Alex Foxen Wins First Event of Inaugural PokerGO Cup for $178,200
The first event of the inaugural PokerGO Cup has its champion, with Alex Foxen topping a field of 66 entries to take home the $178,200 first-place prize following approximately four hours of final-table play on Wednesday. With the win, Foxen also picked up 178 PokerGO Tour points and grabbed the early lead atop the PokerGO Cup leaderboard that will award an additional $50,000 in prize money at the conclusion of the series.
To relive all of the action from the final table, you can find the replay on PokerGO.com.
For Foxen, the result was his 14th in-the-money finish of the year, with 12 of those coming from events that qualify for the PokerGO Tour. Prior to this one, Foxen had yet to win an event this year, making this victory in the opening event of the PokerGO Cup his first win of 2021. While it doesn’t appear that Foxen is slowing down, if you ask him he feels as though he’s taken things a bit easy more recently.
“Honestly, I feel like I have taken a bit more time off poker recently than I have in the past, especially the last three or four years, so in my mind I feel like I have slowed down a little bit,” Foxen told PokerGO after the win. “Being in Las Vegas, there’s so many good tournaments out here. Everything is right in your backyard so it makes it really easy to play as much as you can. I definitely have intentions of starting a family eventually and know that will take me away from the game a bit, so I’m trying to do everything I can with the time with no restrictions left.”
Kristina Holst was the first player at the final table to bust. From the under-the-gun position, Sean Perry moved all in for 475,000 with the blinds at 25,000-50,000 with a 50,000 big blind ante. Next to act, Holst called all in for 455,000. Everyone else folded, leaving Perry’s pocket fours up against Holst’s pocket jacks. The flop was favorable to Perry, giving him a set of fours, and he held from there. Holst picked up $39,600 for her finish.
Next to bust was Jordan Cristos, falling with the blinds at 40,000-80,000 with an 80,000 big blind ante. David Coleman moved all in from the button holding ace-king and a stack of 3.625 million, easily covering the shorter stacks of Cristos (570,000) in the small blind and Sean Perry (630,000) in the big blind. Cristos called all in with king-queen and Perry folded. Despite flopping an open-ended straight draw, Cristos was eliminated. He picked up $52,800 for the result.
In a surprising clash of the two big stacks, Foxen and Coleman went at it next. On the button, Foxen raised to 160,000 with pocket kings. Coleman picked up pocket eights in the big blind and moved all in for 3.6 million. Foxen made the call for his stack of 3.19 million. At the time, Perry had fewer than six big blinds and Sergi Reixach had fewer than 13 big blinds. The board gave Foxen the double and made him an overwhelming chip leader.
Coleman fought for a bit longer as Foxen bullied the table but ultimately fell in fourth place for $66,000. After that, Reixach bowed out in third place, hitting the rail when his queen-seven couldn’t beat Foxen’s king-queen.
Down to just two big blinds at one point, Perry staged quite a comeback, and he even worked his way into the chip lead during heads-up play. Foxen stayed strong, though, and eventually retook the lead before winning it all. Foxen reflected on what was going through his head after losing such a commanding chip position.
“Just trying to take every hand one at a time is really the only way to go through it or otherwise you’ll be on an emotional roller coaster,” Foxen said of the wild ride against Perry. “It’s just trying to solve every hand individually and assess everything at the completion of each hand and move on from there. This was a crazy one, with a lot of action and a lot of big pots. It was fun.”
On the final hand, Foxen limped on the button holding pocket nines with the blinds at 50,000-100,000 with a 100,000 big blind ante. Perry checked his option with ten-eight and flopped top pair on an eight-high flop. Perry checked, Foxen wagered 100,000, and Perry called. The turn was a queen and Perry checked. Foxen announced that he was all in and Perry called off his stack for 480,000. The river was a king and it was all over. Foxen had won the first event of the inaugural PokerGO Cup.
