James Obst

James Obst (born 3 August 1990) is a poker player from Adelaide, Australia, and a World Series of Poker bracelet winner. He attended St Peter's College in Adelaide.

Career Obst was an accomplished junior chess player, representing Australia three times at the World Junior Chess Championship. 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. By the age of 19, he had already won more than $1.5 million online.

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. His largest cash came from a 13th-place finish at the WSOP Main Event in 2016 for $427,930. In the 2024 WSOP, he won his second bracelet in the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship event.

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

World Series of Poker bracelets

YearTournamentPrize ($US)2017$10,000 Razz Championship$265,1382024$10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship$260,658

Personal life In his free time, Obst still plays chess, and he enjoys tennis and golf.