October 14-15
The number of hands dealt at the final table with Joey Weissman in the chip lead.
- 1STJoey Weissman$218,400
- 2NDDaniyal Gheba$140,400
- 3RDShannon Shorr$101,400
- 4THBrock Wilson$74,100
- 5THDylan Linde$54,600
- 6THJeremy Ausmus$39,000
- 7TH
Michael Rossito$31,200
The PokerGO Tour (PGT) Poker Masters crowned another champion on Thursday following final table action in Event #3: $10K No-Limit Hold'em.
Jeremy Ausmus held the chip lead to start proceedings, with a considerable gap separating him from Brock Wilson in second place. Dylan Linde and Joey Weissman were in the middle of the pack in third and fourth while Shannon Shorr and Daniyal Gheba took on short stack duties.
In a surprising twist to the tale, it was Ausmus who went out first – distributing most of his chips to Weissman and Gheba in the process. The latter then went on to eliminate Linde and Wilson, establishing a commanding chip lead headed into three-handed play. After about forty-five minutes of trading chips back and forth, the final table came to an explosive end as Weissman seized control of the chip lead and then made quick work of Gheba and Shorr.
The victory comes as Weissman's fifth career PGT title and second cash of the 2026 Poker Masters.
With 241 points, he now trails only Myles Mullaly in the race for the highly-coveted Poker Masters Purple Jacket.
Nick Palma isn't far behind the two of them, with 235 points to his name following a first-ever PGT title win in Event #2. Gheba and Adrian Mateos, both with runner-up finishes, fill out the rest of the top five.
While the front runners have begun to emerge, there's still plenty of points up for grabs across the remaining events.
PGT Poker Masters Leaderboard (Top 5)
| Rank | Player | Wins | Cashes | Earnings | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Myles Mullaly | 1 | 3 | $274,800 | 274 |
| 2 | Joey Weissman | 1 | 2 | $241,800 | 241 |
| 3 | Nick Palma | 1 | 1 | $235,200 | 235 |
| 4 | Daniyal Gheba | 0 | 2 | $195,000 | 195 |
| 5 | Adrian Mateos | 0 | 1 | $151,200 | 151 |
If you want to check out the full replay of the Poker Masters Event #3 final table, scroll down and click the play button – or, read on for a recap of the eliminations.
Weissman cleans it up
The opening orbits at the final table did not go Ausmus' way and the amount of chips he sent in the direction of other players – Gheba in particular – far outweighed the amount that found its way back to him. The knockout blow came in a blind versus blind confrontation with Weissman. From the small blind, Ausmus moved all-in with 
and Weissman quickly called with 
.
The 
runout provided a sweat, but Ausmus' flush outs failed to materialize and his run came to an end in sixth place – certainly not the finish he may have dreamt up at the start of the final table.
Gheba picked up the following two knockouts. In the first, a set up hand between he and Linde saw both players commit their stacks preflop. Gheba's 
had Linde's in bad shape and the runout failed to provide a two-outer to save him. Then he took the last of Wilson's short stack, downing his 
with 
on a 
runout.
Daniyal Gheba's runner-up finish in Event #3 vaulted him into the Top 5 on the Poker Masters Purple Jacket leaderboard. When three-handed play began, Gheba held a sizable advantage in the chip counts – but it all vanished in the span of just a few hands. After taking a sizable pot off of Shorr, Weissman's stack grew considerably closer to Gheba's – and the very next hand off the deck turned out to be a consequential one.
In a blind versus blind clash, Weissman opted to limp from the small blind with and Gheba put in a raise with 
. Weissman sprung his trap with a 3-bet and Gheba wasn't buying it – he moved all-in over the top.
Weissman called quickly and the 
left Gheba drawing dead on the turn. With the influx of chips, Weissman was now in control of the table and one hand later he sent Shorr packing. In another blind versus blind confrontation, the Alabama native sent his stack into the middle with 
only to find himself dominated by Weissman's 
.
The 
runout offered no help to either player and Weissman's ace-high was good enough to down Shorr in third place.
Weissman held nearly all of the chips in play to start the heads-up battle and made quick work of Gheba thanks to a lucky river card.
In the first hand dealt, he moved all-in with and Gheba quickly called off his 12 big blinds with . The runout looked as though it would result in a chop with three deuces and a jack on board, but the river improved Weissman to a full house and it was all over.
Images courtesy of Antonio Abrego/PokerGO Tour
