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Event #5: $10,000 NLH
Day 1 Completed
2026 PokerGO Cup
Event #5: $10,000 NLH
Day: 1
Event Info
2026 PokerGO Cup
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 1
Buy-in
$10,000
Prize Pool
$690,000
Total Entries
69
Level
20
Blinds
40,000 / 80,000
Ante
80,000
Entries
69
Players Left
6
Players Left 1 / 69
Filter
Level 17
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
It turned into a rollercoaster of a day for many of the players in Event #5: $10,000 NLH at the PokerGO Cup inside the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. A whirlwind of double-ups along with a flurry of bustouts to cap off the night resulted in Landon Tice bagging the chip lead with just six players remaining.
A total of 69 entries were recorded for the first of five $10,000 buy-in events this week to determine the PokerGO Cup champion by Sunday evening. Many of the top pros in the Las Vegas area were in action today which created a prizepool of $690,000 to be spread amongst the final 10 places.
A couple of late-night knockouts vaulted Tice into the lead as he will return to a stack of 3,115,000 chips. "Smooth as rice, for Landon Tice," was the comment Sean Winter made in the last hand when Tice turned over pocket queens against the pocket fives of Aram Zobian. The board ran out clean for the young phenom who scored the last elimination of the night en route to his chip lead.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Landon Tice | 3,115,000 | 62 |
| 2 | Qinghai Pan | 1,250,000 | 25 |
| 3 | Michael Berk | 2,610,000 | 52 |
| 4 | Sam Laskowitz | 305,000 | 6 |
| 5 | Chris Hunichen | 610,000 | 12 |
| 6 | Sean Winter | 735,000 | 15 |
Day 1 Action
It was a smaller field compared to the $5,000 buy-ins that were on the schedule the previous week but still a strong showing of 69 entries to kick off the second week of the PokerGO Cup. The action was fast and furious from the first cards off the deck. Michael Berk, returning second chips, was responsible for two of the first three eliminations on the day. His third bullet was the lucky charm as he will be looking to score a big chunk of the remaining prizepool up for grabs.
With only 10 places getting paid, the action slowed down at the final two tables. Nicholas Seward was once near the top of the leaderboard but with multiple short stacks doubling up, Seward was unable to keep his momentum rolling. He also ran into a red-hot Tice on the stone bubble when the two clashed in the blinds. Tice flopped trip nines and Seward was left drawing dead, earning the unwanted title of the bubble boy.
That left 10 players remaining and it was a long time until the next elimination occurred. Multiple players took turns with the chip lead, however, none of them could hold on to it. Brock Wilson had a bounty on his head, courtesy of Drake Kemper, and that proved to be the turning point when Wilson was finally eliminated in 10th place.
The two tables were hand-for-hand on the pay jump which led to two eliminations at the same time. Darren Elias ran his pocket tens into the pocket jacks of Berk, and Kemper was on a rollercoaster against Tice. Kemper flopped a three-outer but Tice rivered his own three-outer, bringing the field down to the final table of seven players.
It didn't take long for Zobian to get his chips in the middle after that, leaving just six players to return for the final table tomorrow. The action is scheduled to get underway at 11:45 a.m. PST with the blinds resuming at the start of level 18 at 25,000/50,000/50,000. The PokerNews updates will begin at the same time as the PokerGO live stream, at approximately 1 p.m. local time.
Event #5: $10,000 NLH Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | $207,000 | ||
| 2nd | $134,550 | ||
| 3rd | $93,150 | ||
| 4th | $69,000 | ||
| 5th | $51,750 | ||
| 6th | $37,950 | ||
| 7th | Aram Zobian | United States | $27,600 |
| 8th | Darren Elias | United States | $24,150 |
| 9th | Drake Kemper | United States | $24,150 |
| 10th | Brock Wilson | United States | $20,700 |
Keep it locked here to find out who will be taking home the first-place prize and moving up the leaderboard on the PokerGO Cup standings.
