PGT PLO Series: Daniyal Iqbal Champions Record-Setting Field in Event #1: $5K Pot-Limit Omaha to Win His Maiden Live Tournament ($160,000)

A full-time engineer and poker enthusiast Daniyal Iqbal (cover image) grabbed the spotlight after besting a record-setting 200-player field in the two-day-long Event #1: $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha at the first-ever PGT PLO Series, hosted at the PokerGO Studio inside the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Making the victory even more momentous for Iqbal was the fact that this was his first time winning a live tournament. He gave his poker bankroll a significant boost, scoring a career-best $160,000 for the win and a beautiful PGT memento. Roussos Koliakoudakis cashed $120,000 in second place.

Just as Event #1 named its winner, the inaugural PGT PLO Series rolled out Event #2: $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Bounty, where 179 runners joined the action, vying for a share of the $895,000 prize pool. The event is in its final lap, where Allen Shen leads the six remaining players.

Iqbal also picked up 160 leaderboard points to take an early lead on the PGT PLO series leaderboard after prevailing over a stacked field comprising top pros like Daniel Negreanu, Ben Lamb, Phil Galfond, Bryce Yockey, and Chino Rheem.

“I play PLO cash at home,” Iqbal said following his victory. “Some home games. I’m an engineer, just here for a week to have some fun.”

“It was great,” Iqbal said about the event. “I liked the turbo experience. It was much faster paced compared to any other tournament I’ve played.”

For his plans for the remainder of the series, Iqbal said, “I’ll play the week, but I’ve still got work, so I’ve gotta go back. Can’t play every day.”

Notables who crossed the money but fell short of the final table included renowned poker vlogger Ethan ‘Rampage’ Yau (8th for $40,000) and WSOP bracelet winners David Williams (9th for $30,000) and Maxx Coleman (16th for $20,000).

The $5,000 buy-in tournament accumulated a hefty $1,000,000 in the prize pool, the largest for a PGT event with a buy-in of $10,000 and under. The top 29 places got paid.

Chan Kim (finished 30th) money-bubbled the tournament.

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Daniyal Iqbal – 6,145,000
2. Eelis Parssinen – 4,980,000
3. Peng Zheng – 4,590,000
4. Stanislav Halatenko – 3,400,000
5. Sean Troha – 2,650,000
6. Roussos Koliakoudakis – 2,165,000
7. Jeff Madsen – 1,085,000

Final Table Recap

Sean Troha was the first player to be eliminated on the final table, falling at the hands of Jeff Madsen. Incidentally, Jeff Madsen was the next to leave in sixth place, courtesy of Eelis Parssinen .

Peng Zheng was sent packing in fifth place as his flopped set of jacks came up short against Stanislav Halatenko’s king high flush.

Eelis Parssinen was shown the door in fourth place by the soon-to-be winner Daniyal Iqbal.

Not long after that, Stanislav Halatenko got the boot in third place after his failed to out-draw Iqbal’s on the board .

With Halatenko out of the picture, the heads-up between Daniyal Iqbal (17,700,000) and Roussos Koliakoudakis (6,500,000) got underway, both players going all out to grab the lion`s share of the $1 Million prize pool.

The heads-up battle was as topsy-turvy as it gets; Koliakoudakis came out in the lead after scoring a risky double-up through Iqbal. It did not take long before Iqbal evened out the stacks and jumped into the driving seat by taking down two sizeable pots.

On the final hand, all the chips went in the middle on the board .

Daniyal Iqbal

Roussos Koliakoudakis

Koliakoudakis, who held a set by the turn, needed the board to pair to one up Iqbal’s straight. However, the on the river was no help to Koliakoudakis, and just like that, Iqbal won his maiden PGT title.

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Daniyal Iqbal – $160,000
2. Roussos Koliakoudakis – $120,000
3. Stanislav Halatenko – $90,000
4. Eelis Parssinen – $70,000
5. Peng Zheng – $60,000
6. Jeff Madsen – $50,000
7. Sean Troha – $40,000

Content and Images Courtesy: PokerGO

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