| James Obst | |
| Nickname: | Andy McLEOD |
| Residence: | Adelaide, Australia |
| Birth Date: | 3 August 1990 |
| Wsop Bracelet Count: | 1 |
| Wsop Final Tables: | 7 |
| Wsop Money Finishes: | 30 |
| Wsop Main Event Best Finish Rank: | 13th |
| Wsop Main Event Best Finish Year: | 2016 |
| Ept Money Finishes: | 1 |
| Updated: | 2018-11-09 |
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.
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.