Punnat Punsri Wins Venetian High Roller Event #1: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Following a heads-up deal with Erik Seidel, Punnat Punsri wins the 34-entrant field in Venetian High Roller Event #1: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em for $118,037. Seidel takes home $106,363 for his second-place finish to further his distance himself from David Peters for fourth on the all-time money list.
Punsri held a one and half to one chip advantage to start heads up play, and with another high roller tournament on the horizon, the players decided to chop the opening event of the 2022 PokerGO Tour rather than play into the wee hours of the morning.
Punsri sent the tournament to heads-up play when he eliminated Barry Hutter in third place after his king-deuce cracked the king-queen of Hutter. Hutter came into the final table as one of the middling stacks and navigated the waters to collect $54,400 for his day’s work.
Alex Foxen was right in the middle of the pack with Hutter when the final table began, but the two-time GPI Player of the Year found the right spot at the right time to score a triple up with eight remaining.
Foxen found himself all-in and at risk for his last 165,000 holding pocket nines and against the pocket sevens of Eric Worre and the ace-queen of Chris Brewer. Both Foxen and Worre flopped a set, but Foxen held the higher one to triple up. Foxen rode that momentum to a fourth-place finish for $37,400, eventually falling Punsri turned pair of kings.
Jake Schindler was the final entrant in the field of 34 but was able to navigate his way into the money, finishing in fifth place for $23,800 after falling to Seidel’s flopped pair of tens shortly after the money bubble burst.
John Flynt was the final player to fall before the money when his king-ten ran into the ace-queen of Foxen. Flynt flopped a pair of tens, but Foxen turned a pair of aces to send Flynt out the door. Others falling just short of the money included Chris Brewer in seventh place, Eric Worre in eighth place, and reining PokerGO Tour champion Ali Imsirovic in ninth place.
This tournament is part of the PokerGO Tour with players earning points based on the amount they cash for. The full PokerGO Tour schedule can be found here, and the current PokerGO Tour leaderboard is available here.
| Venitian High Roller Event #1 Results | ||||
| Place | Player | Country | Prize | PokerGO Tour Points |
| 1st | Punnat Punsri | Thailand | $118,037 | 118 |
| 2nd | Erik Seidel | United States | $106,363 | 106 |
| 3rd | Barry Hutter | United States | $54,400 | 54 |
| 4th | Alex Foxen | United States | $37,400 | 37 |
| 5th | Jake Schindler | United States | $23,800 | 24 |
Thursday, January 6, will host Venitian High Roller Event #2: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em, where cards will be in the air at 2 p.m. PT. The PokerGO News Live Reporting Team will be on-site providing exclusive live updates throughout that event.
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