PGT PLO Series II: Matthew Wantman’s Incredible Comeback in Event #3: $5,100 Pot-Limit Omaha Lands Him Second PGT Title of the Year and Leaderboard Lead! ($178,250)

The PokerGO Tour (PGT) is back, and the high-stakes PLO action is hotter than ever at the luxurious PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas! The 2024 PGT PLO II Series kicked off on October 14, and Matthew Wantman (cover image) has already made a statement, taking down Event #3: $5,100 Pot-Limit Omaha in an unforgettable comeback.

Wantman, a seasoned cash game pro, faced near-certain defeat during heads-up play, falling to less than three big blinds. But he staged an incredible comeback, rallying to win his second PGT title of the year (and third overall) along with a hefty $178,250 payday. This victory also launched him to the top of the PGT PLO Series II leaderboard, making him a strong contender for the series title.

Matthew Wantman Comes Back From Three Big Blinds to Capture Event #3 Title 🏆🏆🏆

Read more: https://t.co/2nefGATxO5 pic.twitter.com/arI8HNeu0e

— PokerGO Tour (@PokerGOTour) October 18, 2024

Austria’s Jonas Kronwitter also had a great run in the event, navigating the tough field to finish as runner-up and earn a well-deserved $112,375 – the fifth five-figure cash of his career.

Wantman is no stranger to tournament success. His poker resume is stacked with impressive victories, including the 2015 WPT Borgata Winter Open ($50,016), the 2019 WPT ARIA Summer Championship ($443,474), and his first PGT title in the 2023 PGT PLO Series Event #1: $5K Pot Limit Omaha ($150,500). Just this past April, Wantman added another trophy to his collection, winning the U.S. Poker Open Event #5: $10,100 No-Limit Hold’em for $239,200 after besting poker legend Daniel Negreanu heads-up.

This latest victory brings Wantman’s total live tournament earnings to over $6.92 Million, placing him seventh on Massachusetts’ all-time money list. With this victory, he has surged to the top of the PGT PLO Series II leaderboard with 198 points, surpassing Event #1 champion Lautaro Guerra, who currently sits in second place with 178 points.

The $5,100 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha event generated a prize pool of $775,000, with the top 23 players earning at least $7,750. Unfortunately, Maksim Pisarenko bubbled the event, narrowly missing out on a cash.

Several notable players made deep runs in the tournament, including the fiercely consistent Josh Arieh (22nd for $7,750), David Coleman (15th for $7,750), Dylan Weisman (20th for $7,750), Daniel Negreanu (17th for $11,625), Sean Winter (13th for $15,500), and Ronald Keijzer (10th for $23,250).

Day 1 of the tournament saw the action heat up as players consolidated to a single table following Elias Harala’s exit in eighth place. Harala had a wild ride, surging to the chip lead with eight players remaining before doubling up both Wantman and Schwartz, almost draining his stack. Wantman then delivered the final blow, eliminating Harala and shifting the momentum of the tournament.

Wantman, who started as the short stack with nine players remaining, then went on a heater, scoring consecutive double-ups to finish the day as the chip leader.

The final table was live-streamed on PokerGO’s YouTube channel, and you can watch the replay below.

Final Table Recap

Starting the day as the short stack, Michael Duek managed to climb a couple of rungs up the payout ladder. He watched as Eelis Parssinen transferred the bulk of his stack to Kronwitter on the very first hand. Later, Duek capitalized on this shift in momentum, eventually eliminating Parssinen in seventh place.

Wantman, who began the day as the chip leader, quickly got to work, initiating a series of eliminations. He first eliminated Eran Carmi in sixth place, flopping a king-high flush to send the Israeli pro packing.

Wantman then continued his dominance, hitting a dramatic runner-runner full house to crack Michael Duek‘s flopped set. This crushing blow sent Duek to the payout desk in fifth place.

Jonas Kronwitter also made his presence felt at the final table, orchestrating two key eliminations in quick succession. He first took out Joe Serock in fourth place when his flopped set of jacks held up against Serock’s pocket queens.

Kronwitter then continued his hot streak, eliminating Zachary Schwartz in third place with a spectacular flopped nut flush. This hand gave Kronwitter a commanding chip lead heading into heads-up play.

Heads-up play began with Wantman facing a daunting chip deficit of nearly 3:1 against Kronwitter, and the blinds were escalating quickly. Despite briefly taking the chip lead, a couple of unfortunate hands where Kronwitter rivered a flush saw the momentum swing back heavily in Kronwitter’s favour, leaving Wantman with just a tenth of the chips in play.

But Wantman wasn’t giving up. With blinds at 250,000/500,000 and just 1.40 Million chips remaining, he managed to survive a couple of all-in confrontations where he was initially behind. He scored his first big double-up when his pocket jacks held up against Kronwitter’s flush and straight draws.

Wantman then doubled up again when his top pair of kings beat Kronwitter’s bottom pair of nines, bringing his stack to just over 6 Million. The momentum continued to swing in Wantman’s favor when he got all-in again, this time with top pair and an open-ender against Kronwitter’s gutshot straight draw. The river paired the board, and Wantman’s hand held up, giving him a 2:1 chip lead.

In the final hand of the tournament, Kronwitter, holding , flopped a double gutshot straight draw but needed to improve to beat Wantman’s with a pair of aces. The community cards opened , and Wantman’s aces held up, giving him the victory and the title!

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Matthew Wantman – $178,250
2. Jonas Kronwitter – $112,375
3. Zachary Schwartz – $77,500
4. Joe Serock – $58,125
5. Michael Duek – $46,500
6. Eran Carmi – $38,750
7. Eelis Parssinen – $31,000

Content & Images Courtesy: PokerGO

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