2026 Pure Poker Tour Series #1 – Event #8: $340 NLH/PLO

While things seemed to go pretty quickly early on in this game, my prediction of a long day ultimately came true. Mostly, however, that was down to a fairly insane heads-up battle between Stefan Maloney and Leo Zhang that went on for nearly 90 minutes.

They played four levels in the head-to-head, but it wasn’t because no one was putting chips in. Zhang was on the ropes no less than 5 times during the HU battle, only to somehow find a way to get there. In one case, he was dominated with queen-three into queen-ten, but found two pair with his three to survive.

The three was particulary nice to Zhang tonight. In another hand, he again found two pair to survive in a PLO round, hitting a nine-three. Maloney had a hard time believing it was actually happening, but Zhang seemingly couldn’t die.

By the time they hit Level 28, the average stack was less than 10 big blinds going into a PLO round. Maloney pretty much had the lead all the way through, but just couldn’t drive the final nail.

Zhang was very short again, and it all went in on the flop after Maloney potted and Zhang called. Zhang was very live drawing to diamonds, while Mak\loney was on top pair with backdoor clubs. Miraculously, the queen held to finally end the night.

You might think from the spirited battle that all the money was in play. Nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, the pair battled for 90 minutes over $200 and the trophy. When all was said and done, Maloney pocketed $6,420 to Zhang’s $6,220, but I think Maloney was most happy about being able to take a trophy home for his daughter.

Worth noting that Maloney is a bit of a wizard in this format. With this game, three of his four career wins are in this format, and he also has 7 more final table appearances in the two-card/four-card mix

Final Results for NLH/PLO Mix

Place	Player	Prize
1	Stefan Maloney	$6,420*
2	Leo Zhang	$6,220*
3	Mehmet Siginc	$3,205
4	Ryan Cairns	$2,135
5	Ron Lauzon	$1,410
6	Haven Taylor	$1,025
7	Paul Shakir	$790
8	Brady O’Hara	$620

Stefan Maloney potted to 300k, then called when Leo Zhang went in for 370k. Maloney was in great shape with A♦J♥J♠7♥ against A♣J♦9♣3♠.

Zhang found a nine on the flop and a three on the turn to get two pair and crack the jacks. This is the fifth time he’s been all-in, at risk, before finding the cards he needed to survive.

Maloney is still in the lead, but Zhang is up to around 700k now.

It’s been quite a head-to-head battle so far. Stefan Maloney and Leo Zhang made a deal to chop the money down the middle when they got heads up, leaving $200 and the trophy on the table to play for. If anyone thought that might loosen the play, they’d have been mistaken.

They’ve been at it for almost an hour now, through a full level of PLO and most of two levels of NLH. They are now down to just over 10 big blinds average, and the stacks are even again after Zhang shoved the shorty, and Maloney called it. Maloney was dominating with queen-ten into queen-three, but Zhang found two pair on the flop of Q♥3♣K♣4♦A♦ and held to get it even again.

Mehmet Siginc was down to the short stack when Stefan Maloney potted, and Siginc called off his stack. Maloney had pocket queens, and was well ahead, running out to a straight to send Siginc out in 3rd.

Leo Zhang potted to 120k from the button, and Mehmet Siginc called from the big blind. Siginc potted the 2♦J♦K♣, then called when Zhang shoved over top.

Both players hit the king with Zhang on ace-ace-king-x with three hearts against king-queen-eight-three for Siginc with spades and diamonds. Siginc got two pair on the Q♠ turn, but Zhang found Broadway on the 10♠ river.

Mehmet Siginc shoved the big stack from the button, and Leo Zhang called with less from the small blind. Stefan Maloney was a bit disgusted to look down at king-queen. “How do I have to fold this?” he asked, mucking his hand face up.

Zhang was good with kings against ace-jack for Siginc, and the kings held for a double.

I missed the action, but Ryan Cairns followed Ron Lauzon to the cage for 4th place tonight.

Ron Lauzon raised, leaving just one chip behind, which went in when Ryan Cairs raised it up again. Lauzon was on a suits four-deuce, and he couldn’t get there against Cairns’ ace.

Haven Taylor ended her run in 6th place tonight while Event #7 was making their deal. The remaining 5 players have moved to poker to finish out the night.

