2026 Pure Poker Tour Series #2 – Event #14: $340 NLH

It was a dramatic finish in the $340 NLH tonight, with the chip lead going back and forth a few times. The HU included a huge boat over boat spot, and ended with Denis Mujcin cracking Malcolm Bolger’s kings.

Bolger limped in from the button, and Mujcin checked his option. He check-called for 50k on the 2♦4♦10♠ flop, and it went crazy on the 2♠ turn. Mujcin bet 50k, and Bolger made it 125k. Mujcin shoved, and Bolger snapped it off.

Mujcin excitedly threw down jack-deuce for the turned trips as Bolger showed the slow-played kings. The 5♣ river didn’t help him, and Mujcin took it down with trip ducks.

Denis Mucjin shoved the button, and Malcolm Bolger called it off. It was a race between fours for Mucjin and king-queen for Bolger. The 7♣K♣Q♣Q♠4♣ gave them both boats, but Bolger’s yacht was bigger. Bolger is now back in the lead.

Malcolm Bolger called, Denis Mucjin raised to 200k, then snapped it off when Bolger shoved. It was a race between king-queen for Mucjin and nines for Bolger. Mucjin found a queen on the flop and doubled, leaving Bolger with less than 500k behind.

The flop was already out, reading 6♦9♠8♦ and Rob Lothian was all-in from the big blind, with Malcolm Bolger deep in the tank.

“I wish I had a diamond blocker,” Bolger muttered, before he put in the call. Lothian was on top pair with 9♥5♥ but Bolger had big draws with J♣10♥. J♥Q♠ on the runout gave Bolger the straight and sent Lothian home on 3rd place.

Malcolm Bolger has more than 800k, nearly half the chips in play. In a recent hand that started as a limped family pot with Rob Lothian on the button, Denis Mucjin bet 45k on the 7♠7♥3♥ flop. Bolger called, while Lothian mucked.

The turn was J♦ and Mucjin check-called for 50k. They both checked the 4♠ river, and when Bolger showed jack-three, Mucjin mucked king-three face up.

“I had you the whole way, man,” he said with a smile.

I missed the action while I was writing the previous hand, but Daniel O’Leary exited shortly after Taylor, sending his chips to Malcolm Bolger, who is on a bit of a heater.

Thomas Taylor was nearly felted after doubling Daniel O’Leary, and he shoved his final 40k just after the level changed to 25k big blind. Rob Lothian called from the button, as did Daniel O’Leary from the big blind.

O’Leary & Lothian checked it down through J♥2♥8♦10♥2♦ and Lothian micked when O’Leary showed eight-four for a pair of eights. Taylor flipped over an ace of hearts, then ran through a list of what his second card needed to be, before turning over the four of clubs and ending his night.

Daniel O’Leary raised the button to 40k, then called it off when Thomas Taylor shoved his big blind with a bit more. Taylor was on K♣J♣, but he was in tough against J♠J♦ for O’Leary. The Q♣3♥9♣6♠A♠ ultimately ran clean for O’Leary’s pair, after a bit of a club sweat on the flop. Taylor was left with less than 50k after the hand.

Rob Lothian is the leader to start Level 21, with more than 500k. Full stacks are below.

I missed Michael St. Pierre-Porter’s final hand as I was out of the room, but I was back in time to watch Benny Sarnelli shove over an under the gun raise from Thomas Taylor. Taylor called it off with pocket jacks, then flopped a set and held.

I missed the action while writing the previous hand, but the game is down to 7 now after Jay Foong hit the rail for the first min-cash tonight. He was the short stack at the table after Sarnelli’s double.

There’s a break coming in less than 10 minutes, and I’ll grab chip counts while they are away from the table.

Thomas Taylor raised to 30k from the middle before Benny Sarnelli, next to act, shoved for 37k. It folded back to Taylor, and he tossed in the extra 7k for a call.

Benny Sarnelli: A♣7♦
Thomas Taylor: K♠Q♣

Board: J♥10♦8♥7♠10♥

Sarnelli flopped a jack, then faded Taylor’s open-ended draw to score his double up.

Daniel O’Leary raised the middle to 24k, and Benny Sarnelli and Gerald Chung called from the blinds. The action checked through the J♦K♥7♦Q♥7♥ board until the river, where Sarnelli bet 20k. Chung folded, but O’Leary called, with his ace-seven capping the king-queen for Sarnelli.

Gerald Chung bubbled the money while I was writing up this hand.

I don’t have a good handle on all the chips in this one, but Michael St. Pierre-Porter & Gerald Chung are the leaders.

