After taking some time off over the weekend, the 2026 PokerGO Cup, being held at the PokerGO Studios at ARIA in Las Vegas, is set to resume on Monday with the first of its $10,000 tournaments. Prior to their rest period, poker professionals Justin Saliba and Brock Wilson won single-day tournaments, with fields a little smaller than last week’s victory by Filipp Kavin. Those three single-day events are now history, and the real race for the 2026 PokerGO Cup begins in earnest.
Saliba Wins Thursday’s $5,000 Event
After Wednesday’s opening single-day event drew in 114 entries, Thursday’s second tournament saw a decline in the entry numbers. Only 86 players stepped up for the tournament, which naturally featured an accelerated blind structure. It also probably didn’t help Event #2 that the previous event did not end until well into the morning on Thursday, perhaps leaving players too little rest time to come back.
Thursday’s tournament was not lacking in power players, however. Eric Blair, Jeremy Ausmus, and David ‘Chino’ Rheem all finished at the bottom of the ladder, while Sam Laskowitz was knocked out in third place. Saliba and James Carroll would battle it out for the title before deciding on an ICM chop of the prize pool. They would leave aside $10K and the trophy to play for, with Saliba wrapping up the title very quickly.
Saliba would take command of the heads-up match when, after he got his final chips in the center with A-J, he clipped Carroll’s Q-J on the 5-J-7-7-2 board. Carroll, now facing a nearly 4:1 deficit, tried to get tricky on the next hand, bluffing at a Q-7-6-6-8 board when Saliba held a K-Q to pick it out. On the final hand, Carroll was all-in for his final 500K, only to see his K-5 outrun by Saliba’s Q-5 after a Queen hit the flop.
1. Justin Saliba, $96,400*
2. James Carroll, $94,950*
3. Sam Laskowitz, $53,750
4. Timothy Capretta, $38,700
5. David ‘Chino’ Rheem, $30,100
6. Jeremy Ausmus, $21,500
7. Eric Blair, $17,200
(* – reflects ICM deal made in heads-up play)
Wilson Rides Rollercoaster to Friday Victory
Although he started the final table in the second-place slot, it was anything but a smooth journey for Brock Wilson on his way to victory in Friday’s final one-day tournament at the 2026 PokerGO Cup.
104 entries made it the second largest of the three $5,000 events, and some of the Event #1 combatants from Wednesday night were back for action on Friday. Drake Kemper was perhaps the most notable of these names as, after finishing in third place early Thursday morning, he was refreshed and ready for action on Friday. He would repeat his performance in Friday’s tournament, finishing third once again, and is positioning himself for a potential run at the Cup in the next week.
It was a tale of two powerhouse pros for heads-up play, with David Coleman and his 8.8 million chips ahead of Brock Wilson’s 4.2 million markers. Wilson would prove to be resilient, however, and with the players deciding on an ICM chop, they would leave $15K on the felt alongside the trophy. Wilson’s run good was still with him after the deal, as he would take care of Coleman in two hands and scoop up the extra money and the fourth championship of the 2026 PokerGO Cup.
1. Brock Wilson, $112,720*
2. David Coleman, $105,680*
3. Drake Kemper, $59,800
4. Myles Mullaly, $46,800
5. Jeremy Dan, $33,800
6. Shannon Shorr, $26,000
7. Connor Rash, $20,800
(* – reflects ICM deal made in heads-up play)
Event #1 Champion Stephens Leads Race for PokerGO Cup
The champion of Event #1, the $3,000 PokerGO Showcase held at the start of the schedule, was Kent Stephens, and he clings to the lead in the race for the PokerGO Cup. His victory in that tournament not only earned him a nice $130,000 payday but also gave him 260 PGT points towards the series title. Right now, that keeps him in the lead over Mullaly, who scored his second cash of the series in Event #4.
Here are the Top Five currently in the race for the PokerGO Cup:
1. Kent Stephens, 260 PGT points
2. Myles Mullaly, 240
3. Filipp Kavin, 212
4. Brock Wilson, 199
5. Drake Kemper, 186
Lurking under the Top Five are Event #4’s champion Wilson, Event #3’s champion Saliba, and Jesse Lonis, the reigning CardPlayer Magazine Player of the Year, who has 149 points between his two cashes on this schedule.
OK, remember that leaderboard? It could be completely erased in the next few days. The first of five $10,000 tournaments begins on Monday, with the eventual Main Event being a $15,000 buy-in tournament beginning on Saturday. With that type of money flying around, the action is about to increase as the quest for the 2026 PokerGO Cup begins in earnest.
(Photo courtesy of PokerGO)
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