The NLH/PLO is down to 6 after Paul Shakir ended his run in 7th place tonight. I’m still paying more attention to the final four in Event #7, so I haven’t caught any action here yet.

I’m still not following the action in this game, as Event #7 is still 5-handed, but Brady O’Hara was the first player out in the money today, scoring $620 for 8th place.

The NLH/PLO side game is now in the money with 8 players left. I’ve grabbed the photos of players who made the money, but I’m still watching 6-handed play in Event #7, so I’m not sure how much action I’ll catch in this one. While this game usually runs pretty late, it’s looking like it may finish before Event #7 does tonight.

The prizes are in, and the final field for the NLH/PLO Mix game was 75 entries for prizes of $21,825. That means 8 players will be sharing in those prizes, with the winner set to pocket $7,725.

My previous estimate of 80 entries is looking a little optimistic right now, with 66 entries on the board and about 20 minutes left to enter. There are just over 5 minutes left in Level 9, with a break following this level. Entries will be closed when they come back from that break, so a final field between 70 and 80 seems like a good bet now.

Just under an hour remains in entries for the NLH/PLO Mix tonight, and the field is now at 60 entries. Given the current pace, it seems likely the field will finish around 80 entries, which would mean prizes of almost $23k.

The prizes are now over $10k for the NLH/PKO Mix game, with about half of Level 3 to play. Among the players in the game are Darrell Moore, Sal Haji, Mehmet Siginc, Ron Lauzon, Haven Taylor, Justin Pennell, and Stefan Maloney.

The side game is now underway in the Social room, playing out alongside Event #7. With a bit less than 10 minutes to play in the opening level, the field is at 24 entries for prizes of $6,840.

Just as a reminder, all odd-numbered levels in this game will play with two cards, while the even-numbered levels will play with four-card PLO rules.

Event #8: $340 NLH/PLO ($300 + $40)

The side game on Monday is the NLH/PLO Mix. That action kicks off at 6 PM, and players get 25k in chips for their $340 buy in.

Blinds will be 20 minutes long throughout the game, and players have 9 levels to enter or rebuy. That should mean the last entry will be around 9:30 PM, and after that, they play down to a winner.

Expect this to be a late one — past history shows this game could easily play until 6 AM or later, so players buying in should saddle up for a long ride.

While things seemed to go pretty quickly early on in this game, my prediction of a long day ultimately came true. Mostly, however, that was down to a fairly insane heads-up battle between Stefan Maloney and Leo Zhang that went on for nearly 90 minutes.

They played four levels in the head-to-head, but it wasn’t because no one was putting chips in. Zhang was on the ropes no less than 5 times during the HU battle, only to somehow find a way to get there. In one case, he was dominated with queen-three into queen-ten, but found two pair with his three to survive.

The three was particulary nice to Zhang tonight. In another hand, he again found two pair to survive in a PLO round, hitting a nine-three. Maloney had a hard time believing it was actually happening, but Zhang seemingly couldn’t die.

By the time they hit Level 28, the average stack was less than 10 big blinds going into a PLO round. Maloney pretty much had the lead all the way through, but just couldn’t drive the final nail.

Zhang was very short again, and it all went in on the flop after Maloney potted and Zhang called. Zhang was very live drawing to diamonds, while Mak\loney was on top pair with backdoor clubs. Miraculously, the queen held to finally end the night.

You might think from the spirited battle that all the money was in play. Nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, the pair battled for 90 minutes over $200 and the trophy. When all was said and done, Maloney pocketed $6,420 to Zhang’s $6,220, but I think Maloney was most happy about being able to take a trophy home for his daughter.

Worth noting that Maloney is a bit of a wizard in this format. With this game, three of his four career wins are in this format, and he also has 7 more final table appearances in the two-card/four-card mix

Final Results for NLH/PLO Mix

Place	Player	Prize
1	Stefan Maloney	$6,420*
2	Leo Zhang	$6,220*
3	Mehmet Siginc	$3,205
4	Ryan Cairns	$2,135
5	Ron Lauzon	$1,410
6	Haven Taylor	$1,025
7	Paul Shakir	$790
8	Brady O’Hara	$620

Stefan Maloney potted to 300k, then called when Leo Zhang went in for 370k. Maloney was in great shape with A♦J♥J♠7♥ against A♣J♦9♣3♠.

