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There’s nothing like starting the new year off in style and Thailand’s Punnat Punsri did just that, bagging the first two high roller titles of 2022 at the Venetian ahead of star-studded fields.
First up was the $10k buy-in on January 5th at the Venetian, with 34 entries and a prizepool of $340,000. The post-festive action saw Ryan Riess, Cary Katz, Ali Imsirovic. Erik Seidel, and Alex Foxen among those vying for a quick start to the PokerGO Tour’s 2022 season.
With only 5 paid spots, a long day on the felt saw John Flynt hit the rails as the bubble-boy as the clock ticked past midnight in Vegas, and that meant a $23,800 min. cash for the remaining quintet to kick off 2022.
Jake Schindler’s hopes of victory were dashed when he was ousted in 5th spot, Erik Seidel – one of the few old-school legends who can match the younger modern-day maestros at their own game – flopping a pair to come from behind.
Next to fall was Alex Foxen, having to settle for 4th spot after Punsri turned a pair to again upset the expectations and the Thai pro also felted Barry Hutter in 3rd spot after all the chips went in on the flop...
Punsri: K♦ 2♥
Hutter: K♣ Qâ™
Flop: K♥ 9♥ 2♦
Turn: 4â™
River: 6♦
♠♣ ♦ ♥
Heads-up between Punsrin and Seidel saw the pair agree a deal, with Punsri taking $118,037 and the trophy while Seidel settled for $106,363 as runner-up.
PGT High Roller 1 Final results
| 1 | Punnat Punsri | $118,037 |
| 2 | Erik Seidel | $106,363 |
| 3 | Barry Hutter | $54,400 |
| 4 | Alex Foxen | $37,400 |
| 5 | Jake Schindler | $23,800 |
An excellent start to 2022 for the man who only recently started mixing it with the big boys and girls of the high roller world, and things were about to get even better as the second of the PokerGO Tour’s opening $10k events got underway the following day.
This time 37 entries came in, with Katie Wier and Nick Schulman among the new faces, though neither would trouble the cashier’s cage in another hard-fought tournament.
This time the top 6 spots paid out and Barry Hutter was once again in the money, adding $18,500 for 6th place to his $54k above for a successful start to 2022.
John Flynt made it to the money this time, his 5th place worth $29,600, with Andrew Lichtneberger taking 4th after losing a battle of small ace versus big ace to Japan’s Masashi Oya.
Oya himself was eliminated in 3rd spot when he lost a race to Chris Brewer and that left brewer heads-up against the hero of event one, Punnat Punsri.
The final hand saw Brewer bluff in the river but Punsri had an easy call with the flush...
Brewer: K♠6♣
Punsri: Jâ™ 8â™
Board: Q♠5♠2♣ 9♠2♦
PGT High Roller 2 Final results
| 1 | Punnat Punsri | $133,200 |
| 2 | Chris Brewer | $88,000 |
| 3 | Masashi Oya | $59,200 |
| 4 | Andrew Lichtenberger | $40,700 |
| 5 | John Flynt | $29,600 |
| 6 | Barry Hutter | $18,500 |
The PokerGO Tour 2022 season continues at the Venetian today, January 7th, with a $15k buy-in NLHE and tomorrow with a $25k NLHE Super High Roller. We’ll bring you all, the results and the best of the action right here!
