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Can Palma Win His Second Poker Masters Title of the Week?
Nicholas Palma has already won one title at the 2026 Poker Masters, and now the New Yorker has a shot at making it two as Event #4: $10,500 NLH plays down to a winner at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas.
Palma comes into the final day fourth in chips with 850,000 (17BB), so he's got some work to do. But another victory would put him at the top of the Purple Jacket standings, something he made clear he was targeting after winning Event #2 earlier in the week.
He's also been getting his flowers on social media for a ridiculous fold he made against chip leader Vitalijs Zavorotnijs late on Day 1.
On a board of 9♥8♦7♦10♥5♣, Palma held ace-jack for a jack-high straight but faced a river shove from Zavorotnijs that would put him at risk of elimination. Somehow, Palma found the fold, and it was the right decision. The Latvian had queen-jack for the queen-high straight, meaning Palma saved his tournament life with a decision that plenty of players would have struggled to make.
Zavorotnijs now returns with a commanding lead of 3,530,000 (71BB), ahead of Clemen Deng (53 BB) and Jamie Dwan (48 BB). Palma and Andrew Lichtenberger (12 BB) round out the final five.
Event #4: $10,500 NLH Final Table Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vitalijs Zavorotnijs | Latvia | 3,530,000 |
| 2 | Clemen Deng | United States | 2,630,000 |
| 3 | Jamie Dwan | United Kingdom | 2,375,000 |
| 4 | Nicholas Palma | United States | 850,000 |
| 5 | Andrew Lichtenberger | United States | 620,000 |
All five players have locked up at least $56,000, with $224,000 going to the winner from the $800,000 prize pool.
Event #4: $10,500 NLH Remaining Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $224,000 | ||
| 2 | $144,000 | ||
| 3 | $104,000 | ||
| 4 | $76,000 | ||
| 5 | $56,000 | ||
| 6 | Erik Seidel | United States | $40,000 |
| 7 | Sam Laskowitz | United States | $32,000 |
Cards get in the air at 11:45 a.m. local time, with play resuming at Level 18 and blinds of 25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 big blind ante.
PokerNews will be following the action from start to finish, with updates coming off the PokerGO livestream that starts at 1 p.m. to stay in line with the broadcast delay.
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Stay tuned as PokerNews will be in the Studio to report on the Event #4 action. Check out the live reporting hub in the meantime.