The final table payouts are as follows.
| 2021 PokerGO Cup Event #1: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em | ||||
| Place | Name | Country | Payout | PokerGO Tour Points |
| 1 | Alex Foxen | USA | $178,200 | 178 |
| 2 | Sean Perry | USA | $132,000 | 132 |
| 3 | Sergi Reixach | Spain | $85,800 | 86 |
| 4 | David Coleman | USA | $66,000 | 66 |
| 5 | Jordan Cristos | USA | $52,800 | 53 |
| 6 | Kristina Holst | USA | $39,600 | 40 |
In addition to taking $132,000 in prize money, Perry earned 132 PokerGO Tour points to narrow the gap between him and Ali Imsirovic. Imsirovic leads with 1,897 points and Perry has 1,553 after the first event of the PokerGO Cup. With the victory, Foxen climbed to No. 9 on the PokerGO Tour leaderboard.
| Updated PokerGO Tour Top 10 | ||||
| Rank | Name | Country | Total Earnings | PokerGO Tour Points |
| 1 | Ali Imsirovic | B&H | $2,459,460 | 1,897 |
| 2 | Sean Perry | USA | $2,206,378 | 1,553 |
| 3 | Andrew Moreno | USA | $1,460,105 | 1,200 |
| 4 | Clayton Maquire | USA | $1,443,757 | 1,200 |
| 5 | Toby Lewis | UK | $1,235,204 | 1,200 |
| 6 | Sean Winter | USA | $1,723,790 | 1,150 |
| 7 | Sam Soverel | USA | $1,168,696 | 852 |
| 8 | Chris Brewer | USA | $1,168,350 | 816 |
| 9 | Alex Foxen | USA | $852,786 | 780 |
| 10 | David Peters | USA | $852,750 | 666 |
Looking ahead, Foxen was open that he hasn’t yet set any specific poker goals for 2021. Rather, the two-time GPI Player of the Year winner is keeping things a little more widely focused on his overall game.
“I’ve yet to set specific goals, but I think that playing as well as I can, continuing to put up good results, and do everything I can to perform as well as possible is really my goal,” Foxen said. “I just try to improve everyday, get better, improve upon the results I’ve put up in the past, and improve upon all of the decision making I’ve made in the past. If I do that, I’ll be pretty happy.”
Connect with PokerGO on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Use code “CUP2021” for $20 off an annual PokerGO.com subscription now! Follow coverage for Event #2L $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em via our live reporting right now. Watch the Event #2 final table on PokerGO.com tomorrow at 4 p.m. ET.
Watch the Event #1 Final Table on PokerGO.com at 4 p.m. ET
The final table of Event #1: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em of the 2021 PokerGO Cup is set and will be airing on PokerGO.com at 4 p.m. ET.
Watch the Event #1 final table on PokerGO.com here!
Alex Foxen finished Day 1 as the chip leader with 2,040,000 in chips ahead of Sergi Reixach, Sean Perry, David Coleman, Jordan Cristos, and Kristina Holst. The final six players are all guaranteed $39,600, but eyes are on the title and $178,200 first-place prize.
| Event #1 Final Table | |||
| Seat | Name | Country | Chip Count |
| 1 | Jordan Cristos | United States | 975,000 |
| 2 | Sean Perry | United States | 1,535,000 |
| 3 | Kristina Holst | United States | 690,000 |
| 4 | Alex Foxen | United States | 2,040,000 |
| 5 | Sergi Reixach | Spain | 1,630,000 |
| 6 | David Coleman | United States | 1,380,000 |
When play resumes there is 17:22 remaining in level 13 and the button is in seat 2
Connect with PokerGO.com on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Use code “CUP2021” for $20 off an annual PokerGO subscription now!
Alex Foxen Leads the Final Six Players of Event #1: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Alex Foxen leads the final six players of Event #1 $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em with just north of two million in chips, but hot on Foxen’s tail are Sergi Reixach and Sean Perry. Rounding out the final six are David Coleman, Jordan Cristos, and Kristina Holst.
Foxen vaulted into the chip lead late in day 1 when he eliminated Steve Zolotow in eighth place holding pocket tens against Zolotow’s ace-queen for over a two million chip pot.
The inaugural event of the PokerGo Cup saw 66 entrants and created a prize pool of $660,000, with the winner taking home $178,200, while the remaining six players are all guaranteed at least $39,600.
Vanessa Kade just missed out on the final table stream as the Canadian finished in seventh place when she ran her ace-eight suited into the pocket sevens of Perry for her last 670,000.
Kade headed into the final table third in chips but lost nearly half her stack to Coleman after making a 250,000 bet river bet into a pot of 300,000 and the board reading [As4s4cAhJc] only to see Coleman shove for close to a million in chips. Kade folded and was eliminated a few hands later.
Rounding out the players the finished in the money were Sam Soverel in ninth, and 2021 U.S. Poker Open Champion David Peters in tenth.
