Event 6 of the PokerGO Tour PLO Series provided more thrills as Dylan Weisman eventually took the title to grab the lead in both the PGT PLO Series and the overall PokerGO Leaderboard for 2024. At an entertaining final table, players such as Jordan Spurlin, Lautaro Guerra and Isaac Kempton went close as Weisman won to give himself a great chance of another PGT Championship victory at the weekend.

Chino is the Bubble Boy

With 85 entries each worth $10,000, there were 13 players who would make the money. Crashing out in 14^th place for nothing was therefore the most painful exit, so it was unfortunate for Chino Rheem that his early dominance of the chipstacks didn’t continue as he was the fateful ‘Bubble Boy’ in 14^th. Ousted by Isaac Kempton after he made a straight, Rheem’s exit bumped Kempton towards the top of the leaderboard in the process and was the springboard for his deep run.

Smaller cashes for Jesse Lonis (13^th for $21,250), Eelis Parssninen (11^th for $25,500) and Erik Seidel (9^th for $25,500) followed, as play got closer to the final table. ‘Cowboy’ Dan Smith was busted in eighth place for $34,000 when his top two pair on a board of were beaten by Weisman’s rivered straight.

The final table had been reached but the final day bubble was burst when the Event #4 winner Samuli Sipila missed out on the chance to head back to the top of the Championship leaderboard. He was taken out in seventh for $34,000 when Weisman’s flopped full house ended up being good enough with all the chips going in after the river and Weisman’s use of a time extension.

Matakis Falls Short Again

With six finalists returning the following day, Weisman was one of three players who looked to have a great chance of victory, with the other three players short on chips. Weisman’s stack of 3.96 million chips was some way ahead of Kempton’s 2.34 million, with Guerra (2m) also in with a good shout of ending the day with the famous PokerGO Tour trophy.

Shorter in the field were Ian Matakis (980,000), Stefan Christopher (970,000) and Jordan Spurlin (370,000), and the primarily battled for survival in the early stages on the last day. It was Christopher who busted first, his chips going in with top pair and a wheel draw on the flop. Lautaro Guerra, one of the most consistent players this series, turned a full house, leaving Christopher drawing dead to the river and cashing for $42,500 in sixth place.

Ian Matakis had found some chips but then doubled up Jordan Spurlin and was left short himself. All-in pre-flop with , Matakis lost to Weisman’s when a board of flopped the eventual winner a straight, with Matakis unable to find a bigger one on turn or river. Matakis left with $59,500 in fifth place and only four remained.

Weisman the Winner as Leaderboard Takes Shape

An almost immediate pot for Lautaro Guerra saw Jordan Spurlin plummet to short stack, and while Spurlin trebled up once, he still only had the slipperiest of footholds on the mountain he had to climb. That ascent continued, as Isaac Kempton dropped back into the gap. The American moved all-in and called by both Guerra and Weisman, lost out for a result worth $76,500 when ace-king high was nowhere near good enough.

Spurlin’s surge up the leaderboard ended in third place when his pocket kings in the hole couldn’t hold as Weisman hit trip deuces to take a lead into heads-up. As Spurlin left with the first six-figure score of the tournament for $106,250, Weisman piled up 6.2 million in chips to Guerra’s 4,425,000.

The final battle was a rollercoaster one, as the Spanish player Guerra took the lead then lost it again. Weisman was slightly ahead when the final board of came, with all the chips in the middle on the turn, with Weisman having flopped the six-high straight, with Guerra’s flush draw missing on the river.

As Weisman won, he also took over at the top of the PGT PLO Series leaderboard with his third cash so far from six events. The American’s win also pushed onto 1,015 points on the 2024 PGT Leaderboard, now 78 points ahead of David Coleman at the summit. On the PGT PLO Series leaderboard, Weisman’s total of 277 points is ahead of second-placed Samuli Sipila (274 points), with Ronald Keijzer (246) and the aforementioned Guerra (226) further behind. Finnish star Eelis Parssinen rounds out the top 5 on 216 points with four events to go and the $10,000 PGT Passport on the line.