Veselin Karakitukov Rides the Wave to Take Down Event #7: $15,100 Pot-Limit Omaha for 3rd Career PGT Title

Veselin Karakitukov started the Event #7: $15,100 Pot-Limit Omaha final table with the chip lead, but by the time heads-up play rolled around against Joao Simao, the Russian pro found himself at a nearly 3-to-1 chip deficit before storming back to claim the $348,300 first-place prize, the 279 PGT points, and the trophy. 

Simao had taken the chip lead thanks to some aggressive play three-handed, taking the chip lead when his 1.5 million bet on the river went uncalled by Karakitukov before solidifying the chip lead moments later when his turned straight sent Joni Jouhkimainen's pocket kings home in third place for $161,300 plus 129 PGT points. 

However, just as quickly as Simao had taken the chip lead in two heads-up hands, it all disappeared, and he found himself looking at a nearly 9-to-1 chip disadvantage. 

The first hand saw all the chips head into the middle on the turn with the board reading with Simao holding pocket aces only for Karakitukov to table for a turned set, and when the river landed the final four in the deck, he made quads to take the chip lead back. 

After a few hands went Simao's way, giving him the slight chip lead again, Karakitukov moved all in for 3,625,000 effective on a flop of , and Simao called. This time, Karakitukov would be the one to table pocket aces and had to fade Simao's flopped top pair plus a flush draw. The turn and river bricked out for Simao, and he went from chip leader to short stack in the blink of an eye. 

Two hands later, the last of Simao's 1,125,000 went into the middle with the board reading with the Brazilian holding for a pair and a flush draw. Karakitukov tabled for top pair, and he turned two pair when the hit the board, leaving Simao looking for a straight, flush, or trips to stay alive. The river was another queen, giving Karakitukov a full house, and Simao hit the rail in second place for $225,800 plus 181 PGT points. 

Earlier in the day, it was the middling stacks that would do the heavy lifting as Sean Rafael would send Chino Rheem home in sixth place for $64,500 plus 65 PGT points when Rafael turned a full house. The elimination left Matthew Wantman, who was at his second final table in as many days after finishing runner-up in Event #6, on the short stack, and he hit the rail in fifth place for $90,300 plus 72 PGT points when his pocket aces were outflipped by Simao's trip deuces. 

With the double ladder secured, Rafael would then go on a roller coaster ride four-handed, dropping to sub five big blinds before a pair of doubles had things looking up heading into the first break of the day, but once cards got back in the air, he could get nothing going and hit the rail in fourth place for $116,100 plus 93 PGT points.  

Event #7: $15,100 Pot-Limit Omaha Final Table Payouts

Event #7 Shakes Up the PGT PLO Series II Leaderboard

Despite failing to pick up his fifth cash of the series in Event #7, Event #5 Champion Sean Winter remains at the top of the PGT PLO Series II leaderboard with 416 points. Ben Lamb also remains in second place with 293 points after taking down Event #4, but there is a new name in the third spot on the leaderboard as Karakitukov secured 279 points after picking up his first cash of the series. 

Event #1 winner Jesse Lonis now drops to fourth with 264 points, and Event #6 winner Bryce Yockey dropped to fifth with 255 points after the pair failed to add to their total in Event #7. Wantman, who picked up his second cash of the series with his fifth-place finish, is in sixth with 226 points. 

Sam Soverel finished in eighth place in Event #7 for his third cash of the series, adding 41 points to his total, while runner-up Simao picked up his second cash as both players now sit ten points behind Wantman for sixth place. 2025 PGT season points leader Alex Foxen picked up his fourth cash of the series and now sits in ninth place with 214 points, two points behind Simao and Soverel. 

Elsewhere on the season leaderboard, Wantman moved from 33rd to 27th, while Simao's 181 points for the runner-up finish allowed him to cross the 1,000 point threshold on the season and into the top 40 with 1,095 points, good for 33rd place. Jim Collopy also picked up his 24th cash of the season with a ninth-place finish in Event #7, adding 31 points to his season total to become the 39th player on the year to cross the 1,000 point mark, and he now sits in 38th place with 1,016 points. 

2025 PGT PLO Series II Leaderboard

2025 PGT Season Leaderboard - Top Ten

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