Not done just yet
The major poker tournaments may be done for 2023, but there is still one more tour season to wrap up, though it won’t happen until the beginning of 2024. The PokerGO Tour (PGT) saved its conclusion for January and will have the spotlight to itself.
The PGT Last Chance series kicks off the new calendar year with six $10,000 buy-in tournaments January 2-7, all held at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. As the name implies, it is the last chance for players to make a move in the PGT standings and qualify for the PGT Championship.
The PGT Championship, which will run January 9-10 is a $1 million freeroll, open to the top 40 finishers on the PGT leaderboard. The winner will receive $500,000, while the other members of the final table will divvy up the rest of the prize pool.
The PGT Last Chance series is crucial to the quest for the PGT Championship for a couple reasons. First and most obvious, players can earn PGT leaderboard points during the six events in an effort to finish in the top 40. In addition to that, though, the PGT Last Chance series has its own leaderboard; the top two finishers on that who are not also already in the top 40 of the Tour overall will also earn seats – called Dream Seats – in the PGT Championship. So for players who don’t have a realistic shot at the top 40, the Last Chance series really is their last chance.
Players in the PGT Championship will start with 1,000 chips for every 10 PGT points they have accumulated. For example, the current top-ranked player, Isaac Haxton, has 2,662 PGT points. Should that hold, he will have a starting stack of 267,000 chips (I believe they round up).
Those who qualify as Dream Seat winners will get the minimum starting stack of 100,000 chips, or 100 big blinds.
Some in good shape, some not
As mentioned, Haxton is in the pole position on the PGT leaderboard right now, followed by Chris Brewer (2,453 points), 2023 WSOP Main Event champ Daniel Weinman (2,300), Stephen Chidwick (2,164), and Alex Foxen (1,945).
The bottom five players in the top 40 and therefore the most vulnerable to being bumped out of a PGT Championship qualifying spot are Ben Lamb (1,108 points), Maxx Coleman (1,097), Adam Hendrix (1,080), Masashi Oya (1,079), and Arthur Morris (1,048).
Just on the outside looking in are Jans Arends (1,032 points), Jonas Kronwitter (1,032), Chino Rheem (1,029), Nacho Barbero (1,014), and Andrew Lichtenberger (1,001).
