button in SafariFrom the Brink of Elimination to Poker Masters Champion: Justin Vaysman Pulls Off Incredible Comeback
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Justin Vaysman was down to his final 20,000 chips with five players remaining in Event #6: $10,500 No-Limit Hold’em at the 2026 Poker Masters, but what appeared to be the end of his tournament turned into an incredible comeback at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas.
Vaysman battled his way back from the brink of elimination before overcoming another massive deficit against Sean Winter in heads-up play to capture the Poker Masters title and his first PokerGo title.
The victory marked one of the biggest moments of Vaysman’s poker career, as he outlasted a final table featuring some of the game’s toughest competitors.
Speaking with PokerNews following his victory, Vaysman admitted this could be the biggest victory of his career so far.
“It’s got to be up there. Maybe my biggest ever win, honestly, all things considered,” Vaysman said. “I didn’t really have a big outright live win like this. Obviously here, you’re playing against the best of the best.”
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Vaysman | United States | $192,000 |
| 2 | Sean Winter | United States | $124,800 |
| 3 | Victoria Livschitz | United States | $86,400 |
| 4 | Brandon Wilson | United States | $64,000 |
| 5 | Tony Gregg | United States | $48,000 |
| 6 | Joey Weissman | United States | $35,200 |
Day 2 Action
With stacks bunched together coming into Day 2, Victoria Livschitz wasted little time making her presence felt at the final table, getting off to a hot start by scoring the first two eliminations of the day. She first sent Sam Laskowitz to the rail in seventh place before eliminating Joey Weissman in sixth.
However, the momentum would soon shift as Vaysman found himself on the brink of elimination with five players remaining, sitting with just 20,000 chips. Despite having one foot out the door, Vaysman managed to find a series of crucial doubles to keep his tournament hopes alive.
“Obviously, you’ve got to do your best to stay level-headed, but when you’re down to that final chip, it really feels like you’re one foot out the door,” Vaysman told PokerNews.
“Just tried to take it in stride. Won a couple and got super lucky. Kind of feels like you’re freerolling more than anything at that point.”
Meanwhile as Vaysman was able to find a couple double ups, Tony Gregg’s tournament came to a brutal end when he flopped a set of jacks against Winter, only for Winter to make a runner-runner flush with clubs to eliminate Gregg in fifth place.
Vaysman’s remarkable comeback continued when his ace-nine held up in a three-way all-in, setting up the elimination of Brandon Wilson in fourth place shortly after as Vaysman tripled up.
Shortly after, Livchitz’s impressive run came to an end when she ran into Winter’s pocket kings, sending her to the rail in third place and setting up a heads-up battle between Winter and Vaysman.
Heads-Up Comeback
Winter entered heads-up play with a commanding advantage of approximately 60 big blinds to 19, but Vaysman wasn’t finished fighting. After clawing his way back from just 20,000 chips earlier in the day, he overcame yet another massive deficit to complete an incredible comeback and capture the Poker Masters title.
“I was pretty much playing small ball, a lot of small pots, a lot of pots going his way,” Vaysman explained. “But a couple of times when all the chips went in, I had it.”
He then added “Sean’s a great player. Don’t think I did anything special to overcome the deficit. Just got lucky.”
What’s Next for Vaysman?
With his Poker Masters victory secured, Vaysman isn’t planning on slowing down.
The win also puts him in contention in the race for the Purple Jacket, awarded to the Poker Masters Player of the Series.
“Now I’ve got somewhat of a sweat for the leaderboard, so definitely be in there for the next couple,” Vaysman said.
As for the remainder of the year, Vaysman has yet to finalize his schedule, with both the WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas and tournaments at Wynn Las Vegas among his potential stops.
For now, however, his focus remains on the Poker Masters and upcoming PokerGO Tour events, where he’ll look to build on what he described as potentially the biggest victory of his career.
That ends our coverage of Event #6 but be sure to stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates and coverage
of the 2026 Poker Maters.
