Matthew Wantman Wins PGT PLO Series After Tollerene Conquers Main Event

A thrilling conclusion to the 2024 PokerGO Tour PLO Series saw Ben Tollerene win the $25,000 entry Main Event in Pot Limit Omaha, as Matthew Wantman’s six cashes in nine events earned him the overall championship. There was drama all the way, however, as Jeremy Ausmus ran Wantman closest over an exciting conclusion to the mixed games series in Las Vegas.

Lamb Served Up Late in Main Event

The $25,000 buy-in Main Event of the 2024 PGT PLO Series saw a total of 62 entrants take part in ‘The Big One’. Only nine players would make the money as a prizepool of $1.55 million was paid out to the last table in the tournament only. As it happened, Alex Foxen would start a week where he’d win his latest WSOP bracelet online by bubbling the money, missing out in 10^th place.

Into the final nine places, Billy Tarango lost out for $46,500 as he picked up a min-cash. Jesse Lonis soon joined him on the rail when his kings in the hole were scuppered by Michael Duek’s turned wheel straight meant he leapt up the leaderboard into fourth place.

With seven left, Swiss professional Fernando Habegger had his timing all wrong as he finished in seventh place. All-in with kings and deuces, he was ahead of Samuli Sipila’s pair of sevens with a flush and straight draws but the on the river will haunt Habegger as his opponent’s flush came in to finish off the Switzerland pro for a score of $62,000, the same result as Lonis.

Josh Arieh had doubled before Habegger’s demise but couldn’t manage another as his lost out to Sipila’s as a board of lead to Sipila’s eight-high straight on the river took out one of the field’s most accomplished PLO players for $85,250.

Ben Lamb’s tournament was cooked one place later for $116,250. His pocket aces looked good on the flop of but they weren’t, as Joni Jouhkimainen had two jacks in his hand and his set sent the American to the rail as the Finnish poker player – complimented as one of the best in the format by Daniel Negreanu this week – leapt into the lead.

Tollerene’s Time as Sipila Slips to Second

No sooner had Lamb left than was play reduced from four-handed to three. Michael Duek lost out with pocket kings when Ben Tollerene’s made the nut flush on a board of as the American’s two turned flush draws paid off with the nuts, sending the Argentinian home with a cash worth $155,000.

Three-handed play saw Tollerene continue his dominance late on as he took out Finland’s Jouhkimainen for a score of $217,000. This time, Tollerene had the more made hand before the flop as his pocket kings and combo draws ended up taking out the Finn. Jouhkimainen missed 17 outs twice to survive as he bowed out.

Heads-up began with Tollerene holding a 3:1 chip lead and that immediately improved to an 7:1 advantage after the former potted the river and Sipila folded. In the next hand, the Finnish player was all-in with a pair of sevens, but Tollerene had the same pair. Sipila had the better kicker but Tollerene paired his nine on the turn and when an ineffectual jack landed on the river, the tournament belonged to Tollerene and the trophy and $496,000 top prize was his. Sipila claimed the runner-up score of $310,000.

Wantman Wins Overall Championship

An astonishingly consistent series saw the American Matthew Wantman crowned the overall winner. Taking home the PGT Gold Cup and a PGT Passport worth $10,000, Wantman followed former winners such as one of his main rivals this year, Samuli Sipila, as well as PLO specialists Lautaro Guerra and Daniel Geeng. Indeed, this year saw a tight run for Sipila who went close in several events, particularly in the $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship where his finish as runner-up wasn’t quite enough to get the job done.

Now up to over $7.1 million in lifetime winnings, Wantman’s winnings in this year’s PGT PLO Series total $434,380 alone, representing a huge chunk of his career payouts. Moving close to the top 100 on the All-Time Money List for United States players on The Hendon Mob, Wantman’s first cash in the 2024 PGT PLO Series was a ninth-place finish in Event #2.

After a slow start, Wantman ramped it up in Event #3, winning it outright for a $178,250 top prize. In Event #4, Wantman came fourth for $90,000, before an 11^th place finish in Event #5 earned him another $22,140. Wantman bagged three cashes in a row in Event #6, coming third for $119,600 to go into the lead. In the seventh event of the series, Wantman finished seventh to bag just $10,080 but seal victory in the series after the final two events.

All-in-all, Wantman’s extraordinary run of six cashes and four final tables in nine events gave him a third PGT title as he became the 2024 PGT PLO Series II champion.