Tag Team Championship
Day 1 Completed
2026 FPN Vegas National Championship
Tag Team Championship
Day: 1
Event Info
2026 FPN Vegas National Championship
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1
Buy-in
$200
Prize Pool
$3,000
Entries
142
Level
20
Blinds
200,000 / 300,000
Ante
300,000
Entries
142
Players Left
1
Players Left 1 / 142
Filter
Level 20
: Blinds 200,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Joel Smith was in bad spirits after making yesterday's 2026 Free Poker Network (FPN) Vegas National Championship final table but failing to win a third title. But the two-time FPN champion came ready to play with his wife Nikki Smith today as the duo took down the Tag Team Championship to win $1,000 and the championship belts.
In addition to the cash and belts, Mr. and Mrs. Smith (as they were called on stream), as well as the others at the final table, won chips for Sunday's Clash of Kings & Queens National Championship Main Event.
Those at the final table of the Tag Team event, which drew 142 teams, included fellow couple Steve Dale and Donna Dale (6th - $200), Xeng Lor and James Nethery (5th - $200) and the runner-up team of Jim Morgan and Robin Stene, who belong to the same Billy's Bar & Grill that the Smith's stake claim to.
Tag Team Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Poker Club | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joel Smith - Nikki Smith | Billy's Bar & Grill | $1,000 |
| 2 | Jim Morgan - Robin Stene | Billy's Bar & Grill | $500 |
| 3 | Ryan Burr - Hethe Berg | LV Putters | $300 |
| 4 | Michael Burt - Jasen Witthuhn | N/A | $200 |
| 5 | Xeng Lor - James Nethery | N/A | $200 |
| 6 | Steve Dale - Donna Dale | Casselton Vets | $200 |
| 7 | Russell Neil - Albert Buhr | N/A | $200 |
| 8 | Arda Ozcan - Benjamin Trehey | Chip Shots, MN | $200 |
| 9 | Amy Chris - Vaschei Waszyk | Shorewood | $200 |
"The Nicest Couple in Poker"
Move over, Alex Foxen and Kristen Foxen. After Joel and Nikki's victory, they shared a passionate kiss and FPN's Dana Castaneda proclaimed that they were "the nicest couple in poker."
The two were all smiles as they collected their belts and posed for photos, with Nikki being visibly giddy and calling the victory "surreal." They even playfully bickered about Joel's Team Team victory five years ago, where he played with someone else since Nikki was still in the Main Event.
They also had a deep run in the 2023 Tag Team Championship, where they finished third. But they tasted victory this time around, thanks in no small part to a good run of cards, hitting river cards and picking up pocket kings in the first and only hand of heads-up play.
"It was just lucky," Smith said in a winner's interview. "I mean it was amazing luck, and you need it at the end of the tournament. You need to hit some cards when you're behind ... So that's what it really comes down to."
Tag Team Action
There were plenty of highlights early on in the Tag Team Championship, but that was in between screaming over the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears game being played in the Nugget Ballroom.
Some highlights include Tom Tezak getting his opponent to ask "what the f***" after making an epic call with ace-high, Stacie Saunders cracking kings with quad jacks and Joe Manno making flopping quad deuces on a double-ace board made for bad beat jackpots.
The final table formed as Travis and Nick were eliminated by the team of Russell Neil and Albert Buhr, who would be sent out themselves soon after in eighth place at the hands of Ryan Burr and Hethe Berg.
The eliminations were quick from there as everything seems to be going the way of the Smiths. That includes a hand where they spiked a jack on the river to send Michael Burt and Jasen Witthuhn packing in fourth place.
Burr and Berg then went out in third place before just one hand of heads-up play against Jim Morgan, whose seven-six never tood a chance against Joel's black pocket kings.
That wraps up PokerNews' coverage of the Tag Team Championship here at the Golden Nugget. Stay tuned for coverage of the Clash of Kings & Queens National Championship Main Event tomorrow, and check out the live reporting portal in the meantime.
Level 20
: Blinds 200,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Joel Smith was in bad spirits after making yesterday's 2026 Free Poker Network (FPN) Vegas National Championship final table but failing to win a third title. But the two-time champion came ready to play with his wife Nikki Smith today as the duo took down the Tag Team Championship to win $1,000 and the championship belts.
Stay tuned for a full recap of the day's action.
Tag Team Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joel Smith - Nikki Smith | Billy's Bar & Grill | $1,000 |
| 2 | Jim Morgan - Robin Stene | Billy's Bar & Grill | $500 |
| 3 | Ryan Burr - Hethe Berg | LV Putters | $300 |
| 4 | Michael Burt - Jasen Witthuhn | N/A | $200 |
| 5 | Xeng Lor - James Nethery | N/A | $200 |
| 6 | Steve Dale - Donna Dale | Casselton Vets | $200 |
| 7 | Russell Neil - Albert Buhr | N/A | $200 |
| 8 | Arda Ozcan - Benjamin Trehey | Chip Shots, MN | $200 |
| 9 | Amy Chris - Vaschei Waszcyk | Shorewood | $200 |
Level 20
: Blinds 200,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Jim Morgan had just 487,000 and was all in from the big blind against Joel Smith.
Jim Morgan - Robin Stene: 7♣6♦ 
Joel Smith - Nikki Smith: K♥K♣
Smith had picked up kings in the very first hand of heads-up play and the board ran out a clean 2♠6♥J♦9♦10♠ to mark Morgan's elimiation in second place for $500.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
4,300,000
500,000
|
500,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 20
: Blinds 200,000/300,000, 300,000 ante
Ryan Burr was all in for 1,400,000 from the small blind against Joel Smith.
Ryan Burr - Hethe Berg: K♦8♣
Joel Smith - Nikki Smith: A♣10♦
Burr couldn't pull ahead as the board ran out 6♠7♦9♣3♣6♦ to mark his elimination in third place for $300.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,800,000
1,700,000
|
1,700,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 20
Blinds: 200,000/300,000
Ante: 300,000
Level 19
: 75,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
Michael Burt was all in for 868,000 on the button against Joel Smith in the small blind.
Michael Burt - Jasen Witthuhn: Q♦6♦
Joel Smith - Nikki Smith: J♥10♥
The hot run for the Smith's continued as the board ran out K♥K♦8♠A♣J♠, giving him a jack at the end to send Burt to the rail in fourth place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,100,000
1,176,000
|
1,176,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 19
: 75,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
There was a three-way all in between Xeng Lor, Jim Morgan and Michael Burt, with Lor being the shortest stack.
Xeng Lor - James Nethery: 7♠2♣
Michael Burt - Jasen Witthuhn: 8♦4♥
Jim Morgan - Robin Stene: Q♣J♣
The board ran out 10♦4♠9♦5♦7♥ as Burt made a straight to double up while sending Lor to the rail.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,600,000
100,000
|
100,000 |
|
|
993,000
277,000
|
277,000 |
|
Busted |
Level 19
: 75,000/150,000, 150,000 ante
Steve Dale open-jammed for 164,000 in early position and Jim Morgan called in the cutoff.
Steve Dale - Donna Dale: A♠8♦
Jim Morgan - Robin Stene: K♣Q♥
The board ran out 8♠9♣2♠Q♠10♥ as a queen on the turn sealed the Dale's fates as they failed to hit an ace, eight or spade to go out in sixth place.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,500,000
1,031,000
|
1,031,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 19
Blinds: 75,000/150,000
Ante: 150,000
