Ali Imsirovic Takes Second Event of First-Ever PokerGO Cup for $183,000

Ali Imsirovic does is having yet another great year on the felt. Entering the final table of the second event of the inaugural PokerGO Cup, a $10,000 buy-in no-limit Hold’em event that attracted a field of 61 entries, Imsirovic was the leader. He rode that lead all the way to a victory, eliminating four of his five opponents and taking the $183,000 first-place prize.

Prior to this triumph, Imsirovic already had Poker Masters and U.S. Poker Open trophies on his mantel. The PokerGO Cup trophy adds another prestigious tournament victory to Imsirovic’s growing list of accomplishments.

When it comes to his success and the ability to compete at such a high level in elite events such as the PokerGO Cup, Imsirovic points to his work ethic off the felt.

“I suppose it’s just the work ethic and studying,” Imsirovic said when asked why he feels he’s able to continually compete at such a high level in events of this caliber. “The more I study, the more confident I feel when I play. Usually when there is a big series going on, before I’m just spending all of my time working on my game so when I show up I feel very confident and try and play my best. It doesn’t always happen, but I typically feel way more confident when that happens and better results usually come out of it.”

To relive all of the action from Imsirovic’s latest win, check out the replay on PokerGO.com.

With the blinds at 25,000-50,000 with a 50,000 big blind ante, action folded to Matas Cimbolas in the small blind and he moved all in for 1.14 million with ace-five. Ali Imsirovic quickly called with the ace-king of hearts. Cimbolas moved into the lead by flopping a pair of fives and he was able to fade the turn, but a king on the river finished off Cimbolas and left him headed to the payout desk to collect his $36,600 in winnings.

Frank Funaro, who was the second shortest stack to begin the final table, busted next in fifth place, also falling at the hands of Imsirovic. Funaro earned $48,800 for the result.

With more than 70% of the chips in play, Imsirovic attempted to knock things from four players to two players in one hand. He moved all in on the button holding queen-nine with the blinds at 25,000-50,000 with a 50,000 big blind ante. Mo Rahim called all in for 530,000 from the small blind with ace-ten and Jason Koon had 480,000 and also called all in, with Koon holding ace-queen. The board ran out in favor of Koon, allowing him to scoop a triple up that knocked Rahim down to 50,000 in chips. The hand put Koon in second place on the leaderboard.

Rahim would be eliminated in fourth place shortly thereafter, falling at the hands of Dylan Linde and taking home $61,000 in prize money.

Imsirovic, Koon, and Linde battled a bit during three-handed play, exchanging several blows as the time passed. Linde even took the chip lead at one point, although the lead didn’t last long. Eventually, Linde woke up with pocket queens and ran them into the pocket kings of Imsirovic to bust in third place. Linde scored $85,400 for the finish.

Heads-up play began with Imsirovic holding a chip lead slightly more than 3-1 and it only took one hand to end the event. With the blinds at 50,000-100,000 with a 100,000 big blind ante, Koon limped in from the button holding ace-nine. Imsirovic moved all in from the big blind with king-two and Koon called off his stack of 1.85 million. Imsirovic spiked a deuce on the flop and held from there, taking home the $183,000 first-place prize. Koon earned $122,000 for the runner-up result.

After the final hand was dealt, Imsirovic’s family joined him on the PokerGO Studio stage to congratulate him on the win.

“I love it,” Imsirovic said of having his family present. “They moved here a few months ago, so every time I have a big spot or a big final table they’re always here railing. It’s awesome.”

The final table payouts are as follows.

With the victory, Imsirovic also picked up 183 PokerGO Tour points and moved him to the top of the PokerGO Cup leaderboard. He’s five points ahead of Alex Foxen, who won the opening event of the series. Sean Perry, Jason Koon, and Sergi Reixach round out the top five through two events. The points leader at the end of the series will be crowned the overall PokerGO Cup champion and win an additional $50,000 in prize money.

Furthermore, Imsirovic padded his lead at the top of the PokerGO Tour leaderboard. On Wednesday, Perry finished second in the first event of the 2021 PokerGO Cup and pulled closer to Imsirovic on that leaderboard, so Imsirovic’s win on Thursday helped open back up the gap a bit more.

“There are so many big buy-in events that are worth a lot of points, so my lead isn’t that insurmountable. I just have to keep playing a bunch, keep trying to get better, and see how I do in the big ones.”

It’s Imsirovic’s seventh win on the PokerGO Tour, with no other player having more than three wins.

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