Punnat Punsri Wins Back-to-Back PokerGO Tour Events

Thailand’s Punnat Punsri got off to a flying start in 2022 after taking down a brace of $10,000 tournaments. The Venetian, Las Vegas, is hosting a series of High Roller events, and Punsri is shining.

A $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em kicked off proceedings. Thirty-four players bought in and created a $340,000 prize pool. Punsri got his hands on the lion’s share of this pot.

John Flynt burst the money bubble after a clash with Alex Foxen did not go to plan. Foxen opened to 26,000 with Ah-Qc and called when Flynt three-bet shoved for 100,000 with Kh-Tc.

Jake Schindler was the first player to receive some prize money. He open-shoved his short-stack with Kd-8d, and Erik Seidel called with Jh-Tc. A board reading As-Ts-2h-Ah-2s ended Schindler’s participation.

Foxen was the next player out of the door. He opened to 300,000, leaving himself only 60,000 behind. Punsri set Foxen all-in, and Foxen called. It was As-8s for Foxen, and Kh-6h for Punsri. A king on the turn of the Tc-4s-7d-Ks-4h busted Foxen.

Punsri Claims Chip Lead

Foxen’s seat had not gone cold when Barry Hutter busted. Hutter was all-in on the Kh-2d-9h flop with Kc-Qs. However, Punsri held Kd-2h. Neither the 4s turn nor 6d river helped Hutter, and he crashed out.

That hand gave Punsri a near 2,115,000 to 1,285,000 chip lead over Seidel. The pair struck a deal for the remaining prize pool because another $10,000 event was on the horizon.

Place	Player	Country	Prize	PokerGO Tour Points
1	Punnat Punsri	Thailand	$118,037*	118
2	Erik Seidel	United States	$106,363*	106
3	Barry Hutter	United States	$54,400	54
4	Alex Foxen	United States	$37,400	37
5	Jake Schindler	United States	$23,800	24

*reflects a heads-up deal

Victory Number 2 For the Rising Thai Star

Punsri proved his earlier victory was not a flash in the pan by triumphing in the next $10,000 High Roller event. This tournament drew in a larger 37-strong field, which meant it paid an additional place.

Dylan Linde did not benefit from the extra payout place because he fell in seventh place. Linde got his stack in with Jd-Js against MSPT Venetian champion Masashi Oya’s 7h-7d. A Linde double looked likely, but a seven on the river of the Kd-6s-9c-2d-7c ended Linde’s run.

Sixth-place and $18,500 went to Hutter. Again, Oya did the damage. Hutter moved all-in with Qs-Th on an 8d-Td-As flop. Oya called with Ac-3d, which held as the turn and river fell 2h and 6s.

A lull in eliminations ended with Andrew Lichtenberger’s exit. Lichtenberger pinned his hopes on Ad-3d, but did not count on Oya calling with the dominating As-Ks. The five community cards fell Jc-Js-Kh-Tc-8d, and Lichtenberger headed home.

Oya Loses Big Coinflip

Oya was sailing through to heads-up, but came unstuck against Chris Brewer. The Japanese star opened to 60,000 with 6d-6c, and called off his last 790,000 when Brewer three-bet jammed. Brewer turned over As-Js, and won the race courtesy of the Kd-Ah-8d-Th-Qh board.

The heads-up players’ stacks were almost level, so it was anyone’s chance of winning. A huge pot went the way of Punsri when brewer tank-called a raise on the river of the Qs-Kc-7d-Jd-2s board. Brewer mucked when Punsri flipped over Th-9d for a straight.

Brewer fought back and managed to reclaim the chip lead. However, Brewer bluffed off his stack in the final hand.

Punsri limped with Js-8s, and Brewer checked his Ks-6c. Brewer check-raised a 60,000 bet to 150,000 on the Qs-5s-2c flop. He led for 150,000 on the 9s turn, leading to the 2d river. Brewer shoved for 1,330,000, and Punsri tank-called with his flush. Game over for Brewer.

Place	Player	Country	Prize	PokerGO Tour Points
1	Punnat Punsri	Thailand	$133,200	133
2	Chris Brewer	United States	$88,800	89
3	Masashi Oya	Japan	$59,200	59
4	Andrew Lichtenberger	United States	$40,700	41
5	John Flynt	United States	$29,600	30
6	Barry Hutter	United States	$18,500	19

Brad Johnson

You name the game, and you can bet your bottom dollar that Brad has either played it or placed a wager on it! Brad calls himself a natural gambler, and someone who gains as much enjoyment from writing about the crazy game of poker as he does playing it.

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