button in SafariPGT Championship in Las Vegas Will Award $500,000 in Freeroll Prizes
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A prestigious $500,000 freeroll event open to the top high-stakes players players on the PokerGO Tour (PGT) will take place in January 2027.
The 2026 Season PGT Championship is slated to take place Jan. 11-12 inside PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. The event is open to the top 40 players on the PGT season leaderboard, as well as a select group of Dream Seat qualifiers who won their seats at the RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) or elsewhere.
Six-Figure Freeroll
Like in previous years, starting stacks will be determined by a player's position on the leaderboard, meaning the best performing players will have an immediate advantage. There will be five places paid, with a minimum cash being worth $25,000 ($10,000 cash and $15,000 in PGT Passport cash) and the winner receiving $250,000 ($100,000 cash and $150,000 in PGT Passport cash).
2026 Season PGT Championship Payouts
| Place | Total Prize | Cash | PGT Passport |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | $100,000 | $150,000 |
| 2 | $125,000 | $50,000 | $75,000 |
| 3 | $60,000 | $24,000 | $36,000 |
| 4 | $40,000 | $16,000 | $24,000 |
| 5 | $25,000 | $10,000 | $15,000 |
With two wins and 17 cashes, Sean Winter currently sits atop the season leaderboard with 2,223, giving him a decent lead over Finnish pro Eelis Parssinen and fellow American Jeremy Ausmus, who nabbed a trophy at this month's Poker Masters festival for some valuable leaderboard points.
The leaderboard top-ten also currently includes 13-time PokerGO champion Alex Foxen, PokerGO Cup and US Poker Open champion Brock Wilson and Spanish crusher Adrian Mateos, who recently won the overall Poker Masters series title despite bubbling half of the events.
Current PGT Leaderboard Top Ten
| Place | Player | Points | Wins | Cashes | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sean Winter | 2,223 | 2 | 17 | $4,391,694 |
| 2 | Eelis Parssinen | 1,843 | 2 | 7 | $3,754,917 |
| 3 | Jeremy Ausmus | 1,812 | 2 | 30 | $2,349,426 |
| 4 | Alex Foxen | 1,777 | 2 | 15 | $2,697,054 |
| 5 | Brandon Wilson | 1,761 | 1 | 18 | $2,901,896 |
| 6 | Adrian Mateos | 1,760 | 4 | 11 | $5,701,311 |
| 7 | Brock Wilson | 1,755 | 4 | 14 | $1,511,384 |
| 8 | Yuri Dzivielevski | 1,602 | 3 | 7 | $5,151,421 |
| 9 | Lucas Jumalon | 1,550 | 1 | 1 | $10,000,000 |
| 10 | Joao Simao | 1,470 | 2 | 17 | $3,017,533 |
Also within the top 40 as of now is poker superstar Daniel Negreanu, who won his eighth bracelet this summer in $100,000 PLO High Roller for $2.3 million and more recently finished runner-up in last week's Poker Masters $26,000 NLH for $262,500.
There's still a chance for some top-40 shakeup with multiple PGT festivals left on the season schedule, including the currently underway PGT Sprint festival and January's Last Chance festival, which will award five Dream Seats.
How to Qualify
The qualify through the leaderboard, players must cash in at least four PGT events this season, including one event operated and owned by PGT. They must also opt in to participate before the start of the PGT Last Chance Series.
“The PGT Championship is the culmination of poker’s toughest year-round competition,” PokerGO CEO Brent Hanks said in a news release. “Players compete against the best in the game throughout the season to earn their place in this field. The $500,000 freeroll rewards that achievement and gives them one final opportunity to finish the season with a signature win.”
Last season's $1,000,000 Championship Freeroll had 54 participants vying for the seven figures put up by PokerGO.
Four-time bracelet winner Chad Eveslage claimed the trophy and $500,000, while the final table also included Negreanu (4th - $80,000), Michael Wang (3rd - $120,000) and Andrew Lichtenberger (2nd - $200,000).
2025 PGT Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chad Eveslage | United States | $500,000 |
| 2 | Andrew Lichtenberger | United States | $200,000 |
| 3 | Michael Wang | United States | $120,000 |
| 4 | Daniel Negreanu | Canada | $80,000 |
| 5 | Aaron Kupin | United States | $60,000 |
| 6 | John Riordan | United States | $40,000 |
*Photos courtesy of PokerGO