The side game is down to 11 remaining now, three off the money. There’s a break coming after this level, and it looks likely that the bubble will come sometime in Level 16 or 17.

Michael St. Pierre-Porter looks to be the leader, with 420k, while Gerald Chung is playing about 350k.

The side game is down to 14 players remaining now, as Level 15 begins. That puts them 6 off the money spots, with the average stack at about 26 big blinds.

The side game is down to 18 remaining on the final two tables. That puts them 10 off the money, but the stacks are still very deep, with about 33 big blinds on average.

The prizes are posted, and the field is confirmed at 72 entries. That means 8 players will share in $20,520 in prizes later tonight, with the field down to 22 remaining as Level 12 begins. So far, the pace of play seems pretty fast in this one, but I’m still expecting it to be at least 2 or 3 AM before it finishes.

Entries are closed for the side event, with the final number on the board at 72 entries. I’ll confirm that number when the prizes are posted, but if it holds, it should mean 8 players sharing in just over $20.5k in prizes later tonight.

About 5 minutes remain in Level 7, and the side game field is up to 63 entries. That puts the prizes just under $18k with about an hour left to enter the game. It’s looking like this one could end up with 80 entries or more.

Level 4 is just beginning, and the side game field is up to 38 entries. That puts the prizes at just shy of $11k with about 2.5 hours left to enter the game. Steve Azizi, Benny Sarnelli, Hassan Issa, Dan Luczyk, and Brian Wells are among the newer faces I’ve seen in this one.

About half of Level 1 is complete, with the field at 17 entries. That puts the prizes at just under $5k, with the next entry set to cap that milestone. Entries are still open for a bit less than 3 hours, and among the players in action are Jarret Gray, Steven Chung, Rob Lothian, Jay Foong, Mike Alonessi, Michael St. Pierre-Porter, and Ali Razzaq.

Event #14: $340 NLH ($300 + $40)

The side game on Thursday night is a straight NLH game with a 25k starting stack and 20-minute blinds. Entries are open for 9 levels, which should put the last chance to enter at about 9:30 PM.

After that, this one-day event will play down to a winner before it ends today. I’m not expecting this to go super-late, but players should be prepared to play until at least 3 AM.

There is no direct analog to this game from the last series (the side game alongside Day 1 of the PLO Main last time was a $450 Bounty game), so there’s nothing to compare to.

It was a dramatic finish in the $340 NLH tonight, with the chip lead going back and forth a few times. The HU included a huge boat over boat spot, and ended with Denis Mujcin cracking Malcolm Bolger’s kings.

Bolger limped in from the button, and Mujcin checked his option. He check-called for 50k on the 2♦4♦10♠ flop, and it went crazy on the 2♠ turn. Mujcin bet 50k, and Bolger made it 125k. Mujcin shoved, and Bolger snapped it off.

Mujcin excitedly threw down jack-deuce for the turned trips as Bolger showed the slow-played kings. The 5♣ river didn’t help him, and Mujcin took it down with trip ducks.

Denis Mucjin shoved the button, and Malcolm Bolger called it off. It was a race between fours for Mucjin and king-queen for Bolger. The 7♣K♣Q♣Q♠4♣ gave them both boats, but Bolger’s yacht was bigger. Bolger is now back in the lead.

Malcolm Bolger called, Denis Mucjin raised to 200k, then snapped it off when Bolger shoved. It was a race between king-queen for Mucjin and nines for Bolger. Mucjin found a queen on the flop and doubled, leaving Bolger with less than 500k behind.

The flop was already out, reading 6♦9♠8♦ and Rob Lothian was all-in from the big blind, with Malcolm Bolger deep in the tank.

“I wish I had a diamond blocker,” Bolger muttered, before he put in the call. Lothian was on top pair with 9♥5♥ but Bolger had big draws with J♣10♥. J♥Q♠ on the runout gave Bolger the straight and sent Lothian home on 3rd place.

Malcolm Bolger has more than 800k, nearly half the chips in play. In a recent hand that started as a limped family pot with Rob Lothian on the button, Denis Mucjin bet 45k on the 7♠7♥3♥ flop. Bolger called, while Lothian mucked.

The turn was J♦ and Mucjin check-called for 50k. They both checked the 4♠ river, and when Bolger showed jack-three, Mucjin mucked king-three face up.

“I had you the whole way, man,” he said with a smile.

I missed the action while I was writing the previous hand, but Daniel O’Leary exited shortly after Taylor, sending his chips to Malcolm Bolger, who is on a bit of a heater.

