2025 PGT PLO Series: Billy Tarango Rallies to Capture First Live Title in Event #2: $5,100 Pot-Limit Omaha Progressive Bounty ($88,245)

The PokerGO Tour (PGT) is definitely bringing the four-card heat inside the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas! Kicking off on March 25, the 2025 PGT PLO Series quickly crowned its second champion. PLO regular Billy Tarango (cover image) worked his way through the field in Event #2: $5,100 Pot-Limit Omaha Progressive Bounty to claim the title, but it was anything but a straightforward win.

Tarango entered the final table action near the bottom of the chip counts and with zero bounties. Things looked tough. But then came a monster hand three-handed against Jesse Lonis that shifted the dynamics completely, giving Tarango control of about 80% of the chips. Even then, holding a massive 17.5:1 chip lead going into heads-up, things nearly unravelled before he steadied the ship and sealed the win, walking away with $88,245 plus $85,000 in bounties, making his total haul a hefty $173,245.

It takes four (cards) to Tarango!

Billy Tarango’s first-ever live tournament win is a victory in Event #2 of the PGT PLO Series.

Recap: https://t.co/3DyZTqk0B9 pic.twitter.com/J9JZALLPN7

— PGT (@PokerGOTour) March 28, 2025

This win gave Tarango his first-ever live tournament trophy and the second-largest cash of his poker career, behind only the $383,191 he collected for a sixth-place finish in the 2024 WSOP $25K PLO High Roller.

Stephen Hubbard also deserves major props for his runner-up finish. His effort earned him a well-deserved $88,245, the fourth-biggest cash grab of his career.

This latest result pushes Tarango’s recorded live tournament earnings just under the $600K mark, now at $594,574, according to The Hendon Mob. The win earned him 182 PGT points, putting him just two points ahead of Event #1 winner Ky Nguyen for the early lead on the PGT PLO Series leaderboard. Having made back-to-back final tables, James Chen sits in third place with 130 points.

The top five includes the two second-place finishers so far, with Event #1 runner-up Matthew McEwan holding a slight edge over Hubbard with 119 points. Other players like Jesse Lonis, Bryce Yockey, and Jeremy Ausmus are also in the top ten after strong early showings.

The $5,100 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha was a record-breaking. It attracted 159 entrants, setting a new high water mark as the biggest bounty tournament in PokerGO Tour history and tying for the fifth largest $5,000 buy-in PGT event overall. It generated a substantial $795,000 total prize pool. With bounty prizes adding an extra incentive, the top 23 players made the payouts, each guaranteed at least $5,247.

However, for Mark Chapic, it ended just before the money; he became the bubble finisher after being forced all-in from the big blind and getting knocked out by Jesse Lonis.

.@JesseLonis sends out Mark Chapic on the money bubble.

Watch the final table Thursday on @PokerGO.

Live updates: https://t.co/10lRtoA9gz https://t.co/oQiYiyUL0p pic.twitter.com/fedn9xWNzI

— PGT (@PokerGOTour) March 27, 2025

Several other well-known players made deep runs but bowed out before the final table, including John Riordan (23rd, $5,247), Sean Troha (21st, $5,247), Allan Le (18th, $7,155), Sean Winter (16th, $7,155), Lautaro Guerra (14th, $9,540), CoinPoker Ambassador Patrick Leonard (10th, $14,310), and Nick Schulman (9th, $14,310).

The official final table of Event #2 was determined late on Day 1 after John Richards busted in sixth place. The five remaining competitors bagged their chips and were set to return for the streamed final table under the studio lights.

Jesse Lonis leads the Event #2 final table from the PGT PLO Series!@JesseLonis 6,515,000@KillabugPKR 4,130,000
Billy Tarango 3,625,000
James Chen 3,330,000@ph_hubbard 2,275,000

🏆 $88,245 + bounties
🔒 $28,620

Don’t miss the final table streaming on @PokerGO on Thursday… pic.twitter.com/y9edXy2vFr

— PGT (@PokerGOTour) March 27, 2025

The final table was live-streamed on a delay on PokerGO`s YouTube channel. You can watch the replay below.

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Jesse Lonis – 6,515,000
2. Arthur Morris – 4,130,000
3. Billy Tarango – 3,625,000
4. James Chen – 3,330,000
5. Stephen Hubbard – 2,275,000

Final Table Recap

Two-time WSOP bracelet winner Jesse Lonis started the final day holding the chip lead and looked to assert his position early. He padded his stack by eliminating fellow bracelet winner James Chen, who got most of his chips in preflop holding after four-betting over a Lonis three-bet. Lonis called with . The flop came . Chen shoved his remaining chips, and Lonis snapped him off. The turn gave Lonis the lead with two pair, and the river sealed Chen’s fate.

Savage runout! 💥 @JesseLonis spikes the turn to eliminate James Chen in 5th place.

🔗 https://t.co/CZSLg6bB8X pic.twitter.com/zESvTsUqnj

— PokerGO (@PokerGO) March 27, 2025

The final table drama escalated when Arthur Morris busted fourth in painful fashion. Holding , Morris got his stack in as a huge favourite against Stephen Hubbard’s . The flop put Morris way ahead with an overpair, the nut flush draw, and backdoor straight possibilities – making him nearly a 3-to-1 favourite. But the poker gods had other plans. The turn suddenly gave Hubbard top two pair, and the river was a brick, crushing Morris’s hopes while Hubbard scooped the pot to surge into contention.

The later stages featured wild swings and big pots, but Tarango overcame the turbulence to win his first live trophy.

It all started with Jesse Lonis surging into the lead during three-handed play after making a gutsy river call with the second-nut flush against Stephen Hubbard, who was repping strong with just the nut-flush blocker. That hero call gave Lonis nearly two-thirds of the chips in play.

Tarango started his comeback soon after, first winning a decent pot with nines and fours against Lonis’s nines and threes. Then came the hand that turned the whole event upside down. Tarango opened from the small blind with , Jesse Lonis defended with , and the flop came . Tarango bet, Lonis raised the pot, and Tarango quickly moved all-in for 7.80 Million. Lonis called. The turn brought the , giving Tarango a full house (sixes full of jacks) and leaving Lonis nearly dead to rights. The river confirmed the massive 163-big-blind pot for Tarango, slashing Lonis’s stack down to just 22 big blinds.

Lonis busted in third place shortly after when all the chips went in on the flop , and his couldn’t hold against Tarango’s . The on the turn gave Lonis outs, but the river ended his run in third place.

This led to heads-up play with Billy Tarango holding a mountain of chips (18.80 Million) to Hubbard’s short stack (1.075 Million) (roughly 17.5:1). Showing real determination, Hubbard didn’t just roll over. He staged a gutsy comeback attempt, finding three consecutive double-ups that dramatically closed the gap to approximately 5-to-3, putting the pressure back on Tarango.

But Tarango collected himself, stabilised, and re-established an over 4-to-1 lead before closing it out. On the button, Hubbard raised with , and Tarango defended with . The flop came . Tarango led out with bottom pair and a gutshot draw; Hubbard called with his overpair of aces. The turn was the , giving Tarango added flush and open-ended straight draws. Hubbard potted the turn, Tarango check-raised all-in, and Hubbard called for his remaining 750,000 chips. The river card was the – completing Tarango’s flush and ending the tournament!

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Billy Tarango – $88,245 (+ $85,000 in bounties)
2. Stephen Hubbard – $88,245
3. Jesse Lonis – $47,700
4. Arthur Morris – $35,775
5. James Chen – $28,620

Content & Images Courtesy: PokerGO

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