Zhang found a nine on the flop and a three on the turn to get two pair and crack the jacks. This is the fifth time he’s been all-in, at risk, before finding the cards he needed to survive.

Maloney is still in the lead, but Zhang is up to around 700k now.

It’s been quite a head-to-head battle so far. Stefan Maloney and Leo Zhang made a deal to chop the money down the middle when they got heads up, leaving $200 and the trophy on the table to play for. If anyone thought that might loosen the play, they’d have been mistaken.

They’ve been at it for almost an hour now, through a full level of PLO and most of two levels of NLH. They are now down to just over 10 big blinds average, and the stacks are even again after Zhang shoved the shorty, and Maloney called it. Maloney was dominating with queen-ten into queen-three, but Zhang found two pair on the flop of Q♥3♣K♣4♦A♦ and held to get it even again.

Mehmet Siginc was down to the short stack when Stefan Maloney potted, and Siginc called off his stack. Maloney had pocket queens, and was well ahead, running out to a straight to send Siginc out in 3rd.

Leo Zhang potted to 120k from the button, and Mehmet Siginc called from the big blind. Siginc potted the 2♦J♦K♣, then called when Zhang shoved over top.

Both players hit the king with Zhang on ace-ace-king-x with three hearts against king-queen-eight-three for Siginc with spades and diamonds. Siginc got two pair on the Q♠ turn, but Zhang found Broadway on the 10♠ river.

Mehmet Siginc shoved the big stack from the button, and Leo Zhang called with less from the small blind. Stefan Maloney was a bit disgusted to look down at king-queen. “How do I have to fold this?” he asked, mucking his hand face up.

Zhang was good with kings against ace-jack for Siginc, and the kings held for a double.

I missed the action, but Ryan Cairns followed Ron Lauzon to the cage for 4th place tonight.

Ron Lauzon raised, leaving just one chip behind, which went in when Ryan Cairs raised it up again. Lauzon was on a suits four-deuce, and he couldn’t get there against Cairns’ ace.

Haven Taylor ended her run in 6th place tonight while Event #7 was making their deal. The remaining 5 players have moved to poker to finish out the night.

The NLH/PLO is down to 6 after Paul Shakir ended his run in 7th place tonight. I’m still paying more attention to the final four in Event #7, so I haven’t caught any action here yet.

I’m still not following the action in this game, as Event #7 is still 5-handed, but Brady O’Hara was the first player out in the money today, scoring $620 for 8th place.

The NLH/PLO side game is now in the money with 8 players left. I’ve grabbed the photos of players who made the money, but I’m still watching 6-handed play in Event #7, so I’m not sure how much action I’ll catch in this one. While this game usually runs pretty late, it’s looking like it may finish before Event #7 does tonight.

The prizes are in, and the final field for the NLH/PLO Mix game was 75 entries for prizes of $21,825. That means 8 players will be sharing in those prizes, with the winner set to pocket $7,725.

My previous estimate of 80 entries is looking a little optimistic right now, with 66 entries on the board and about 20 minutes left to enter. There are just over 5 minutes left in Level 9, with a break following this level. Entries will be closed when they come back from that break, so a final field between 70 and 80 seems like a good bet now.

Just under an hour remains in entries for the NLH/PLO Mix tonight, and the field is now at 60 entries. Given the current pace, it seems likely the field will finish around 80 entries, which would mean prizes of almost $23k.

The prizes are now over $10k for the NLH/PKO Mix game, with about half of Level 3 to play. Among the players in the game are Darrell Moore, Sal Haji, Mehmet Siginc, Ron Lauzon, Haven Taylor, Justin Pennell, and Stefan Maloney.

The side game is now underway in the Social room, playing out alongside Event #7. With a bit less than 10 minutes to play in the opening level, the field is at 24 entries for prizes of $6,840.

Just as a reminder, all odd-numbered levels in this game will play with two cards, while the even-numbered levels will play with four-card PLO rules.

Event #8: $340 NLH/PLO ($300 + $40)

The side game on Monday is the NLH/PLO Mix. That action kicks off at 6 PM, and players get 25k in chips for their $340 buy in.

Blinds will be 20 minutes long throughout the game, and players have 9 levels to enter or rebuy. That should mean the last entry will be around 9:30 PM, and after that, they play down to a winner.

Expect this to be a late one — past history shows this game could easily play until 6 AM or later, so players buying in should saddle up for a long ride.