Cary Katz Wins PokerGO Cup Event #4: $10,100 NLHE ($226,800)

Cary Katz, affectionately known as “El Jefe” as the founder of PokerGO, emerged victorious in Event #4 of the 2024 PokerGO Cup series. Katz defeated Bulgaria’s Stoyan Madanzhiev in heads-up, to secure a win worth $226,800.

This win also positioned him third on the 2024 leaderboard with 227 points, closely trailing Jonathan Little (252 points) and Dylan Weisman (240 points). In the 2023 season, Katz was crowned the PokerGO Cup champion with five cashes totaling $655,800, and he is now eyeing a possible back-to-back championship title.

2024 PokerGO Cup Event #4: $10,100 NLHE Final Table Results

2024 PokerGO Cup Event #4: $10,100 NLHE Final Table Action

The third out of four $10,100 buy-in events in the PokerGO Cup series attracted 81 entries, creating an $810,000 prize pool. With the top twelve players in the money, the final day began with the last six men standing. WSOP 2020 champion Stoyan Madanzhiev entered the final table as the chip leader. Unlike previous event, the final table was relatively deep-stacked, with an average of around 65 big blinds.

Jesse Lonis, the only actual short stack with 22 big blinds, faced an early exit despite squeezing pocket queens as he ran into Madanzhiev’s pocket Aces, resulting in a sixth-place finish. Madanzhiev was a runaway leader at this point, holding almost half a chips in play, but the playing field eventually evened out.

Aram Zobian first eliminated Jeremy Ausmus in fourth place with ace-queen against ace-five. Then, Katz made an excellent play, inducing a big raise from Madanzhiev after Katz rivered a full house, propelling him into the lead. Katz’s next target was Chino Rheem, who was ousted in fourth place when his ace-ten fell to Katz’s ace-queen.

The three-way battle was lengthy, and the only one slowly losing chips was Zobian. He and Madanzhiev exchanged several all-ins, with Zobian surviving three of those in a row. However, Bulgarian’s persistence paid off when he finally eliminated Zobian in third place after Zobian’s pocket fives clashed with Madanzhiev’s pocket jacks.

The heads-up match between Katz and Madanzhiev started evenly, with both players closely matched in chips. The defining moment came when Katz, with K♥8♠, bested Madanzhiev’s 5♥2♥ on an A♥8♦5♣4♣4♦ board, taking a significant lead.

The final hand was a dramatic and proper end to the event. Katz, holding K♦J♦, moved all in, and Madanzhiev, with K♥5♥, called for his remaining chips. The flop brought a J♥10♦2♠ down to a runner-runner save for the Bulgarian. The turn brought J♥ and a flush draw for Madanzhiev, but the river blanked, sealing Katz’s victory and his second PokerGO Cup win, while Madanzhievearned $145,800 for his efforts.

* Images and hands courtesy of the PokerGO Tour