James Obst Wins PGT Mixed Games $25K 10-Game Championship for $462,000

Australia's James Obst made a rare appearance inside the PokerGO Studio for Event #7: $25,300 10-Game Championship, but the mixed game specialist didn't let the bright lights hinder his performance as he walked away with the $462,000 first-place prize and the trophy to close out PGT Mixed Games 2025. 

Obst got the final table started by sending Nick Guagenti home in sixth place for $84,000 plus 50 PGT points in Razz, after Guagenti was left with just one single 5,000 by Robert Wells during a 2-7 triple draw hand one game earlier. 

However, Wells couldn't take advantage of his newfound chips, as his eights and deuces in Stud were sent crashing to less than a big bet by Philip Sternhiemer's queens-up. Michael Duek made trip eights on fifth street one hand later, and when Wells missed his straight draw, he hit the rail in fifth place for $112,000 plus 67 PGT points. 

With the game switching to 2-7 No Limit Single Draw, Obsts and Sternheimer collided in back-to-back huge hands, the first of which saw Obst find a double into second in chips after five betting all-in for nearly two million in chips with a pat eight-six against the wheel draw of Sternheimer big blind vs. button. 

Sternheimer was left with just four big bets after the hand, and after Obst shoved the small blind with a ten-six draw, Sternheimer put the rest of his money into the middle with a nine-seven draw from the big blind. Obst caught a seven to make his draw while Sternheimer made a pair to hit the rail in fourth place for $140,000 plus 84 PGT points.

Aaron Sacks, who held the chip lead for much of Day Two, quickly surrendered the chip lead to Obst three-handed when his flopped top pair of sevens was done in by Obst rivered straight. 

Duek, sitting third in chips to start three-handed play, quickly distributed his chips to both Obst and Sacks, eventually handing the chip lead to Obst permanently. In Duek's last stand, he found himself all in for nearly a million chips in No Limit Hold'em, holding king-seven from the big blind against Obst's queen-nine in the small blind. 

Obst flopped open-ended, and when Duek made a pair of kings on the river, it also completed Obst's straight to send the Argentinian home in third place for $196,000 plus 118 PGT points. 

Sacks made a game of it heads-up as he went on a mini-rush in Limit Hold'em to close the gap to less than a million chips, but it all came crashing down for the one-time chip leader when his ten-six in Razz was left with just over a million chips by Obst's nine-eight. 

Sacks doubles twice to hang around after that, but with the levels climbing to nose bleed territory with the limits at 300,000/600,000 Sacks picked up a nine-five-three playing Badugi and got all his chips into the middle only to see he was drawing dead against the six-five-deuce-ace dugi of Obst leaving him to collect the $294,000 plus 176 PGT points for his largest career score and doubling his total live career tournament earnings in the process. 

Event #7: $25,300 10-Game Championship Payouts 

Chino Rheem Crowned PGT Mixed Games 2025 Player of the Series

Day two of the Championship event saw 15 hopefuls return to the PokerGO Studio after a twelve-hour day one with Chino Rheem and Maxx Coleman still in contention for player of the series.

However, Rheem was the first player to fall on day two after his eight-seven in 2-7 Triple Draw was bested by Coleman's eight-five, opening the door for Coleman to finish third or better and take home the added $10,000 PGT Passport. 

Coleman would then watch as Scott Seiver (14th), Andrew Kelsall (13th), David Oppenheim (12th), Johannes Becker (11th), and John Hennigan (10th) made their way to the rail to reach the money bubble. 

Coleman dropped to a single big bet on the bubble, but Chad Eveslage would get involved with Obst in a Stud Hi-Lo handed with split kings only for Obst to make a jack-high straight on fith street. Neither player made a low, and Eveslage hit the rail in the ninth just shy of the money. 

Coleman then put the rest of his chips into the middle, playing Pot-Limit Omaha, when he flopped top pair with king-jack. However, he was outkicked by Obst's ace-king. Obst made a straight by the river, and Coleman hit the rail in eighth place for $56,000 and 34 PGT points, handing Rheem the Player of the Series Trophy.

This marks Rheem's second PGT Mixed Game Player of the Series, and you can read more about it here. 

Jason Mercier would be the final player to score a piece of the $1,400,000 prize pool as he fell just short of the televised portion of the event after Sacks hit a full house on seventh in Stud Hi-Lo to send Mercier's two pair home in seventh place for $56,000 and 34 PGT points. 

PGT Mixed Games 2025 Leaderboard

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 “PGT2025” at checkout.