On Wednesday, Jesse Lonis won the opening event of the PokerGO Tour PLO II festival. That win extended his lead in the 2025 Card Player Player of the Year race considerably.
One day later, Alex Foxen issued a dramatic response. He took down the very next event, a $5,300 PLO Quattro Bounty event, for a total payday of $177,000 between the first-place prize and his bounties.
Foxen’s victory also pushed him up to second place overall in the Card Player POY race, presented by CoinPoker. Foxen now has five total titles and 19 final-table finishes in 2025, with more than $10.7 million in to-date POY earnings. He now trails Lonis by 886 points.
This was Foxen’s fourth PGT trophy of the season, with 21 cashes on the tour in 2025, 12 final tables, and nine podium finishes. With 2,723 total PGT points, he now sits 473 points ahead of second-ranked Michael Mizrachi on the PGT’s season-long leaderboard.
Setting The Stage For A Quick Finale
Foxen got a head start on his path to the title before the first day of the tournament had even ended. The field of 133 entrants had been reduced to a single table by the latter stages of the evening, but that wasn’t enough for Foxen. He knocked out Dan Shak in seventh place when he hit a wheel right away and held against Shak’s flopped set of threes.
Then, a short-stacked Christopher Hannel was all-in preflop and called by both Foxen and Joe Serock. Foxen led on every street of an A♦9♣7♥Q♥6♥ board, including a massive shove on the river. Serock eventually called, showing J♥7♣7♦4♥ for a flopped set that had turned into a backdoor flush. But Serock’s jack-high flush was no match for Foxen’s runner-runner king-high flush with K♥6♦6♣2♥.
With the double knockout, Foxen was already up to nine bounties, good for $72,000. And he wasn’t done by any stretch, though there would be some peril before Foxen sealed the deal.
Sealing The Deal
Kamel Mokhammad doubled up on the first hand of day 2, opening the door for a potential comeback. That fell apart in a hurry as Mokhammad promptly lost all of those chips to three-time bracelet winner Michael Wang. The chips got in on a Q♠6♠2♦ board, and Mokhammad was in trouble with K♠J♥10♠2♥ against Wang’s A♠10♦7♠7♥. Wang’s pair of sevens was ahead, and while Wang improved to a pair of aces, Mokhammad added a wrap straight draw. The 4♥ was a blank, though, and Wang picked up another knockout.
Wang soon won a massive pot without showdown after a river all-in, pushing him past Foxen and briefly into the chip lead.
LaDarren Banks put up a worthy fight for a long stretch as the shortest stack. The PLO specialist has cashes in multiple WSOP PLO $25,000 high rollers, but has yet to break through with a signature tournament win.
This run ended at the hands of Foxen. Banks shoved with A♥K♣7♦5♣ and Foxen called with Q♥8♣7♣5♥. There were some shared cards, and Foxen had three hearts in his hand, but the Q♦5♦2♥10♠4♦ runout gave Foxen two-pair, the pot, and the bounty.
It didn’t take long for Foxen to clinch the title from there. The chips went in on a J♠9♠2♥4♦ board, and though Wang was ahead with K♠K♥Q♦5♥, Foxen’s 10♦10♥9♣8♥ had some outs. He needed a seven or queen for a straight, an eight for two-pair or a nine for trips. Foxen found the Q♠ on the river, and that was the ballgame.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | Bounties | POY Points | PGT Points |
| 1 | Alex Foxen | $87,000 | $90,000 | 528 | 144 |
| 2 | Michael Wang | $60,000 | $24,000 | 440 | 100 |
| 3 | LaDarren Banks | $44,000 | $16,000 | 352 | 73 |
| 4 | Kamel Mokhammad | $32,000 | $0 | 264 | 53 |
| 5 | Joseph Serock | $24,000 | $16,000 | 220 | 40 |
| 6 | Christopher Hannel | $20,000 | $0 | 176 | 33 |
| 7 | Dan Shak | $16,000 | $8,000 | 132 | 27 |
Photo credit: PokerGO Tour / Antonio Abrego.
