The PGT Mixed Game series wrapped up in Las Vegas, and while two Poker Hall of Famers have captured titles, it was Max Hoffman who emerged as the overall champion by cashing in five events for $376,300.
Mori Eskandani and John Hennigan, who were both inducted into the Hall in 2018, became first-time PGT Mixed Game champs, joining Dan Shak, Alex Livingston, Walter Chambers, Philip Sternheimer, Maksim Pisarenko and 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event runner-up John Racener as first-time winners.
President Mori wins
Eskandani took his his first PGT trophy home by winning the $10,200 H.O.R.S.E. event for a career best $201,600. It pushes him over the $1 million in lifetime winnings.
Eskandani is the President of PokerGO, which runs the PGT series and broadcasts the final tables on its subscription-based platform. The 68-year-old was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame for his work as a television producer. He’s the man behind some of the most popular poker shows this century, including Poker After Dark, High Stakes Poker, National Heads-Up Poker Championship, and Face the Ace.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize | PGT Points |
| 1st | Mori Eskandani | United States | $201,600 | 202 |
| 2nd | Jeremy Ausmus | United States | $126,000 | 126 |
| 3rd | Benny Glaser | United Kingdom | $88,200 | 88 |
| 4th | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | 63,000 | 63 |
| 5th | Jerry Wong | United States | $47,250 | 47 |
Hoffman earns overall champ title
Max Hoffman finished on top of the series’ overall leaderboard by making five final tables, finishing second in two of them. His reward is a $10,000 “PGT passport,” which he can use to enter PGT events, the PokerGO Cup trophy.
Hoffman seems to be a star on the rise. According to the Hendon Mob, Hoffman won $587,761 playing tournament poker — but a majority of that came in this series.
He started this run at October’s PGT Mixed Game series with. fourth place finish in an 8-game mix event for $56,000. His best cash came in a $1,650 event in 2017 at the MegaStack Challenge at Foxwoods.
All of sudden, the player from West Newton, Mass., is challenging some of the best players in the world in big buy-in events. Go get them, Max.
| Event | Place | Prize | PGT Points |
| Event #2: $5,100 8-Game | 5th | $31,150 | 31 |
| Event #5: $10,200 Triple Stud Mix | 2nd | $100,800 | 101 |
| Event #6: $10,200 Triple Draw Mix | 2nd | $103,400 | 103 |
| Event #7: $10,200 Dealer’s Choice | 6th | $28,200 | 29 |
| Event #9: $25,300 10-Game Championship | 4th | $153,750 | 68 |
The rest of the best
Maksim Pisarenko, who is approaching $1 million in cashes, opened the series by winning Event #1, a $5,100 H.O.R.S.E contest for $117,450, his second career-best cash. His best of $183,533 was for a third-place in 2019 at the European Poker Tour Sochi’s Main Event.
Six-time WSOP bracelet winner John Hennigan won his first PGT title in Event #2, $10,200 Triple Stud for $120,500. He also has a third, fourth and seventh in the series, continuing the success he found at the last Mixed Game series where he made three final tables. Henngian also won a $10,200 event at the PGT Sprint series in November.
After Eskandani won Event #3, 2022 WSOP Player of the Year Dan Zack took home his first PGT title in the $10,200 8-Game event for $195,200.
In Event #5, a $10,200 Triple Stud Mix contest, John Racener was the one to win his first PGT title. While the $151,200 is way behind his career-best of $5.1 million for being the runner-up in the 2010 WSOP Main Event, he’ll take it. He made two additional final tables in the series.
Jerry Wong pushed his career winnings over the $6 million mark with a win in $10,200 Triple Draw Mix event for $164,500. A man with many victories, winning Event #6 was his first on the PGT tour. He also had two fifths and a seventh in this series.
Philip Sternheimer had to fight off two Poker Hall of Famers and a tableful of WSOP bracelet and PGT winners to capture his first PGT title in Event #7, a $10,200 Dealer’s Choice event. He won $164,500 for outlasting Phil Hellmuth (5th), Max Coleman (4th), Adam Friedman (3rd), just to get to beat Daniel Negreanu heads-up. It was Sternheimer’s fourth final table in PGT mixed events since October.
Businessmen Dan Shak won Event #8, the $10,200 Big Bet Mix contest, for his first PGT title. He also had a tough final table to get through: Jeremy Ausmus (2nd), Negreanu (3rd), Walter Chambers (4th), and Jerry Wong (5th).
Alex Livingston started the final table of Event #9, the $25,000 10-game Championship, as the chip leader and he never looked back. “I finally got one,” he told PGT reporters after the match. He won $324,465, pushing is career winnings towards the $9 million mark.
Walter Chambers came into the final event, a $5,100 2-7 No-Limit contest, after making two final tables in consecutive events. The third time was the charm, and he would up with all the chips, the trophy, and $63,000.
Certain final tables can be viewed through the PGT’s website. Click here to check it out.
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