PGT PLO Series II: Matthew Wantman prevails after epic heads-up comeback

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Parssinen exits after losing chunks to Kronwitter 

Despite starting the day second in the chip counts, Parssinen was the first man sent to the payout desk after losing the majority of his chips in a hand against Kronwitter. After opening the button with , Parssinen continued to bet on the with his top two pair. Kronwitter called with his and the two players saw the turn, which improved the German to a better two pair. After checking, Kronwitter moved all-in when faced with Parssinen's pot-sized turn bet. The Finn called it off and found himself drawing thin. The river completed the board to keep Kronwitter's hand best and leave Parssinen with only crumbs. 

After managing to double up once, Parssinen was all-in again against Duek, but couldn't improve to the winner and his run ended with a seventh-place finish. 

Wantman scores back-to-back eliminations 

Carmi was next up on the chopping block, but his exit came in unusual fashion. After Carmi moved all-in over the top of Kronwitter's under the gun open, action folded to Wantman in the small blind and, before he could act, Schwartz mucked his cards from the big blind, which prompted Kronwitter to do the same as he thought action had folded back to him. Wantman, however, still had a hand to play. 

With the knowledge of his opponents' actions behind to guide him, Wantman made the call to put Carmi at risk. As it turns out, the two players had similar hands with Carmi holding and Wantman . The flop saw Wantman immediately improve to the king-high flush and leave Carmi drawing to a runner-runner chop. The actually gave him outs to said chop, but the kept his hand second-best and Carmi's run ended with a sixth-place finish. 

Michael Duek's run ended with the kind of brutal runout that PLO is known for.

Wantman continued to run hot and notched another elimination in blind versus blind confrontation against Duek. After defending his big blind against Duek's raise, Wantman moved all-in over the top of his opponent's continuation bet on the flop. Duek snap-called and turned over his , good for top set. Wantman was live, holding, , but needed to hit in order to scoop in the chips. The turn improved him to two pair, but still he needed more. The river improved both players to a full house, but Wantman held the higher hand and Duek's run ended, in brutal fashion, with a fifth-place finish.  

Kronwitter does his share of the work

After Wantman's back-to-back eliminations, Kronwitter stepped to the fore to notch two of his own. The first saw him make top set with on a flop. His opponent, Serock, put out a pot-sized bet with his and Kronwitter responded with a re-pot to put him all-in. Serock called it off and found himself drawing to just two immediate outs. The provided him with no added outs and the ended his run with a fourth-place finish. 

Shortly after, Kronwitter struck again to take out Schwartz. After raising from the button, Kronwitter called off when Schwartz moved all-in from the big blind. The German's would need to improve against his opponent's and the provided him exactly what he needed. Schwartz needed to hit runner-runner outs to down Kronwitter's nut flush and the offered up a path to survival. The river wasn't the card he needed, however, and Schwartz's day ended with a third-place finish. 

Comeback time

Once he had dispatched Serock and Schwartz, Kronwitter took a commanding chip lead into the heads-up stage of play. Wantman, however, wasn't going down easy. After fighting tooth and nail to regain the chip lead with which he began the final table, the American lost two key pots to slide well into the danger zone. With only three big blinds remaining, Wantman was in need of a miraculous comeback. After chopping two pots to stay alive, Wantman found the first of his three doubles when he moved all-in with and held up against Kronwitter's on a runout. 

Jonas Kronwitter failed to finish off Matthew Wantman in three all-in scenarios.

Wantman's second double came after he raised from the big blind facing a limp from Kronwitter on the button. On the flop, Kronwitter moved all-in with and Wantman called it off with . Kronwitter needed to hit to close out the tournament, but the turn and river bricked and Wantman scored another full double. 

The final of his three double ups saw Wantman re-take the chip lead for the second time in the heads up battle. After limping the button, Wantman called Kronwitter's raise with and the two players went to the flop. Kronwitter continued with a bet and Wantman called to see the turn. Kronwitter continued his aggression with a pot-sized bet and Wantman called to put his stack at risk again. The river completed the board and Wantman hauled in the chips with top pair against Kronwitter's miss. 

In the final hand of the battle, Wantman raised from the button and Kronwitter made the call to see the flop. Kronwitter led out for a pot-sized all-in and Wantman snap-called. Kronwitter held for a double gutshot straight draw, but would need to improve against Wantman's . The turn changed nothing for either player and the river completed the board to put the finishing touches on Wantman's epic comeback. 

PGT 2024 PLO Series II Event #3: $5,100 Pot-Limit Omaha final table results

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