button in SafariAlex Foxen Ties PGT Record with 13th Title
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Poker end-boss Alex Foxen added another title to his long list of accolades after finishing first from 70 entries in Event #7: $10,000 NLH. Foxen defeated Jeremy Ausmus heads-up to earn his 13th PGT title and the $210,000 top prize, while Ausmus recorded his third runner-up finish of the series.
Foxen's win comes just three days after his wife Kristen Foxen defeated Ausmus heads-up in Event #5 for her 5th PGT title, marking a great series so far for the poker power couple.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Foxen | United States | $210,000 |
| 2 | Jeremy Ausmus | United States | $136,500 |
| 3 | Qinghai Pan | United States | $94,500 |
| 4 | Aram Zobian | United States | $70,000 |
| 5 | Michael Berk | United States | $52,500 |
| 6 | Sam Laskowitz | United States | $38,500 |
| 7 | John Andress | United States | $28,000 |
Winner's Reaction
The win ties Foxen with Sam Soverel for most Career PGT titles earned at 13. Even before this event Foxen was already at the top of the PokerGo Tour all-time money list and first in all-time number of cashes, and he spoke on thriving in such an elite environment against some of the toughest possible competition.
"I mean, the tournaments are really tough. I think a lot of it comes down to who brings their A game most often. The discrepancy between one player and another at this level is relatively small, but I think there’s often a relatively big discrepancy between someone’s best game and their worst game. So I just really try to focus on things that help narrow that gap between my best and my worst game, and try to bring my A-game as much as I can.”
"I have the normal routine of health and fitness stuff," Foxen said when asked how he's able to play his A-game so consistently. "But just kind of a mindset towards seeking out challenge and enjoying challenging things. I think that’s very helpful."
"You could look at losing a bunch of all-ins in a row as “poor me,” Foxen continued, "or you could think of it like “wow, wouldn’t it be cool if still win this tournament after losing all these all-ins?” You can re-frame things in a way that makes them a little more positive, and a little bit easier to deal with. I try to do that as much as I can with everything in life, but it translates really well to poker.”
Final Day Action
Foxen started the day with around 55% of the total chips, while Ausmus started as a distant second. Qinghai Pan, Aram Zobian and Michael Berk all started very short, and Berk fell first in one of the first hands of the day after Zobian rivered a king with king-jack to best Berk's ace-queen.
Despite Zobian looking to spin up his stack early after Berk's elimination, Pan stopped his momentum dead after doubling through Zobian with pocket jacks, leaving Zobian with dust. He lost his remaining three big blinds to Foxen soon after, setting up three-handed play between Foxen, Ausmus and Pan.
Foxen, holding roughly two thirds of the total chips, applied relentless pressure during three-handed play, open-shoving many hands to extend his lead with few showdowns. Pan doubled twice in quick succession to stay alive, and Ausmus cracked Foxen's kings to secure a double of his own, but the three double ups hardly made a dent in Foxen's stack, and he continued to open-shove preflop with near-impunity. Pan made another stand holding ace-queen against Foxen's seven-six offsuit, but the Foxen steamroll continued as a six on the turn marked the end of Pan's run.
Heads-up play began with Foxen holding a bit more than a 4:1 chip advantage over Ausmus. In the very first hand of heads-up play, Ausmus limped in with eight-five, while Foxen checked with seven-three suited. The flop gave Foxen bottom pair, while Ausmus missed. Ausmus fired a triple-barrel bluff, but Foxen called after connecting with his seven on the river to win the final hand of the tournament.