Daniel Negreanu found himself on the Event #1 money bubble after moving all-in for his last 150,000 and seeing his ace-queen cracked by the ace-jack of Kade when she spiked a jack on the river. Negreanu had been left short only a few hands prior when he ran his ace-king into the pocket aces of Kade for over a million chip pot. Other notables to finish just outside the money included Joey Weissman, Ali Imsirovic, and Frank Funaro.
| Event #1 Final Table | |||
| Seat | Name | Country | Chip Count |
| 1 | Jordan Cristos | United States | 975,000 |
| 2 | Sean Perry | United States | 1,535,000 |
| 3 | Kristina Holst | United States | 690,000 |
| 4 | Alex Foxen | United States | 2,040,000 |
| 5 | Sergi Reixach | Spain | 1,630,000 |
| 6 | David Coleman | United States | 1,380,000 |
When play resumes there is 17:22 remaining in level 13 and the button is in seat 2
The final six players will return to the PokerGO Studio on Wednesday, July 7, at 12 p.m. PT with the final table airing on PokerGO.com at 1 p.m. PT.
Connect with PokerGO.com on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Use code “CUP2021” for $20 off an annual PokerGO subscription now!
End of Day Chip Counts
The play has been suspended for the evening as the final six players will return to the PokerGo Studio on July 7, at 12 p.m. PT with the final table stream beginning on PokerGo.com at 1 p.m PT.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Foxen | 2,040,000 |
-100,000  |
| Sergi Reixach | 1,630,000 |
675,000  |
| Sean Perry | 1,535,000 | - |
| David Coleman | 1,380,000 |
-20,000 |
| Jordan Cristos | 975,000 |
-50,000 |
| Kristina Holst | 690,000 |
-185,000 |
Vanessa Kade Eliminated in 7th Place ($33,000)
Action folded to Vanessa Kade on the button, and she moved all-in for her last 670,000.
Sean Perry was next to act in the small blind, and he called.
Perry: [7d7s]
Kade: [Ac8c]
The board ran out [Td5c4h9cQs], and Perry’s sevens held to eliminate Kade in seventh place for $33,000.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Sean Perry | 1,535,000 |
465,000 |
| Vanessa Kade | Busted |
-620,000 |
David Coleman Shoves The River On Vanessa Kade
With a board complete and reading [As4c4sAhJc], Vanessa Kade fired for 250,000 into a pot of roughly 300,000.
David Coleman was the only other player in the hand, and he moved all-in for 805,000 total.
Kade used most of her shot clock before tossing her cards into the muck.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| David Coleman | 1,400,000 |
150,000 |
| Vanessa Kade | 620,000 |
-510,000 |
Steve Zolotow Eliminated in 8th Place ($26,400)
With the cards already tabled, Steve Zolotow was all-in for his last 850,000 against Alex Foxen.
Foxen: [TsTd]
Zolotow: [AdQd]
The board ran out [Jh4d4s9s6s], and Foxen’s tens held to eliminate Zolotow in eighth place for $26,400 and move into the chip lead with over 2 million.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Foxen | 2,140,000 |
980,000 |
| Steve Zolotow | Busted |
-850,000 |
Sam Soverel Eliminated in 9th Place ($26,400)
With the cards already tabled, Sam Soverel was all-in for his last 195,000, and Kristina Holst had called.
Holst: [AdAh]
Soverel: [As7s]
The board ran out [Jc3s2s3cJd], and Soverel missed his flush and was eliminated in ninth place for $26,400.
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Kristina Holst | 875,000 |
250,000 |
| Sam Soverel | Busted |
-195,000 |
Unofficial Final Table Seat Draw and Chip Counts
Seat 1 – Jordan Cristos
Seat 2 – Vanessa Kade
Seat 3 – Sean Perry
Seat 4 – Sam Soverel
Seat 5 – Kristina Holst
Seat 6 – Alex Foxen
Seat 7 – Sergi Reixach
Seat 8 – David Coleman
Seat 9 – Steve Zolotow
| Player | Chips | Change |
|---|---|---|
| David Coleman | 1,250,000 |
370,000 |
| Alex Foxen | 1,160,000 |
55,000 |
| Vanessa Kade | 1,130,000 |
310,000 |
| Sean Perry | 1,070,000 | - |
| Jordan Cristos | 1,025,000 |
65,000 |
| Sergi Reixach | 955,000 |
-345,000 |
| Steve Zolotow | 850,000 |
75,000 |
| Kristina Holst | 625,000 |
10,000 |
| Sam Soverel | 195,000 |
-25,000 |
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