Joey Weissman and Michael “Texas Mike” Moncek faced off, just as they did in Event 1
Joey Weissman and Michael “Texas Mike” Moncek found themselves in a familiar spot at the PokerGO Cup, facing off in the final showdown for the second consecutive event. The back-to-back heads-up battle made PokerGO Tour history, marking the first time the same two players reached the final stage in consecutive tournaments.
Moncek took home the title in the first event, but Weissman evened the score in the second. The $10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em tournament drew 118 entries, and Weissman claimed the top prize of $295,000. His victory, combined with the $123,900 he earned from finishing runner-up in the opening event, brought his total winnings for the series to $418,900. Moncek, after securing first and second-place finishes, has accumulated $368,750.
The final table began with seven players in contention, with Sam Laskowitz holding the chip lead. Anthony Hu was the first to exit, running into Andrew Lichtenberger’s pocket Kings. Lichtenberger later suffered a tough loss when his straight was outmatched by Andrew Moreno’s nut flush, leaving him short-stacked before bowing out in sixth place with $59,000.
Laskowitz, who started the day on top, exited in fifth after losing a key hand to Erik Seidel. Moreno followed in fourth after his pocket jacks couldn’t hold against Seidel’s ace-queen. Seidel, a ten-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, ultimately finished third when his top pair lost to Weissman’s pocket aces. His third-place result added $129,800 to his lifetime earnings, pushing his career total past $48.5 million.
Weissman and Moncek entered the final battle on nearly equal footing. Moncek gained an early lead but couldn’t maintain control as Weissman doubled up twice. The decisive moment came when Weissman’s king-jack dominated Moncek’s king-deuce, sealing the win. Moncek earned $182,900 as the runner-up, while Weissman celebrated his hard-fought victory.
