2025 PGT Mixed Games: James Obst Clinches First PGT Title in Event #7: $25,300 10-Game Championship, Chino Rheem Makes History as Repeat Series Champion

The 2025 PGT Mixed Games didn’t just conclude; it exploded with a finale that saw poker pro James Obst (cover image – left), who returned to poker last summer after a four-year tennis sabbatical, seize his first-ever PGT title and a career-best $462,000. The Aussie’s victory in Event #7: $25,300 10-Game Championship was like watching a master craftsman at work – he just knew how to play every game. But Obst’s win, as great as it was, had to share the headlines with another big story: Chino Rheem made history by becoming the first two-time PGT Mixed Games Series Champion.

Obst’s road to the top wasn’t easy. He began the final table mid-pack, staring down some serious mixed-game specialists. But he played smart, stayed aggressive, and just ground his way to a heads-up match against Aaron Sacks from the USA. Sacks put up a good fight and walked away with a substantial $294,000 for second place.

Congratulations to James Obst, winner of Event #7: $25,300 10-Game Championship at PGT Mixed Games.

Obst wins his second career PGT title after topping the 56-entrant field to win $462,000. Obst also earned 277 PGT points. pic.twitter.com/WfMy0hkpdU

— PGT (@PokerGOTour) March 6, 2025

This win, though, was huge for Obst. It pushed his lifetime earnings over $4.42 Million and added another shiny trophy to his case. His previous best score was a 13th-place finish in the 2016 WSOP Main Event ($427,930). He even boasts WSOP bracelets from the 2024 $10,000 Limit Seven Card Stud Championship ($260,658) and the 2017 $10,000 Razz Championship ($265,138), not to mention a home soil victory in the A$8,000 No Limit Hold’em WPT Championship ($398,488) at WPT Australia last September!

Chino Rheem: The PGT Mixed Games King

While Obst was celebrating his win, Chino Rheem was busy proving he was the king of mixed games. By winning the 2025 PGT Mixed Games series title with a whopping 384 PGT points, Rheem didn’t just win – he did something no one else has. He’s now the only player to win two PGT Mixed Games championships (his first came in October 2023). He’s up there with David Peters (who dominated back-to-back U.S. Poker Open stops in 2019 and 2021) as one of only two players to win multiple series titles on the PokerGO Tour, but Rheem has that special record all to himself in the mixed game format.

Rheem played amazingly throughout the series. He won Event #4, got third in Event #3, and made another final table in Event #6. He walked away with the PGT Gold Cup and a $10,000 PGT Passport, following in the footsteps of other previous champs like Dan Zack (2023) and Max Hoffman (2024).

According to The Hendon Mob, Rheem now boasts over $15.86 Million in live tournament earnings, ranking him 80th on poker’s all-time money list. He added $348,500 across this PGT Mixed Games series, taking his total PGT winnings to almost $3.23 Million obtained from 38 cashes, of which 24 were final tables.

2025 PGT Mixed Games Leaderboard Standings

1. Chino Rheem – 384 points
2. Nick Schulman – 336 points
3. Maxx Coleman – 322 points
4. Daniel Negreanu – 302 points
5. Ryan Miller – 285 points
6. tbd – 277 points
7. Samuel Sternfield – 213 points
8. David Funkhouser – 192 points

Event Highlights

The $25,300 buy-in Championship event drew 56 entries, all hoping to show they were the best all-around poker player. This created a prize pool of $1.40 Million, with the top eight getting paid and earning valuable PGT points. Chad Eveslage experienced the agony of finishing just outside the money, busting in ninth place.

Day 2 started with 15 players, all dreaming of the title. Chino Rheem and Maxx Coleman were both in contention for the overall series title, adding an extra layer of drama. But Rheem was the first to go, his eight-seven in 2-7 Triple Draw losing to Coleman’s eight-five. This gave Coleman a golden opportunity – needing a third-place finish or better to claim the $10,000 PGT Passport.

The eliminations kept coming, with Scott Seiver (14th), Andrew Kelsall (13th), David Oppenheim (12th), Johannes Becker (11th), and John Hennigan (10th) all hitting the rail before the money bubble.

Maxx Coleman‘s run, however, ended in eighth place, taking home $56,000. After getting super short to just a single big bet, he went all-in in a Pot-Limit Omaha hand, flopping top pair with king-jack. But Obst had ace-king and hit a straight on the river, dashing Coleman’s hopes and handing Rheem the PGT Gold Cup!

Jason Mercier was the final player to be eliminated before the televised final table. He fell in seventh place when Aaron Sacks hit a full house on seventh street in Stud Hi-Lo, also earning $56,000.

If you missed it, you can watch the replay of the final table action on PokerGO’s YouTube channel below.

Final Table Recap

The final table was a pressure cooker, and James Obst wasted absolutely no time in seizing control. Nick Guagenti, already on life support after a crippling 2-7 Triple Draw hand against Robert Wells, found himself facing Obst in a Razz showdown. Guagenti was clinging to a single 5,000 chip, a desperate situation. Obst, holding the advantage, sealed Guagenti’s fate. There would be no miracle comeback; Guagenti exited in sixth place, collecting $84,000 and 50 PGT points.

