One of the more unique tournament schedules on the PokerGO Tour slate is when they host non-Texas Hold’em series. That is what has kicked off the month of February, as the PGT Mixed Games Series is taking place at the PokerGO Studios at ARIA in Las Vegas. Two events are in the books, with perennial mixed game legend David ‘Chino’ Rheem and Justin Liberto taking home the hardware at the 2026 PGT Mixed Games Series.
‘Chino’ Rules Free-for-All Event #1
It was anyone’s match in Event #1 of the 2026 PGT Mixed Game Series. The $5,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament saw a dominant Day One performance from Brian Breck as he built a monstrous 4.075 million stack. But something else was monstrous: the blinds. With the start of the final table, the blinds of 150K/300K had even Breck playing from desperation with only approximately thirteen big blinds to play with.
Everyone was in this boat, like Alex Livingston (3.3 million), Dylan Linde (2.875 million), and Matt Vengrin (2.7 million), who looked to be the best poised to strike should Breck falter. It was Rheem, however, who stole the show, coming off his 950K stack to assert his dominance over the final table. How did he do it? By attacking those whom Rheem had an advantage over.
Rheem first eliminated Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra during a round of Razz when Elezra’s attempt at a seven-low failed to click against Rheem’s 8-6 low. That was enough ammunition for Rheem, as he slowly marched his way up the leaderboard while Linde was smashing the rest of the final table. By the time the duo of Linde and Rheem reached heads-up play, Linde was in the lead with 8.7 million chips to Rheem’s 6.5 million.
Heads-up play would see neither man able to make a sizeable change in the stacks, so they discussed a deal that saw each man take a $100,000 payday while leaving slightly more than $12K on the felt with the PGT Mixed Games trophy. Eventually Rheem would find his groove and put the tournament to rest when, in Stud Hi-Lo, both he and Linde would be playing high hands; by the time Seventh Street was dealt, Rheem had made a full house, tens full of Aces, while Linde could not find the case eight to go along with his buried pair and Fourth Street trips, ending the tournament with the checkmark going to Rheem.
1. David ‘Chino’ Rheem, $112,100* (192 PGT Points)
2. Dylan Linde, $100,000* (125)
3. Alex Livingston, $58,075 (87)
4. Matt Vengrin, $45,450 (68)
5. Brian Breck, $32,825 (49)
6. Eli Elezra, $25,250 (38)
7. Chad Eveslage, $20,200 (30)
(* – indicates heads-up deal)
Rheem’s victory at the 2026 PGT Mixed Games Series is his ninth PGT championship overall, with his dominance especially evident in his three overall PGT PLO Series championships.
Justin Liberto Races to Event #2 Title
They nearly played to a champion in one day in Event #2, the $5,000 Eight Game Mixed tournament, as they were down to three players when Day One ended. Calvin Anderson led the way of the trio, holding 6.75 million chips, while Justin Liberto looked to be the most significant challenger with 6.125 million chips. Johannes Becker has made his name in the mixed-game field, but he would even have a tough time sitting between Anderson and Liberto with only 1.825 million chips.
Anderson would claim the scalp of Becker when, in Razz, the German pro did not have anything that could combat Anderson’s seven-low. Now sitting on nine million chips, Anderson looked to take the fight to Liberto, but Liberto would prove to be a more-than-challenging opponent. He would slowly chip away at Anderson’s advantage before a monster hand of Deuce to Seven Triple Draw saw Liberto take command.
Drawing three cards, Liberto made The Wheel – 7-6-5-4-2, the perfect hand in Deuce to Seven – and was able to snooker Anderson into contributing much of his stack against him. By the time the dust cleared, Liberto was stacking 13.5 million chips while a stunned Anderson was left with only 1.3 million for battle. Although Anderson was able to double once, he couldn’t continue the miraculous comeback in Stud. Anderson would start with a pair and a straight draw and not improve, while Liberto’s buried tens would hit a third on Sixth Street to seal the championship in his favor.
1. Justin Liberto, $127,400 (191 PGT Points)
2. Calvin Anderson, $80,850 (121)
3. Johannes Becker, $58,800 (88)
4. Maksim Pisarenko, $44,100 (66)
5. Benjamin Miner, $34,300 (51)
6. Ryan Hoenig, $24,500 (37)
7. Brian Rast, $19,600 (29)
Four Events Left on 2026 PGT Mixed Game Schedule
The mixed game masters still have four tournaments left on their roster of events, leading up to next week’s Super High Roller Bowl: Mixed Games $100,000 extravaganza. Currently leading Event #3, the $10,000 T.O.R.S.E., is Dylan Weisman, who will try to fend off nine other competitors to take the title. Up for grabs in that tournament is a $232,400 first place prize and valuable PGT points toward the 2026 PGT Championship Invitational.
Four more tournaments come over the weekend into the start of next week:
Event #4 – $10,000 Eight Game Mixed (beginning today)
Event #5 – $15,000 Big Bet Max (February 7)
Event #6 – $15,000 Dealer’s Choice (February 9)
Event #7 – $25,000 Ten-Game Championship (February 10)
This all warms the players up for what will be a unique challenge. The Super High Roller Bowl: Mixed Games will begin on February 12. Players will pony up $100,000 for that tournament, which features a ten-game assortment of disciplines that include No Limit Texas Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, Badugi, and Stud variations (along with Razz) that will test the abilities of those involved. First at hand, however, is the current 2026 PGT Mixed Games Series, which will give us a look at who to watch for in that SHRB: Mixed Game tournament.
(Photo courtesy of PokerGO)
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