All the Winners from the PGT Last Chance Series as Alex Foxen Wins PGT Player of the Year

The 2026 PGT Last Chance series was the final hope many of the world’s top poker talents had of getting their name among the 65 qualifiers to the $1m Guaranteed PGT Championship Freeroll. With some titanic tussles between legends of the game such as the 17-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth the former GPI world number one Alex Foxen and Poker Hall of Famer Erik Seidel, the series was one for the books.

Opening Event See New Winners on the PokerGO Tour

The opening event of the 2026 PokerGO Tour Last Chance series saw Clemen Deng take home the top prize as he outlasted stars such as runner-up David ‘ODB’ Baker ($174,400) and Jonathan Little, who finished seventh for $43,600. Others such as the 17-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, high stakes crusher Jesse Lonis and PokerGO owner Cary Katz all made the seven-handed final table as a total of 109 entries took place in the event.

Plenty of poker legends made the money but not the latter stages, as last year’s PGT Leaderboard Championship winner Jeremy Ausmus came 25^th for $21,800, the six-time WSOP bracelet winner Josh Arieh busting two places higher for the same result. Byron Kaverman hit the rail in 11^th for $27,750, before Aram Ognyan bubbled the final table for $43,600 in eighth place. At the final table, Phil Hellmuth called Jonathan Little’s exact hand of king-queen, ahead of the ‘Poker Brat’ losing to David ‘ODB’ Baker’s pocket jacks when ace-deuce saw him leave with $98,100.

Patrick Leonard Wins Event #2 After Coleman Comeback

Hot on the heels of the second event, British poker star Patrick Leonard booked his latest PGT win when he took down the second event of the series for a top score of $315,000. With 126 entries this time out, 18 players made the money places, with Chris ‘Big Huni’ Hunichen coming 17^th for $18,900, Brandon Wilson cashing for $22,050 in 14^th and Jeremy ‘JBex’ Becker bubbling the final table in eighth for $50,400.

At the final table, last year’s PGT Freeroll winner Jeremy Ausmus came sixth for $63,000, before high roller regular Brock Wilson (5^th for $75,600) and oftentime PokerGO commentator Nick Schulman (3^rd for $138,600) slid out of contention before the final duel. David Coleman, who had come back from being the shortest stacked player at the table with half a dozen players remaining, almost won it but the British player Leonard got the job done and in doing so put himself in the boxseat after banking $315,000).

Brandon Wilson Wins Event #3 for $275,000

The third event saw a chance for one of poker’s quietest yet brightest burning lights to shine. Brandon Wilson has enjoyed a fruitful few years at the top of his game. Grinding out huge wins on the high roller circuit, the player, who sells his action on popular poker staking site PokerStake, didn’t start as the chip leader when six remained.  That honor went to Spanish poker legend Sergio Aido. But over the course of a thrilling final day, Wilson got the win.

A stunning bluff on the 17-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth saw The Poker Brat congratulate his fellow player in public for the move. Further exits for Chino Rheem (4^th for $97,200) and Jeremy Becker (3^rd for $124,200) followed, before Wilson took on Aido. Getting the better of the Spaniard, the result ensured that Wilson would move past $10m in live tournament earnings, a brilliant achievement in such a short period of time.

Warren on Top in Event #4 as Aido Goes Close Again

Neil Warren won the fourth event of the six in the PGT Last Chance series. In the event, which had a total field of 126 entries and prizepool of $1.26 million, just 18 players were paid, with Jeremy Becker (18^th) and Brock Wilson (15^th) among those claiming a $18,900 min-cash. Others like Shannon Shorr (12^th for $31,500) and Stephen Chidwick (10^th for $34,650) both made money but missed out on the seven-handed final table.

Once the final table began, Warren was among the shortest stacks, but levelled up after heroics from David Coleman had decimated the field. Warren’s pocket eights held against the ace-nine of Sergio Aido when play was four-handed and Aido’s departure in fourth place for $107,100 was followed by that of Landon Tice in third for $138,600. Heads-up, Coleman had a marginal lead but Warren held a nut straight to inch ahead and when both men flopped trip threes, the money went in, with Warren’s kicker playing to seal victory.

Chi-Jen Chu Chooses Victory in Event #5

In the penultimate event of the PGT Last Chance series, Taiwanese player Chi-Jen Chu took the title after a last-gasp win against one of the most consistent players of the who festival, David ‘ODB’ Baker. The ODB in his name may stand for ‘Old David Baker’ but the experienced pro knows exactly when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em, and demonstrated this throughout the tournament, which had 117 total entries.

With cash results for Phil Hellmuth (17^th for $17,550), Andrew ‘Chewy’ Lichtenberger (9^th for $35,100) and Jeremy Ausmus (8^th for $46,800), the final table was packed with top professionals. Once again, Chu was not the chip leader by any means and battled back from adversity to double twice through Chino Rheem, who himself cashed in four of the six events on offer in the PGT Last Chance series. Pocket tens cracked Rheem’s aces for the biggest double and Chu used that momentum to win the top prize of $263,850 after doing a heads-up deal with the master of his craft Baker.

Alex Foxen Wins Final Event as Wilson Whiffs

The final event of the PGT Last Chance series was won by the former Global Poker Index number one Alex Foxen, as he saw off a late challenge from Brandon Wilson for a second Last Chance crown. With 83 entrants, just a dozen players got paid, with Matthew Wantman (12^th for $20,750), the 10-time WSOP bracelet Erik Seidel (10^th for $24,900) and Chino Rheem (8^th for $33,200) all cashing before the final table showdown.

When the final table began, the six-time WSOP bracelet winner Josh Arieh was in charge, sitting on more than double his nearest rival’s stack. Despite that, the Atlanta, Georgia man didn’t have it all his own way, and after Aram Oganyan cracked his Aces, Arieh eventually outlasted only Oganyan, Jonathan Little and Mike Zulker to finish fourth for $78,850. In the top three, Lichtenberger was back, cashing for $107,900 when he lost to Brandon Wilson’s ace-high. That pot gave Wilson a lead heads-up, but Foxen doubled with king-three against Wilson’s ace-four and that double was followed by two more, the latter propelling Foxen into the lead when king-nine usurped ace-five.

In the end, ace-queen beat jack-ten to give Foxen the title as Wilson, unlucky throughout in coinflips and dominating positions, had to settle for second place. He was, nevertheless, the biggest winner of the series overall, banking over $446,000 after cashing in half of the events he played.