On Wednesday afternoon, Jesse Lonis got heads-up with Alex Foxen in Event #7 of the PokerGO Tour's PLO Series and was forced to settle for second. Foxen was just two tournaments removed from his own runner-up finish in Event #5 when he snagged his first PGT victory in over two years.
Both Lonis and Foxen made return visits to the final table set inside the PokerGO Studio on Friday, joined among the final five of Event #9 (a $15,100 Pot Limit Omaha event) by Daniel Negreanu, Chino Rheem and 2023 PGT PLO series champion Lautaro Guerra. And just like Foxen before him, Lonis made good on his second heads-up match of the festival and broke through with a victory.
Stakes are higher than advertised
Lonis' win earned him $308,850, but it also set the stage for a remarkable finale in what's become one of the most intriguing side plots in poker this week — a $500,000 side bet for any one of 10 players who might win PGT PLO Player of the Series honors.
Foxen's third-place finish in Event #9 kept him at the top of the leaderboard with two tournaments to go, but Lonis' win has him within a hair's breadth of Foxen in second place. Negreanu, who spoke about the side bet on the MANIA podcast earlier this week, finished fifth in Event #9 and sits fifth on the PGT PLO leaderboard — still within striking distance.
For those not named Foxen, Lonis, or Negreanu, the rest of the side bet field was likely pulling for Chino Rheem to pull off this victory on Friday. The side bet is not simply a wager about who accumulates the most points; in order to win the $500K, one of the 10 eligible players has to be the outright Player of the Series title.
PGT PLO Series Leaderboard (after Event 9)
| Rank | Player | PGT Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Foxen | 564 |
| 2 | Jesse Lonis | 536 |
| 3 | Chino Rheem | 506 |
| 4 | Bryce Yockey | 437 |
| 5 | Daniel Negreanu | 397 |
Lonis' road to victory
Lonis entered Friday's final table with the chip lead, but when Rheem picked off Negreanu right away the four-handed session got tighter in a hurry. Within an hour of play, the four remaining contenders were virtually even and anyone could have pulled away in a heartbeat.
It got even more desperate for Lonis as he fell into fourth place, but he pulled himself back from the brink when a timely wrap straight draw connected and earned him a double through Guerra. Lonis claimed the rest of Guerra's chips when he flopped a full house and bet all the way down to the river.
From there, Lonis speedran his way to victory. He coolered Foxen and avenged his previous loss when both players turned a straight on a 
board. Lonis' hand contained 
against Foxen and his 
, and with a clean river the tournament was down to Lonis and Rheem.
On the fateful hand, Rheem three-bet all in with 
on a flop of 
. Lonis called with 
, and while Lonis was ahead with two-pair he had a lot of cards left to dodge. The added seven more winning cards but the 
was a blank by any measure, securing Lonis his fourth career PGT title.
Sprint to the finish
Rheem settled for second place and $202,350. He also took over the early lead on the yearlong PGT leaderboard with just over a quarter of the schedule already in the books.
Action rolled straight into the Championship event of the PGT PLO Series, a $25,200 buy-in event. It's one of two remaining tournaments on the schedule; there's also a one-day $5,100 turbo bounty PLO tournament on Saturday.
Within the next 24 hours, a few things should be a lot clearer - who might have a chance at $500K, and who walks out of this festival as the biggest winner.
Image courtesy of Antonio Abrego/PokerGO.
