Chino Rheem Wins 4th Career PGT Title in $10K 8-Game for $195K

Chino Rheem is on track to become the first repeat PGT Mixed Games champion after he won his fourth career title in Event #4: $10,200 8-Game.

Rheem's victory for $195,500 and 239 PGT points shot him to the top of the PGT Mixed Games leaderboard where he currently sits with 353 PGT points ahead of Ryan Miller (254 PGT points) and Samuel Sternfield (213 PGT points). At PGT Mixed Games II in October 2023, Rheem amassed 388 PGT points from his five cashes and one win. He was crowned the PGT Mixed Games champion, and is now the front-runner to do it again.

The 92-entrant field surpassed the largest field in a $10k buy-in 8-Game in the PokerGO Studio, which was 89 in the opening series in 2023. The $920,000 prize pool paid the final 14 players, which included "Crazy" Mike Thorpe, Mike Gorodinsky, Tal Avivi, Daniel Mayoh, Nick Guagenti, Max Hoffman, and Ray Dehkharghani, who all finished in the money prior to the final table being set.

PGT newcomer Brian Breck entered the final table as the chip leader and would immediately be involved in lots of early action. Alex Livingston was at his second final table of the series, but he exited in seventh place when he was eliminated in Stud when his split eights were outdrawn by Rheem's rivered flush. Aaron Kupin exited next when he was all-in with a weak ace in Limit Hold'em against Josh Arieh's ace-queen, before Breck was eliminated in fifth when he bricked his wheel draw in 2-7 Triple Draw against David Funkhouser's pat ten-seven.

Arieh ascended into the chip lead as Funkhouser fell in fourth. Funkhouser was all-in on third street in Stud and finished with aces-up, but Nick Schulman turned his split sevens into trips on sixth street to reduce the final table to the final three. Chips bounced back and forth between all three players before Schulman fell in third place when he couldn't improve his eight-smooth draw in 2-7 Triple Draw against Rheem's pat rough-eight. 

Rheem held a slight lead over Arieh entering heads-up play, but Arieh quickly shot ahead in the first hand of 2-7 Triple Draw with a nine-six. Rheem took the lead back in No-Limit Hold'em with a straight, before Arieh reclaimed the lead with a full house in Stud. Both players wanted to jump into Event #5 and decided to chop the money evenly, but play for the PGT points and trophy. Arieh doubled in Pot-Limit Omaha and then Rheem doubled as Arieh was left with two big blinds. The final hand came with Arieh all-in with the best hand, but would have to settle for a runner-up finish when Rheem flopped trips and rivered a full house to win his second career PGT Mixed Games title, and fourth career PGT title overall.

Event #4: $10,200 8-Game Final Table Payouts

PGT Mixed Game 2025 Leaderboard

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