Event #7 of PokerGO Cup Won by Ali Imsirovic for $365,000

The penultimate event of the 2022 PokerGO Cup saw a dramatic finish crown Ali Imsirovic as the latest winner, as the 2021 PGT champion bagged the top prize of $365,500.

Winning heads-up at the expense of Sam Soverel, it was a clash between two players will tremendous reputations, forged primarily within the ARIA Resort & Casino and the PokerGO Studio specifically. Imsirovic came out on top, but it could have gone either way as a thrilling climax set up the final event of the series perfectly.

Series Regulars Chopped Down

A total of 43 entries each worth $25,000 contributed to a prize pool of just over a million dollars, with seven players making the money and six the final table. Among those to fall short of both profit and prestige were some regulars from this series of the PokerGO Cup.

Event #2 winner Sean Perry was one of that number, failing to add to his titles but giving him plenty of time to run up a stack in Event #8. He was joined on the rail on Day 1 by stars such as Brock Wilson, Stephen Chidwick, Andrew Lichtenberger, Sean Winter, Michael Lang, Event #6 winner Daniel Negreanu, Bill Klein and Event #5 winner Nick Petrangelo.

Day 1 ended with just six players, but seven made the money, meaning a chase to the payouts would favor whoever had the chip lead.  That man was Imsirovic, the PokerGO Tour champion of 2021, nicknamed the ‘Bosnian Bandit’ by commentator Brent Hanks. After eliminating Event #5 winner Nick Petrangelo in Level 9 of Day 1. After taking care of Alex Foxen later in the same level, Imsirovic was second in chips with just nine remaining and everyone seated at the same table.

Sam Soverel retook the lead at this point, but the Bosnian-American eliminated both Jason Koon and Roger Sippl, the latter in the first paid place of seventh for $43,000, to seal the final six with a big lead.

The Final Table Sees Immediate Action

With over 2.6 million chips, Imsirovic’s lead could hardly have been more dominant, his cloest rival being Soverel on 1.5m. No other player had more than a third of Imsirovic’s chips, however and that dominance was reflected in the play as the final table began.

Darren Elias busted in sixth place for $64,500 after a consistent series yielded plenty of final table cashes but no titles for the four-time WPT Main Event winner. Elias had pocket eights, but couldn’t hold as Imsirovic called his shove with king-queen of spades and a queen on the flop flipped Elias out of contention.

Next to go was Cary Katz, who also busted to Imsirovic, this time with a dominated hand of king-ten against Imsirovic with ace-king. A flop of ace-jack-ten gave both men some hope, but ultimately, Katz couldn’t catch up to head to the rail $86,000 better off than at the start of the day.

Losing his seat in fourth place was Nick Schulman, who lost what may well turn out to be the most vital pot of the series if his conqueror in the hand, Jeremy Ausmus, goes on to win the PokerGO Cup by a fine margin. Schulman was ahead when he committed all of his chips with ace-five against Ausmus’ queen-nine.

After the turn landed, Ausmus had 14 outs to chase down on the river and a queen came to send Schulman home for $118,250. That hand gave Ausmus a guaranteed lead going into the final event of the series which will be difficult, if not impossible, for others to overhaul.

Imsirovic Takes the Title

“Coming in with the chip lead makes it easier; you need to be all-in a bunch.”

With the pressure on and just three players in the hunt for the title, every pot counted. Jeremy Ausmus had laddered to third place but could go no further, losing his stack to Imsirovic like so many players on ‘the back nine’. Imsirovic raised enough to commit any challengers all-in with ace-seven and Ausmus took his shot with ace-king, going into the deal ahead.

Soverel had folded ace-seven, meaning Imsirovic only had two to shoot for, but one landed on the flop to bust Ausmus for $161,250 and give the chip leader a big advantage. Going into the final battle, Imsirovic had 5.4 million chips to Soverel’s 1 million.

Despite the disparity in chips, the stacks were soon level as Soverel grinded his way back into contention, sneaking into the lead, but he lost the vital hand that came soon after. Imsirovic’s king-deuce flopped trips as the board came 6-2-2, and when Soverel’s ace-queen hit an ace on the turn, the money would eventually go in on the river.

Soverel was left with just three big blinds and pretty soon they were gone along with all his hopes of victory. Soverel had the best of it with ace-deuce, but Imsirovic, who had called with nine-four, flopped a four and rode out turn and river, even pairing a nine on the river to take the win and relegate Soverel to a runner-up position worth $236,500.

After the win, Imsirovic revealed how he felt at the final table to PokerGO, saying that ‘coming in with the chip lead makes it easier; you need to be all-in a bunch’ as he looked forward to the final:

It's still all to play for at the 2022 PokerGO Cup after Ali Imsirovic took down Event #7 for $365,500 to keep his hopes alive of adding another big trophy to his already impressive resume!

Follow our Event #8 Live Updates right now on: https://t.co/HmtTu5CMcL pic.twitter.com/tEKPuoDIqH

— PokerGO (@PokerGO) February 10, 2022

As well as winning Event #7, Imsirovic not only won $365,500, but also grabbed vital PokerGO Cup points, and he now has 300 of them heading into the final event. With Jeremy Ausmus leading the way on 507 points, there are still 384 points on offer to the winner of the final event.