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Event #8 of the inaugural PGT Mixed Games series resulted in Cary Katz claiming his first-ever mixed games title. He won Event #8: $5,300 No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw to pick up $83,200 in prize money.
Katz topped the 52-entrant field and defeated one of the best mixed-game players in the world in Johannes Becker to collect the $83,200 first-place prize and PGT Mixed Games trophy. Katz also collected 83 PGT points to extend his lead on top of the PGT leaderboard, with Anthony Hu and Alex Foxen trailing closest.
"After I bluffed off my chips in the $25K, I went home to do some work," Katz said. "I sat at my computer and didn't feel like working, so I decided to come and play this."
Katz's decision to defer work for poker resulted in him claiming his first PGT title for the year. Katz has now cashed six times on the PGT in 2023 for $739,000 in total earnings. Katz sits on 543 PGT leaderboard points, with Hu (454 points), Foxen (393 points), Isaac Haxton (359 points), and PGT Mixed Games champion Dan Zack (352 points) rounding out the top five.
Place | Player | Country | Prize | Points |
1st | Cary Katz | United States | $83,200 | 83 |
2nd | Johannes Becker | Germany | $54,600 | 55 |
3rd | Arthur Morris | United States | $36,400 | 36 |
4th | Steve Zolotow | United States | $26,000 | 26 |
5th | Nick Schulman | United States | $20,800 | 21 |
6th | Billy O'Neil | United States | $15,600 | 16 |
7th | Chino Rheem | United States | $13,000 | 13 |
8th | Scott Abrams | United States | $10,400 | 10 |
The final event of the series was a one-day event and it lasted just over 12 hours. There were 52 entrants to create a prize pool of $260,000. The top eight spots reached the money.
After Yuval Bronshtein was eliminated on the money bubble, Event #6 champion Scott Abrams fell in eighth, while Chino Rheem collected his first cash of the series when he finished in seventh. From there, it would be a flutter of local players being eliminated as Billy O'Neil (6th), Nick Schulman (5th), and Steve Zolotow (4th) were all eliminated.
Texas native Arthur Morris held a sizeable chip lead at several points throughout the final table, but he was the next to fall when he was all-in with a ten-nine draw and paired his ten against Becker who drew two and made an ace-low. Becker and Katz traded blows back-and-forth before the final hand saw Katz move all-in and Becker called. Becker drew one to an eight-six draw while Katz stood pat with a jack-low. Becker paired, and he would have to settle for second place, while Katz claimed his first victory in 2023.
Rank | Player | Country | Winnings | Points |
1st | Dan Zack | United States | $524,700 | 352 |
2nd | John Monnette | United States | $316,000 | 316 |
3rd | Nick Guagenti | United States | $275,475 | 290 |
4th | David "ODB" Baker | United States | $347,400 | 268 |
5th | Jason Mercier | United States | $367,500 | 257 |
6th | Ben Lamb | United States | $255,600 | 256* |
7th | Maxx Coleman | United States | $280,500 | 224* |
8th | Shaun Deeb | United States | $208,800 | 209 |
9th | Johannes Becker | Germany | $191,600 | 192 |
10th | Scott Abrams | United States | $189,600 | 189 |
The PGT Mixed Games point totals for Ben Lamb and Maxx Coleman include the 138 points that each player has earned for reaching heads-up play in Event #4: $10,300 Big Bet Mix. In order to play in other events, Lamb and Coleman put their heads-up match on pause. Neither player will be able to supplant Dan Zack at the top of the PGT Mixed Games leaderboard, so Zack is the series champion. Lamb and Coleman are scheduled to finish their match on Monday.
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