Logo-PGT

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.

PGT Mixed Games Event #8 Results

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.

PGT Mixed Games Series Leaderboard Top 10

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.

Connect with PokerGO.com on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Watch daily poker clips on the PokerGO YouTube channel. Join the conversation on the PokerGO Discord server. You can save $20 off an annual subscription to PokerGO.com by using the code “PGT2023” at checkout.

PGT, Cary Katz, Johannes Becker, PGT Mixed Games