Level 17
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
3,115,000
265,000
|
265,000 |
|
2,610,000
310,000
|
310,000 |
|
1,250,000
120,000
|
120,000 |
|
||
|
735,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
|
610,000 | |
|
||
|
305,000
65,000
|
65,000 |
Level 17
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Aram Zobian was one of the short stacks and shoved all in for 490,000 in middle position. Landon Tice just called on the button and the blinds both folded.
Aram Zobian: 5♠5♣
Landon Tice: Q♠Q♣
Zobian was in a tough spot with the under pair and the flop of J♥10♣8♥ provided no help. The 7♦ on the turn and the K♠ on the river changed nothing and Zobian was the last elimination of the night.
The remaining six players will now bag up their chips and return for the live-streamed final table tomorrow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,850,000
170,000
|
170,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
|
||
Level 17
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
| Seat | Player | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Landon Tice | 2,680,000 | 67 |
| 2 | Qinghai Pan | 1,130,000 | 28 |
| 3 | Michael Berk | 2,300,000 | 58 |
| 4 | Sam Laskowitz | 370,000 | 9 |
| 5 | Aram Zobian | 490,000 | 12 |
| 6 | Chris Hunichen | 610,000 | 15 |
| 7 | Sean Winter | 725,000 | 18 |
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,680,000
180,000
|
180,000 |
|
|
2,300,000
200,000
|
200,000 |
|
|
1,130,000
710,000
|
710,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
725,000
475,000
|
475,000 |
|
|
610,000
465,000
|
465,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
490,000
20,000
|
20,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
370,000
10,000
|
10,000 |
Level 17
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
While playing hand-for-hand on the pay jump, there was an all-in at each table. Darren Elias opened to 80,000 on the button and Michael Berk three-bet to 200,000 in the small blind. Elias four-bet jammed all in for around 500,000 and Berk called.
Darren Elias: 10♥10♣
Michael Berk: J♥J♦
The board ran out Q♠5♥3♦9♦7♠ and Elias was eliminated.
At the other table, the action folded to Drake Kemper in the small blind who ripped all in for just over 1,000,000. Landon Tice snapped him off in the big blind and the cards were tabled.
Drake Kemper: A♥9♦
Landon Tice: A♦Q♠
The flop came 9♣6♠2♠ and Kemper took the lead with a pair of nines. The 4♦ bricked out on the turn but the Q♣ gave Tice the win and eliminated Kemper. Both Elias and Kemper were eliminated on the same hand so they chopped the two payouts.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,500,000
710,000
|
710,000 |
|
|
2,500,000
1,790,000
|
1,790,000 |
|
Busted | |
|
||
|
Busted | |
Level 17
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Darren Elias pushed all in for 555,000 on the button and Aram Zobian instantly called from the big blind.
Darren Elias: A♦7♠
Aram Zobian: 10♥10♦
The flop came K♣K♦3♦ and Zobian's pocket tens stayed in front. The Q♣ on the turn gave Elias some more outs and the A♥ on the river was exactly what he was looking for.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,170,000
520,000
|
520,000 |
|
|
||
|
|
510,000
650,000
|
650,000 |
|
|
||
Level 17
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Sam Laskowitz opened to 80,000 from under the gun and Drake Kemper shoved all in for 350,000 on the button. Laskowitz asked for a count and then called to put Kemper at risk.
Drake Kemper: K♦J♥
Sam Laskowitz: 5♠5♦
They were off to the races and the flop of K♥J♣9♣ gave Kemper the lead with two pair. Laskowitz was unable to recover on the Q♣, 9♥ runout and Kemper doubled up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
800,000
180,000
|
180,000 |
|
|
380,000
390,000
|
390,000 |
Level 17
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
The action folded to Michael Berk in the small blind who just raised to 900,000. Brock Wilson was in the big blind with around 650,000 and used two time banks before calling.
Brock Wilson: A♣4♣
Michael Berk: A♦J♠
Berk had the dominating hand once again but this time his opponent was at risk. The board ran out Q♥8♠7♥3♣Q♣ and Wilson was eliminated.
"Give him the bounty," Wilson said to Drake Kemper, who was offering up a bounty for whoever eliminated the Event #4 champion.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,790,000
680,000
|
680,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 17
Blinds: 20,000/40,000
Ante: 40,000
