The first final table of the 2024 PGT Mixed Games Series was a classic. Daniel Negreanu, Mike Gorodinksy and Benny Glaser all fell just short to a first-time winner as Maksim Pisarenko claimed his first PokerGO Tour title and a top prize of $117,450 in Las Vegas. The first event of the PGT Mixed Games Series at the PokerGO Studio on the Strip was broadcast live on PokerGO as the drama saw six finalists reduced to a delighted winner.

Gorodinsky Gotten Early

When six players made the final day of this opening $5,100 H.O.R.S.E. event, it was American Dennis Maschke who led the field with a stack of 2.5 million chips. Losing an early pot to Daniel Negreanu and Mike Gorodinsky, Maschke then doubled through the latter for some recovery. Gorodinsky was now the short stack and in Omaha Hi-Lo, the last of his chips went.

All-in on a flop of , Gorodinsky had paired the eight and was drawing to a backdoor flush but Negreanu had raised pre-flop and committed all of the chips post-flop with a pair of queens. Things changed on the turn, which paired a deuce in Gorodinsky’s hand for two pair. However, a on the river gave Kid Poker a better two pair and eliminated the United States star for a score of $21,750.

Next, it was the turn of Negreanu himself to leave. After losing one pot to Benny Glaser, a second defeat to the same player left Kid Poker on the rail. Taking place in Razz, Negreanu paired a seven on the river which spelled disaster as Glaser only had a pair of deuces. Negreanu left for a score of $30,450.

The Winner Climbs the Ladder

A big hand took place when the eventual winner Maksim Pisarenko eliminated Andrew Kelsall in fourth place for $39,150. Kelsall had a strong drawing hand in Stud, one card away from a straight by the river, but he couldn’t make it and the Russian player took him out just before the podium places.

Pisarenko was on the rise, and the overnight chip leader was his next victim. Dennis Maschke had dropped very short before tripling up against both remaining players. He couldn’t repeat the trick soon after, however, as a hand of Stud Hi-Lo sent play heads-up.

Maschke ended the hand with trip queens but they weren’t good enough to enable his survival as he lost to Pisarenko’s straight for the hi and a lo too. That gave the Russian a heads-up lead of 7.7 million chips to Benny Glaser’s 5.47m chips. Maschke, however, busted in third place for a score of $54,375.

Glaser Goes Close as a New Winner Rules

Over the years, Benny Glaser has amassed a fortune by utilizing his prowess in mixed games. The British player from Southampton, England has five WSOP bracelets and almost $7.5 million in live tournament poker winnings over the best part of two decades in the game. He was initially able to keep moving forward but a big hit in a hand of Hold’em took its toll.

Glaser bet with and went all the way to the river on a board of as his flush draw failed to get there. Pisarenko’s flopped top pair then improved to a straight on the river to see him take a commanding 5:1 chip lead. Glaser doubled back up to 4.6 million chips in Omaha Hi-Lo but soon it was all over.

In Stud, Glaser’s open ender with a flush draw only improved to a six-high straight by seventh street, with Pisarenko’s hand made a king-high straight on the same street. It was all over and while Glaser would collect the not unsubstantial $76,125 runner-up prize, it was Pisarenko who took the first title of the series and top prize of $117,450.

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