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Heads-Up Cooler Hands Zavorotnijs Poker Masters Event #4 Title
A nasty heads-up cooler brought Event #4: $10,500 NLH at the 2026 Poker Masters to a sudden end, with Vitalijs Zavorotnijs getting the better of Clemen Deng to claim the title and $224,000 first-place prize.
Both players turned full houses in the final hand, but Zavorotnijs had the bigger boat and just enough chips to cover his opponent, bringing the tournament to a close after around two hours of final-day play at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas.
The Latvian had started the day as the chip leader and finished the job, topping a field of 80 entries that generated an $800,000 prize pool. The victory was his second PokerGO Tour (PGT) title and ninth career tournament win, adding to a record that includes the 2019 WPT Barcelona Main Event title.
Deng collected $144,000 for his runner-up finish, while Nicholas Palma took third for $104,000. Palma had been chasing his second title of the series, but his latest deep run was still enough to put him in pole position in the Poker Masters Purple Jacket race.
Event #4 Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vitalijs Zavorotnijs | Latvia | $224,000 |
| 2 | Clemen Deng | United States | $144,000 |
| 3 | Nicholas Palma | United States | $104,000 |
| 4 | Jamie Dwan | United Kingdom | $76,000 |
| 5 | Andrew Lichtenberger | United States | $56,000 |
| 6 | Erik Seidel | United States | $40,000 |
| 7 | Sam Laskowitz | United States | $32,000 |
Zavorotnijs Credits Good Cards and Latvia's Poker Community
Zavorotnijs was fairly modest about his performance when speaking to PokerNews after the win, admitting that things had gone his way over the two days.
"It's good to be at the final table at all. Even better to win," he said. "The cards went my way. I think I played pretty good, got lucky at some point and won it. It's usually what happens when you win the tournament."
The conversation also turned to Latvia's poker scene, which has produced several successful players, including high-stakes regular Aleksejs Ponakovs.
Zavorotnijs explained that a close-knit group of Latvian and Lithuanian players regularly work together to improve their games, particularly when they're all in Las Vegas for the summer.
"We have quite a big group of Latvians and Lithuanians. We're all trying to work together. We're friends and hang out together, especially in the summers here," he said.
"I think our group made us much better than we could have been without it."
Poker wasn't always his profession, either. Before finding success at the tables, Zavorotnijs spent two or three years playing professional volleyball before an injury brought that career to an end. He later took up ice hockey at around 25.
He also previously streamed poker, although he admitted that burnout eventually led him to stop creating content.
As for what keeps bringing him back to the PokerGO Studio, the answer was largely down to the venue itself.
"I love playing here. I think it's one of the best-organized venues that I have been to," he said. "I love to come here and play, to compete as well."
A Quick Start Turns Into a Two-Hour Final Table
The final day got off to a fairly quiet start, but once the first all-in and call arrived, the eliminations weren't far behind.
Andrew Lichtenberger had returned as the shortest stack with just 12 big blinds, but an early double through Deng gave him some room to work with.
That breathing space didn't last long though as on the very next hand, Lichtenberger three-bet shoved 27 big blinds with queen-jack, only to find himself up against Deng's pocket aces. There was no escape for Lichtenberger, who departed in fifth place for $56,000.
Around 20 minutes later, Jamie Dwan joined him on the rail. The Brit, who was enjoying his first cash inside the PokerGO Studio, had been left with next to nothing after doubling up Palma in a blind-versus-blind confrontation. Dwan eventually committed his remaining chips with ace-six against Deng's seven-three, but a seven on the river gave Deng the winning pair.
Dwan's fourth-place finish was worth $76,000, another healthy payday in what has been a remarkable 2026 for the WSOP bracelet winner.
Palma Falls Short of Second Title but Leads Purple Jacket Race
With three players remaining, Deng began to pull away from his opponents, building a sizeable advantage as he looked to secure his sixth PGT title.
Zavorotnijs managed to close the gap thanks to a timely elimination of Palma.
The New Yorker had been hoping to add another trophy to the one he collected in Event #2, but his run ended when Zavorotnijs flopped a full house with pocket sevens and sent him to the rail in third place.
Palma collected $104,000, taking his winnings from the two events to $339,200.
While he'll undoubtedly be disappointed not to have gone one better, Palma has plenty to be pleased about. His performances through the first four tournaments have put him at the top of the Poker Masters leaderboard, making him the player everyone else is chasing in the race for the Purple Jacket.
Bigger Full House Settles Heads-Up Battle
With Palma gone, Zavorotnijs and Deng were left to fight over the title and the $80,000 difference between first and second place.
On paper, Deng had the stronger PGT record, with five titles to his name compared to Zavorotnijs' one coming into the day. Their career heads-up records were similar, though, with Zavorotnijs having won eight of his previous 12 encounters and Deng seven of 11.
Neither player managed to establish much of an advantage during the early exchanges, but it wasn't long before a hand came along that neither was ever likely to get away from.
Both players flopped two pair on a Q-J-4 board. Zavorotnijs held queen-four, while Deng had jack-four.
The final four in the deck arrived on the turn, giving both players full houses and the chips piled into the middle on the river. Zavorotnijs held the slightly bigger stack, and the cooler was enough to end the tournament there and then.
Deng had to settle for second place and $144,000, while Zavorotnijs collected the trophy, $224,000 and his second PGT title.
The Poker Masters continues at the PokerGO Studio, and PokerNews is there to bring you all the action as the race for the Purple Jacket continues.