |
| 3 | John Riordan | $21,315 | 53 |
| 4 | Chino Rheem | $15,435 | 39 |
| 5 | Artem Maksimov | $11,760 | 29 |
| 6 | Dylan Linde | $8,820 | 22 |
| 7 | Jordan Glazer | $5,880 | 15 |
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