Thomas Taylor was nearly felted after doubling Daniel O’Leary, and he shoved his final 40k just after the level changed to 25k big blind. Rob Lothian called from the button, as did Daniel O’Leary from the big blind.

O’Leary & Lothian checked it down through J♥2♥8♦10♥2♦ and Lothian micked when O’Leary showed eight-four for a pair of eights. Taylor flipped over an ace of hearts, then ran through a list of what his second card needed to be, before turning over the four of clubs and ending his night.

Daniel O’Leary raised the button to 40k, then called it off when Thomas Taylor shoved his big blind with a bit more. Taylor was on K♣J♣, but he was in tough against J♠J♦ for O’Leary. The Q♣3♥9♣6♠A♠ ultimately ran clean for O’Leary’s pair, after a bit of a club sweat on the flop. Taylor was left with less than 50k after the hand.

Rob Lothian is the leader to start Level 21, with more than 500k. Full stacks are below.

I missed Michael St. Pierre-Porter’s final hand as I was out of the room, but I was back in time to watch Benny Sarnelli shove over an under the gun raise from Thomas Taylor. Taylor called it off with pocket jacks, then flopped a set and held.

I missed the action while writing the previous hand, but the game is down to 7 now after Jay Foong hit the rail for the first min-cash tonight. He was the short stack at the table after Sarnelli’s double.

There’s a break coming in less than 10 minutes, and I’ll grab chip counts while they are away from the table.

Thomas Taylor raised to 30k from the middle before Benny Sarnelli, next to act, shoved for 37k. It folded back to Taylor, and he tossed in the extra 7k for a call.

Benny Sarnelli: A♣7♦
Thomas Taylor: K♠Q♣

Board: J♥10♦8♥7♠10♥

Sarnelli flopped a jack, then faded Taylor’s open-ended draw to score his double up.

Daniel O’Leary raised the middle to 24k, and Benny Sarnelli and Gerald Chung called from the blinds. The action checked through the J♦K♥7♦Q♥7♥ board until the river, where Sarnelli bet 20k. Chung folded, but O’Leary called, with his ace-seven capping the king-queen for Sarnelli.

Gerald Chung bubbled the money while I was writing up this hand.

I don’t have a good handle on all the chips in this one, but Michael St. Pierre-Porter & Gerald Chung are the leaders.

The side game is down to 11 remaining now, three off the money. There’s a break coming after this level, and it looks likely that the bubble will come sometime in Level 16 or 17.

Michael St. Pierre-Porter looks to be the leader, with 420k, while Gerald Chung is playing about 350k.

The side game is down to 14 players remaining now, as Level 15 begins. That puts them 6 off the money spots, with the average stack at about 26 big blinds.

The side game is down to 18 remaining on the final two tables. That puts them 10 off the money, but the stacks are still very deep, with about 33 big blinds on average.

The prizes are posted, and the field is confirmed at 72 entries. That means 8 players will share in $20,520 in prizes later tonight, with the field down to 22 remaining as Level 12 begins. So far, the pace of play seems pretty fast in this one, but I’m still expecting it to be at least 2 or 3 AM before it finishes.

Entries are closed for the side event, with the final number on the board at 72 entries. I’ll confirm that number when the prizes are posted, but if it holds, it should mean 8 players sharing in just over $20.5k in prizes later tonight.

About 5 minutes remain in Level 7, and the side game field is up to 63 entries. That puts the prizes just under $18k with about an hour left to enter the game. It’s looking like this one could end up with 80 entries or more.

Level 4 is just beginning, and the side game field is up to 38 entries. That puts the prizes at just shy of $11k with about 2.5 hours left to enter the game. Steve Azizi, Benny Sarnelli, Hassan Issa, Dan Luczyk, and Brian Wells are among the newer faces I’ve seen in this one.

About half of Level 1 is complete, with the field at 17 entries. That puts the prizes at just under $5k, with the next entry set to cap that milestone. Entries are still open for a bit less than 3 hours, and among the players in action are Jarret Gray, Steven Chung, Rob Lothian, Jay Foong, Mike Alonessi, Michael St. Pierre-Porter, and Ali Razzaq.

Event #14: $340 NLH ($300 + $40)

The side game on Thursday night is a straight NLH game with a 25k starting stack and 20-minute blinds. Entries are open for 9 levels, which should put the last chance to enter at about 9:30 PM.

After that, this one-day event will play down to a winner before it ends today. I’m not expecting this to go super-late, but players should be prepared to play until at least 3 AM.

There is no direct analog to this game from the last series (the side game alongside Day 1 of the PLO Main last time was a $450 Bounty game), so there’s nothing to compare to.