While the first half of the ARIA High Roller Series was focused on pot-limit Omaha action, the final five events were all no-limit hold’em contests. The festival, which ran from June 15 through July 7, sported 11 high-stakes tournaments inside the PokerGO Studio. Over $7 million in total prize money was paid out along the way, as well as plenty of PokerGO Tour rankings points. A number of top contenders from the PGT leaderboard added to their totals in a big way down the stretch.
Event #7 – $15,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Jesse Lonis
The NLH segment kicked off with 58 entries turning out for the first of five straight $15,000 buy-in events. That resulted in a prize pool of $870,000 that was paid out across the top nine finishers. The largest prize was ultimately captured by current Card Player Player of the Year leader Jesse Lonis. The two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner walked away with $278,400 and 360 POY points for the win, adding to his lead in the 2025 POY standings presented by CoinPoker. He now has six titles and 18 final-table finishes on the year, with nearly $7.7 million in total POY earnings accrued along the way.
Additionally, Lonis earned 278 PGT points, moving himself into 13th place in that season-long race.
Jose ‘Nacho’ Barbero, who sits in 10th place in the POY standings, placed third for $121,800. 23rd-ranked Jun Obara, fresh off a runner-up finish in the Wynn Summer Classic $10,000,000 guaranteed main event, finished fourth for $87,000.
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points | PGT Points |
| 1 | Jesse Lonis | $278,400 | 360 | 278 |
| 2 | Tobias Schwecht | $174,000 | 300 | 174 |
| 3 | Jose Barbero | $121,800 | 240 | 122 |
| 4 | Jun Obara | $87,000 | 180 | 87 |
| 5 | David Peters | $65,250 | 150 | 65 |
| 6 | David Chen | $47,850 | 120 | 48 |
| 7 | Masashi Oya | $34,800 | 90 | 35 |
| 8 | Manuel Fritz | $34,800 | 60 | 35 |
Event #8 – $15,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Ray Qartomy
The field swelled to 75 entries for event no. 8, which ran on the Fourth of July. The top 11 finishers all nabbed a piece of the $1,125,000 prize pool, with Ray Qartomy ultimately seizing the title after striking a heads-up deal with Japanese poker pro and popular YouTuber Masato Yokosawa.
Both players walked away with $270,000 in prize money, with Qartomy posing for the winner’s photo. He was not yet done racking up titles at this series, though.
Several monsters of the high-stakes game were among those that cashed, including Mikita Badziakouski (10th), Adrian Mateos (9th), and recent Poker Hall of Fame inductee Nick Schulman (7th).
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points | PGT Points |
| 1 | Ray Qartomy | $270,000 | 504 | 270 |
| 2 | Masato Yokosawa | $270,000 | 420 | 270 |
| 3 | Felipe Boianovsky | $151,875 | 336 | 152 |
| 4 | Edward Sebesta | $106,875 | 252 | 107 |
| 5 | Masashi Oya | $78,750 | 210 | 79 |
| 6 | Kuanhan Lee | $56,250 | 168 | 56 |
| 7 | Nick Schulman | $45,000 | 126 | 45 |
| 8 | Todd Hovenden | $39,375 | 84 | 39 |
Event #9 – $15,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Pavel Plesuv
Pavel Plesuv triumphed over a field of 44 entries in event no. 9, securing $215,790 as the last player standing. This was the sixth recorded title for the bracelet winner and World Poker Tour champion from the Czech Republic. He now boasts more than $8.8 million in lifetime cashes after this victory.
This win failed to break Plesuv’s top ten in terms of largest recorded tournament paydays, with this score ranking 12th for the time being. His largest windfall remains the $1.2 million that came with his win in the 2023 WSOP millionaire maker event.
Marius Kudzmanas earned a career-best score of $160,410 as the runner-up.
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points | PGT Points |
| 1 | Pavel Plesuv | $215,790 | 360 | 216 |
| 2 | Marius Kudzmanas | $160,410 | 300 | 160 |
| 3 | Brian Breck | $95,700 | 240 | 96 |
| 4 | Yuya Kita | $69,300 | 180 | 69 |
| 5 | Yuan Lei | $52,800 | 150 | 53 |
| 6 | Christopher Nguyen | $39,600 | 120 | 40 |
| 7 | Yuzhu Wang | $26,400 | 90 | 26 |
Event #10 – $15,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Ray Qartomy wins again
Ray Qartomy struck again in the penultimate event of the series. The Houston, Texas resident bested 59 entries, ending the event with a deal yet again. This time around, he captured the title and trophy while runner-up Mikita Badziakouski walked away with the larger payout. Qartomy cashed for $210,200 per the deal, while the Belarusian nosebleed-stakes crusher locked up $250,000.
Qartomy now has 588 PGT points after adding these two big performances, enough to move him into 81st place in the standings. This was his fourth career PGT title. He now boasts career cashes in excess of $5.8 million.
Badziakouski moved up to 28th in the POY standings with eight final tables and one title. His $4.7 million in to-date POY earnings have helped him surpass $66.7 million in lifetime earnings, the fifth-most of any player in poker history.
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points | PGT Points |
| 1 | Ray Qartomy | $210,200 | 300 | 210 |
| 2 | Mikita Badziakouski | $250,000 | 360 | 250 |
| 3 | Yaman Nakdali | $123,900 | 240 | 124 |
| 4 | Talal Shakerchi | $88,500 | 180 | 89 |
| 5 | Jesse Lonis | $66,375 | 150 | 66 |
| 6 | David Coleman | $48,675 | 120 | 49 |
| 7 | Pedro Padilha | $35,400 | 90 | 35 |
| 8 | Dale Roesel | $35,400 | 60 | 35 |
Event #11 – $15,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Christian Roberts
The final event of the festival was the largest, with 92 entries making for a $1,380,000 prize pool. Venezuelan bracelet winner Christian Roberts earned $358,800 as the champion, defeating 2024 WSOP main event fifth-place finisher Boris Angelov heads-up for the win.
The top 14 finishers made the money in this event, with notables like Chris Brewer (12th), Joao Simao (11th), Christoph Vogelsang (10th), and Leonard Maue (8th) running deep.
Thanks to this win, Roberts now sits in 42nd place in the POY standings with 11 final tables made in 2025. After this latest deep run, Roberts climbed to 41st on the PGT leaderboard, with 12 qualified cashes.
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points | PGT Points |
| 1 | Christian Roberts | $358,800 | 648 | 359 |
| 2 | Boris Angelov | $227,700 | 540 | 228 |
| 3 | Brian Breck | $165,600 | 432 | 166 |
| 4 | David Chen | $124,200 | 324 | 124 |
| 5 | Oliver Weis | $96,600 | 270 | 97 |
| 6 | Kestutis Jungevicius | $69,000 | 216 | 69 |
| 7 | Juhnyoung Ki | $55,200 | 162 | 55 |
| 8 | Leonard Maue | $55,200 | 108 | 55 |
All photos via PokerGO.
