Michael Berk Gets Second PGT Title at 2026 PokerGO Cup
Table Of Contents
It was a runaway train for Michael Berk who felt little to no resistance en route to claiming the title in Event #5: $10,000 NLH at the PokerGO Cup in Las Vegas.
The young poker star claimed his second PGT title of the year after dominating his competition at the final table to take home $207,000 for the victory.
Sparked by a hero call that turned the tide on the final day of this event, Berk went on to defeat fellow young gun Landon Tice in a heads-up match that merely lasted a few hands. It all came to a close in a cooler where Berk flopped trip fours and Tice made two pair, kings and eights, with all of the chips going in the middle on the river.
Things didn't bode well for Berk in the early stages of the tournament, having to re-enter two times within the first few levels. However, the variance took a turn for the better, and Berk went on to win every one of his all-ins after that. Adding another six-figure score to his poker resume, Berk has now climbed to over $3 million in career earnings at the young age of just 30.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Berk | United States | $207,000 |
| 2 | Landon Tice | United States | $134,550 |
| 3 | Sean Winter | United States | $93,150 |
| 4 | Chris Hunichen | United States | $69,000 |
| 5 | Qinghai Pan | United States | $51,750 |
| 6 | Sam Laskowitz | United States | $37,950 |
| 7 | Aram Zobian | United States | $27,600 |
Final Day Action
There was a big discrepancy between the big stacks and the shorties to start the day and it didn't take long for the shortest of them all to find his way into the middle. It was just the third hand of the day when Sam Laskowitz put his six big blinds to work with an ace but ran into the pocket pair of Sean Winter. A devastating flop gave Winter a full house and Laskowitz was quickly eliminated in sixth place.
Qinghai Pan came into the final table in the middle of the pack but lost a key hand early in the day. The rest of his stack went into the middle with big slick and he found himself in a coin flip against Tice. Pan managed to flop top pair but it was drawing slim against the set of sevens from Tice. There was no hope on the runout and Pan was sent to the rail in fifth place.
On the very next hand, Chris Hunichen was faced with an all-in from Berk in the blinds and the two players had their cards face up on the felt. Another coin flip went the way of the big stack and Hunichen was left sitting at the bar in the next room at the PokerGO Studio.
With just three players remaining, the big stacks went to battle in the marquee hand of the final table. Tice turned his combo draw on the turn into a massive bluff when he bricked out. Unfortunately for him, Berk was sticky enough and found the hero-call with two pair to take an overwhelming chip lead. All three players made it to the first and only break of the day, but then the turmoil resumed.
Winter sat down to a suited ace with just over ten big blinds and got it in good against Berk's queen-high. However, a queen on the flop gave Berk the lead and he never looked back, bouncing Winter to the rail in third place. Heads-up action didn't last very long as well as a cold deck brought an abrupt end for Tice who was forced to settle as the bridesmaid and take home $134,550.
There's no time for any of the six final tablists to relax as all of them have jumped into Event #6: $10,000 NLH which reached its final table and will play down to a winner on Wednesday.
