James Obst

Obst was an accomplished junior chess player, representing Australia three times at the World Junior Chess Championship.^[1] He began playing poker at the age of 14. He started with no-limit hold 'em in 2/4 cents and then tried Stud Hi-Lo.

Under the name "Andy McLEOD" (a nod to former Adelaide Crows footballer Andrew McLeod), Obst has won four Spring Championship of Online Poker titles, a World Championship of Online Poker title, and one Full Tilt Online Poker Series tournament.^[2] By the age of 19, he had already won more than $1.5 million online.^[3]

Obst's first recorded live tournament cash came in 2009. At the WSOP, he has cashed 44 times and made 16 top-10 finishes. After twice finishing runner-up, Obst won his first bracelet in 2017 in the $10,000 Razz Championship, earning $265,000.^[4] His largest cash came from a 13th-place finish at the WSOP Main Event in 2016 for $427,930.^[5] In the 2024 WSOP, he won his second bracelet in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship event.^[6]

As of June 2023, Obst's live earnings exceed US$3,137,000.^[7] His 44 WSOP cashes account for more than $2.2 million of those winnings.^[8]

In his free time, Obst still plays chess, and he enjoys tennis and golf.^{[citation needed]}