The opening event of the 2021 PokerGO Cup featured a final table of familiar faces and almost concluded with an amazing comeback from one of poker’s rising stars. Instead, it was two-time Global Poker Index Player of the Year Alex Foxen who emerged victorious after a nearly four-hour final table in Event#1 ($10,000 NLHE).
With blinds at 25,000/50,000 (50,000 BBA) Sean Perry moved all in from UTG for 475,000 with 
and Kristina Holst called all in for 455,000 with 
from his direct left. The rest of the table folded. The flop of 
to give Perry bottom set and leave Holst drawing particularly thin as Jordan Cristos had folded the 
. The 
turn gave Holst two extra outs but the 
river wasn’t one of them and she was eliminated in sixth place for $39,600.
It took just about an hour before the next player was eliminated. From the button, chip leader David Coleman moved all in for 3,625,000 with 
. Cristos, the shortest remaining stack at the time, called with 
. Cristos picked up an open-ended straight draw on the 
flop. The 
turn took two of those outs away with Coleman holding a spade. The 
river was no help for Cristos and he was sent to the rail to collect $52,800 for finishing in fifth.
From there, Foxen went on a chip-collecting rampage that started with taking a 1,000,000 chip pot from Coleman before earning a full double through him a few hands later. At an early point of four-handed play, Foxen had more than 82% of the chips in play. Just a few moments later, Foxen officially ended Coleman’s run. Coleman moved all in from the button for 300,000 with 
and Foxen called from the big blind with 
. The 
flop gave Foxen middle pair and Coleman was unable to regain control on the turn or river and was out in fourth for $66,000.
Two hands later, Foxen sent another player packing. Blinds were 50,000/100,000 (100,000 BBA) and Sergi Reixach moved all in from the button with 
. Perry folded his small blind before Foxen called from the big blind with . The board ran out 
to give Foxen the pot and eliminate Reixach in third place.
Foxen started heads up play holding 8,025,000 to Perry’s 225,000. Perry doubled up on the first two hands of play and won the first six hands to take over the chip lead with 4,825,000. The pair battled for another 15 minutes with Foxen rebuilding his lead back up and holding more than 90% of the chips in play when the final hand began. Foxen limped with 
and Perry checked his 
. After the 
flop, Perry check-called Foxen’s bet of 100,000. The turn was the and Perry checked once again. Foxen announced he was all in and Perry called off his last 450,000. The river was the 
and Foxen eliminated Perry to win Event #1 and $178,200.
The first of eight events on the PokerGO Cup schedule, Event #1 drew 66 total entries for a $660,000 prize pool. The final table of Event #2 includes Ali Imsirovic, Jason Koon, and the #1-ranked American online poker player, Frank Funaro. The stream on PokerGO begins at 1 PM PT.
PokerGO Cup Event #1 Payouts
- Alex Foxen – $178,200
- Sean Perry – $132,000
- Sergi Reixach – $85,800
- David Coleman – $66,000
- Jordan Cristos – $52,800
- Kristina Holst – $39,600
- Vanessa Kade – $33,000
- Steve Zolotow – $26,400
- Sam Soverel – $26,400
- David Peters – $19,800