Nick Guagenti eliminated in sixth place by James Obst in PGT Mixed Games Event #7.

Guagenti was all-in on third street in Razz but would be bounced out when Obst made a ten-low.

Guagenti earns $84,000 and 50 PGT points. pic.twitter.com/wIPkac71SX

— PGT (@PokerGOTour) March 6, 2025

Robert Wells, who’d earlier dealt Guagenti that near-fatal blow, couldn’t maintain his momentum. In a Stud hand, his eights and deuces were no match for Philip Sternheimer’s queens up. This left Wells on the brink. Just one hand later, his tournament life ended at the hands of Michael Duek. Duek, with trips eights on fifth street, delivered the final blow, sending Wells out in fifth place with $112,000.

Robert Wells eliminated in fifth place by Michael Duek in PGT Mixed Games Event #7.

Wells was all-in in Stud and finished with a pair of deuces, while Duek's buried eights improved to trips on fifth.

Wells earns $112,000 and 67 PGT points. pic.twitter.com/X10uk9T559

— PGT (@PokerGOTour) March 6, 2025

Then, the game shifted to 2-7 No Limit Single Draw, and the tension ratcheted up another notch. James Obst and Philip Sternheimer clashed in two back-to-back massive hands, a back-and-forth slugfest that would reshape the table dynamics. In the first showdown, Obst, sitting in the cutoff, five-bet all-in, a bold move with a pat eight-six. Sternheimer, in the big blind with a drawing hand, a wheel draw no less, made the call. The cards favoured Obst, doubling him into a strong second place and leaving Sternheimer reeling with just four big bets.

On the very next hand, the drama escalated. Obst, now with chips to burn, shoved from the small blind, holding a ten-six draw. Sternheimer, desperate to regain ground, committed his last chips with a nine-seven draw. The draw cards were dealt. A seven appeared for Obst, and that was all that she wrote – Sternheimer paired a card and was out, his dream run ending in a painful fourth-place finish worth $140,000.

Philip Sternheimer eliminated in fourth place by James Obst in PGT Mixed Games Event #7.@TheMannheim called all-in from the big blind in NL 2-7 SD withe a nine-seven draw against Obst's ten-six draw. Obst caught a seven, and when Sternheimer paired, he was eliminated.… pic.twitter.com/NsIHuTq9Xv

— PGT (@PokerGOTour) March 6, 2025

Aaron Sacks, who had ridden a wave of momentum to the chip lead for much of Day 2, suddenly found the tides turning against him. A seemingly strong flopped top pair of sevens turned into a nightmare when Obst, his relentless opponent, hit a straight on the river, snatching the chip lead and leaving Sacks with a sinking feeling.

Michael Duek, the short stack entering three-handed play, saw his chips slowly but surely bleed away to both Obst and Sacks. His final stand came in No Limit Hold’em, shoving nearly a million chips from the big blind with king-seven against Obst’s queen-nine in the small blind. Obst flopped an open-ender, and when Duek spiked a king on the river, it also completed Obst’s straight—sending the Argentinian out in third place with $196,000.

Michael Duek eliminated in third place by James Obst in PGT Mixed Games Event #7.

Duek called all-in from the big blind with king-seven to be ahead of Obst's queen-nine, but the Australian rivered a straight.

Duek collects $196,000 and 118 PGT points. pic.twitter.com/UTIyR3k71z

— PGT (@PokerGOTour) March 6, 2025

The heads-up duel between James Obst and Aaron Sacks had flashes of hope for Sacks. He staged a mini-comeback in Limit Hold’em, clawing back to within a million chips of the lead. But in the end, Obst had all the right moves. A crucial Razz hand saw Sacks’s ten-six fall to Obst’s superior nine-eight, leaving Sacks with just over a million chips. He showed true grit, managing two double-ups to stay alive. But with the blinds and limits at a staggering 300,000/600,000, the final hand was almost preordained.

It all came down to Badugi. Sacks, holding a nine-five-three, moved all-in. Obst, holding a made six-five-deuce-ace dugi, instantly called. Sacks was drawing stone dead. The formality of the remaining cards was irrelevant. James Obst had done it – he’d outlasted a field of elite mixed games players and claimed his first PGT title in breathtaking fashion!

Aaron Sacks eliminated in second place by James Obst in PGT Mixed Games Event #7.

Sacks was all-in in Badugi drawing dead to a nine against the 6-5-2-A of Obst.

Sacks earns $294,000 and 176 PGT points. pic.twitter.com/xhiIue2nW7

— PGT (@PokerGOTour) March 6, 2025

Final Table Results (USD)

1. James Obst – $462,000
2. Aaron Sacks – $294,000
3. Michael Duek – $196,000
4. Philip Sternheimer – $140,000
5. Robert Wells – $112,000
6. Nick Guagenti – $84,000

Content & Images Courtesy: PokerGO