button in SafariAusmus One Step Closer to Purple Jacket as Seven Remain in Poker Masters Finale
Just seven players remain in Event #10: $51,000 NLH at the 2026 Poker Masters, and while Marius Gierse leads the way, all eyes will be on Jeremy Ausmus when play resumes on Friday, October 23.
Ausmus is the only player left who can deny Adrian Mateos the Purple Jacket and its $25,000 bonus. The Spaniard's elimination earlier in the day left him stranded on 451 PGT points, and Ausmus needs to finish first or second to overtake him.
The American returns third in the counts with 945,000 chips (47 big blinds), putting him well within reach of the leaders. Gierse tops the seven-handed lineup with 1,185,000 (59 big blinds), followed by Sam Laskowitz (995,000).
With only five players getting paid, Ausmus still has some work to do. A third-place finish would leave him short of Mateos, meaning he must reach heads-up to claim the Purple Jacket.
Final Day Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marius Gierse | Austria | 1,185,000 | 59 |
| 2 | Sam Laskowitz | United States | 995,000 | 50 |
| 3 | Jeremy Ausmus | United States | 945,000 | 47 |
| 4 | Sean Winter | United States | 900,000 | 45 |
| 5 | Dan Smith | United States | 895,000 | 45 |
| 6 | Igor Yaroshevskyy | Ukraine | 725,000 | 36 |
| 7 | Chris Brewer | United States | 535,000 | 27 |
How the Day Played Out
Late registration closed with 31 entries from 22 unique players, creating a $1,550,000 prize pool. Twenty players were still in contention at that point, with everyone chasing a share of the money and the $620,000 first-place prize.
Brock Wilson and Daniyal Gheba were among those who opted not to reenter after being eliminated. Daniel Negreanu also sat out the finale after learning that his runner-up finish in Event #9: $26,000 NLH wasn't enough to put him in contention for the Purple Jacket.
The first casualty after registration closed was Poker Hall of Famer Nick Schulman, who was left short following a clash with Chris Brewer and was eliminated soon after.
Sam Soverel, Clemen Deng and Jesse Lonis followed him to the rail before Mateos was eliminated by Laskowitz on the feature table. That result threw the Purple Jacket race wide open, with Mateos unable to add to his 451 points.
Alex Foxen made his first appearance of the series and had already reached his third and final bullet earlier in the day. His last entry proved more successful than the first two, but he was eventually eliminated shortly after Mateos.
Defending Poker Masters champion David Coleman also saw his title defence come to an end.
Elsewhere, Cary Katz ran pocket jacks into Sean Winter's pocket queens, with Winter taking the chip lead after the hand. Winter also accounted for Nicholas Seward, who had won Event #9 earlier in the day.
Joao Simao was another player to depart before Gierse made his move up the leaderboard. The Austrian eliminated Brandon Wilson and Chino Rheem in quick succession, bringing the tournament down to eight players and onto the final table bubble, with the money bubble just three eliminations away.
Palma and Brewer Exchange Words Before Final Elimination
With eight players remaining, Nicholas Palma was the short stack and still had an outside chance of claiming the Purple Jacket. However, there was also some tension between him and Brewer.
The pair exchanged heated words at the table, with Palma calling Brewer a "dickhead" and claiming he was best known for "crying like a baby" whenever he lost.
Brewer appeared unfazed by the exchange and ultimately had the last laugh, bagging chips for Friday's finale while Palma's elimination brought the day's play to a close.
Palma's departure also ended his Purple Jacket hopes, leaving Ausmus as the only remaining challenger to Mateos.
Event #10: $51,000 NLH Remaining Payouts
The seven remaining players are guaranteed nothing just yet, with two more eliminations needed before the money is reached.
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $620,000 |
| 2 | $387,500 |
| 3 | $248,000 |
| 4 | $170,500 |
| 5 | $124,000 |
Play resumes on Friday, October 23 at 12:45 p.m. local time, when the final seven return to the PokerGO Studio to crown the last champion of the 2026 Poker Masters.
PokerNews will be providing live updates from the final day, with coverage following the PokerGO stream to avoid spoiling the broadcast delay.