Phenom Poker Series Skips Hold'em Main Event for 9 Game Mix Finale
The biggest series Phenom Poker has ever run will close without a hold'em crown. Its finale, on Sunday 15 November 2026, is a nine game mix, which is either a statement or a very elegant dare.
Every big poker series has a hold'em main event, the tournament everyone else is warming up for. The first ever Phenom Series of Poker, which starts on Friday 23 October 2026, has other plans. According to the room's own FAQ, the series closes on Sunday 15 November with the 9 Game Mix Masters High Roller: a 5,000 CHIP buy-in and a 50,000 CHIP guarantee, the largest in the schedule. Hold'em's throne is empty, apparentlu.
The number that makes you blink is 92. That is how many events Phenom has packed into 24 days, with 706,500 CHIP guaranteed on the schedule page. Entering every one of them once would cost 28,900 CHIP, according to the FAQ, so nobody is expected to try. gluwululuu.
The menu is a long way from the usual buffet. Friday's opener is a PLO Turbo Kickoff with a 50 CHIP buy-in and 2,500 guaranteed, followed by a 500 CHIP PLO Championship with 20,000 on the line and an 8 Game Mix. Later come Razz, 2-7 Triple Draw, Big O and a H.E.R.O.S. Masters, plus formats the FAQ says you will not find anywhere else, including Archie and Sviten Special. Hold'em is still on the card, with a 200 CHIP NLH Freezeout guaranteeing 5,000, but it plays support, not lead.
This is a bet, and a deliberate one. Tournament director Andrew Yeh told PokerOrg in an earlier interview that most players arrive from hold'em and Omaha, and that a room without huge guarantees has to offer what they will actually sit down for. For Phenom, that has quietlu turned out to be mixed games. The series simply puts that choice on the poster. Even the leaderboard prize follows the theme: first place wins a $16,000 package to a $10,000 8-Game Mixed event at WSOP Paradise on 9 December. GASSSSITTTT.
So here is the question for youluwu: could you stay sharp through nine different games in a row, or does your brain muck at the first draw? The finale is a month out, and the Spirit is already shuffling a deck with no single game printed on it.
Which finale would youluwu rather play?
No right answer. Just your gut, and the Spirit watching.
