Sean Perry put on a show as he battled back from just two big blinds to score the victory in Event #2 ($10,000 NLHE) of the 2022 PokerGO Cup for $200,000.
High roller final tables can often be a serious affair with top players battling in silence in search of a big-time payday. However, this particular final table was one of the most entertaining of the year with its loose and engaging vibe and plenty of table talk. There were side bets, all-in blind raises and shoves, and improbable comebacks. In fact, PokerGO founder Cary Katz and Bryn Kenney even agreed to swap outfits if they got heads-up.
In addition to the pure entertainment of this table, there was another storyline that had emerged. Kenney was tracking down Justin Bonomo to retake the top spot on the Hendon Mob’s All-Time Money List. Kenney needed a third-place finish or better to make it happen.
The final table fireworks started on just the second hand of the day. With the blinds at 20,000/40,000 (40,000 bb ante) Kenney opened from under the gun to 80,000 with the 
. Next to act was Dan Shak who three-bet shipped his 1 million chip stack with the 
. It folded around to Perry in the big blind who woke up with 
. Perry re-shipped all-in for 1.3 million forcing a fold from Kenney. Shak, at-risk and dominated, needed help in order to survive however the board ran out 
keeping kickers in play. Perry received a near full double-up and Shak made his way to the cage to collect his $48,000 sixth-place prize.
During the 25,000/50,000 (50,000 ante) level, Elias, who had made back-to-back PokerGO Cup final tables played a pivotal pot with Kenney. Kenney made it 100,000 to go from the cutoff holding 
and Elias, who had just doubled through Kenney, defended his big blind with the 
. The flop came 
giving Elias top pair and he quickly checked it over to Kenney who continued for 60,000, which Elias called. The turn was the 
, bringing in the gutshot straight for Kenney who, when checked to, fired again – this time for 210,000. Elias called once again. The river came the 
and this time when Elias checked, Kenney put together a hefty 785,000 bet. Elias only had 900,000 left in his stack. After burning through multiple time banks, Elias made the call. Kenney surged to the chip lead and Elias was left with just over two big blinds. Elias went out on the very next hand, finishing in fifth place for $64,000.
The dynamics changed quite a bit with four left. Katz went from the short stack to the chip lead after tripling through Ball and Kenney. Then Ball took back the lead, after sending Kenney to the bottom of the chip counts. With the blinds at 40,000/80,000 (80,000 ante) Kenney remained active and doubled up when his 
got it in the middle against Perry holding 
and the board ran out 
leaving Perry with just two big blinds.
But Perry battled back, doubling in multiple hands to not only get back in the game but bring all four chip counts effectively even.
The wild swings continued when Perry and Kenney agreed that if it folded to Perry in the small blind, the two would go all-in blind. With that on the table, both Ball and Katz folded. Perry made good on his word, sticking in 1.6 million (20 big blinds) with the 
and Kenney made the call with his . The board ran out 
giving Perry a pure double up with his pair of deuces and sending him to the top of the chip counts.
Things got even more hectic when, at 50,000/100,000 (100,000 ante), Ball opened from under the gun to 200,000. When it folded to Perry in the small blind, he looked down at 
. Normally, this might be an uneventful fold. However the final four players were playing the “nine-four” game (the equivalent of the popular seven-deuce game) where if someone won a hand with any nine-four combo, the rest of the table would pay that player a $5K bounty. So, with that in mind – Perry shoved his chip lead, and Ball snap-called. The flop came giving Perry the lead with his pair of nines. The turn was the and Ball was left with just ten outs. The river was the shipped Perry the hand and the $15,000 side bet from the other players. Ball, who finished in fifth place in Event #1, fell in fourth place for $80,000.
That wasn’t the only other significant result from that hand, with Ball eliminated, Kenney was guaranteed to retake the top spot on the Hendon Mob All-Time Money List.
Soon thereafter, Kenney slipped in the chip counts and found himself chasing Katz and Perry, both of who had more than 40 big blinds. But after doubling through Perry once, Kenney and Perry got it all in again with Perry just barely covering Kenney.
Perry raised the button to 200,000 with the 
and Kenney shipped 2.7 million in the small blind with his . After Katz folded, Perry pretty quickly made the call and put Kenney at risk. The flop came 
giving Perry middle set and leaving Kenney with just a 2% chance to survive. The turn was the 
and the new All-Time Money List leader was drawing dead to the river. Kenney did what he needed to do, finishing in third place for $96,000, besting Justin Bonomo on the ATML by a little more than $10,000.
After a short break, Perry and Katz returned to finish the tournament with Perry holding a slight chip lead. Within just a couple of hands Perry, extended that lead and looked to close it out. On the ninth hand of head-up play, Perry moved all-in from the button with the 
and Katz, with roughly 10 big blinds behind, called for it all holding . The flop kept Katz in the lead to double up but brought Perry both flush and backdoor straight outs. The 
turn was safe for Katz, but the river came the , pairing Perry’s kicker and eliminating Katz as the runner-up for $144,000.
PokerGO Cup Event #2 Final Table Results
- Sean Perry – $200,000
- Cary Katz – $144,000
- Bryn Kenney – $96,000
- Scott Ball – $80,000
- Darren Elias – $64,000
- Dan Shak – $48,000