The Venetian in Las Vegas played host to four PokerGO Tour high rollers this past weekend, and two players who've dominated the circuit this year continued their brilliance. Ali Imsirovic and Sean Perry both won titles, furthering their position as the top high stakes tournament grinders in 2021.
Imsirovic entered Thursday's first event ($10,000 No-Limit Hold'em) having already won eight high roller events since February, including a $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em tournament at Venetian in May for $200,200. Perry, the son of old-school poker pro Ralph Perry, was after his fourth victory of the year. He also had a Venetian win earlier this year — $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em in May for $365,500.
Imsirovic and Perry weren't the only players to perform at a high level this past weekend. Andrew "LuckyChewy" Lichtenberger took down Thursday's $10k NLH for $120,000 and then received another $125,300 on Sunday as part of a three-way chop to finish the series in the $25k NLH event. Cary Katz took second place for $121,130 and Nick Petrangelo received $103,520 for third place in the chop.
The Year of Imsirovic
Heading into the Venetian series, Imsirovic was already the top high roller tournament performer in 2021. He had racked up eight titles and was starting to pull away in the PokerGO Tour and Global Poker Index Player of the Year standings. But it's too early in the year for him to take his foot off the gas. So, he continued his dominance this past weekend in Las Vegas.
The Bosnian poker pro shipped Friday's $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em event for $136,000, beating out 34 entries, five of whom were paid. In doing so, he won his ninth high roller of the year, five more than any other player. The 26-year-old crusher defeated Eric Worre heads-up for the title, adding 136 PokerGO Tour points for 2021, and now has 2,600 for the year, leading the way by a fairly comfortable margin (at least for now).
Perry Hanging Tough
If Imsirovic were to fade, there's a strong possibility that Perry would be the one to take over in the PokerGO Tour standings. After the Venetian series, he now has 2,021 points, putting him in second place at 579 points behind Imsirovic. Sam Soverel remains in third place with 1,646 and is followed closely by Sean Winter, who is stuck on 1,614. Katz, the PokerGO founder, earned three cashes in the four events and is now back to within striking distance of Imsirovic at 1,505.
Perry's win in the $25k on Saturday ($290,000) was against a 29-player field. He outlasted Antonios Roungeris heads-up for the win, his fourth high roller victory in 2021.
Venetian High Roller Series Winners
| Date | Tournament | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8/12/2021 | Event #4 $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em | Andrew Lichtenberger | $120,000 |
| 8/13/2021 | Event #5 $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em | Ali Imsirovic | $136,000 |
| 8/14/2021 | Event #6 $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em | Sean Perry | $290,000 |
| 8/15/2021 | Event #7 $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em | Andrew Lichtenberger | $125,300 |
