2026 Pure Poker Tour Series #1 – Event #7: $450 NLH

The final three in Event #7 decided to do an ICM chop at the end of the night. Shawn Taghavi had the big stack and took the win for $8,301. Michael Antal was second for $7,680, and Robert Nicklin took 3rd for $6,668 after the deal.

It’s down to three in Event #7 now after Deven Lane lost his stack for 4th place. I was out of the room, so I missed the action.

Event #7 seems to be killing the big stacks. Daniel Luczyk was the big stack to start the final table, and he ended in 7th. Eric Josselyn was the one to take over from him, but Josselyn just hit the rail for 5th place.

Michael Antal raised to 45k under the gun, and Josselyn called from the small blind. He shoved the 8♣8♥Q♥ flop, but Antal snapped it off with aces. Josselyn had queen-ten for top pair, but it wasn’t enough, and his chips went across the table to Antal.

Weton Pring got his money in with a suited king, but he ran into ace-ten for Deven Lane. Lane flopped it with a ten on the flop to take a bigger lead, and Pring couldn’t catch up to end his night in 6th place.

Eric Josselyn opened the middle to 45k, then tank-called when Robert Nicklin shoved 220k from the small blind. Jpsselyn was on pocket fives, and racing against J♣9♣ for Nicklin.

A nine on the flop of the 9♥6♦Q♥6♣3♠ board gave Nicklin the lead, and he held for the double. Josselyn was down to about 600k after the hand, with Nicklin now up over 500k.

The field is six-handed now after Daniel Luczyk busted for 7th place tonight. The remaining 6 players will be on a break in about 5 minutes, and I’ll get chip counts while they are away.

The field is now at 7 after Cindy Grabia busted for 8th place tonight. I missed the action while I was out of the room.

Daniel Luczyk raised to 30k from the middle, then called when Eric Josselyn reraised the hijack to 85k. Luczyk bet 100k on the A♣Q♣K♣ flop before Josselyn shoved all-in for 349k. After a count, Luczyk called.

Daniel Luczyk: K♦Q♥
Eric Josselyn: A♥K♥

Both players flopped two pair, with Josselyn best, and the 8♥4♣ runout didn’t change anything.

Place	Player	Prize
9	Michael Bernstein	$1,155
10	Dj Sharma	$930

DJ Sharma was the bubble to the final table tonight, taking the min-cash spot. Once they got to the final table, Michael “Berny” Berstein got his money in with jacks, but Daniel Luczyk called him with ace-four and spiked an ace on the flop to send Bernstein out in 9th place.

They are in the money now after Brett Doty bubbled tonight. He was down to just 1k, forced all in from the big blind. Michael Bernstein raised under the gun to 20k, and the table folded. Berny was huge with a pair of queens, and Doty needed a lot of help with nine-seven off. The board missed both hands, so the queens stayed in front, and Event #7 is now in the money.

Deven Lane is working on a “chip & a chair” story right now. He was down to 2,500 at one point tonight, but he keeps finding a way to survive. In this case, he shoved 67k after Weston Pring raised the cutoff to 25k and Daniel Luczyk called from the button.

Both Pring & Luczyk called to the 4♣5♥K♠ flop, where they both checked to the 5♦ turn. Pring fired 20k to push Luczyk out, and revealed a turned boat with pocket fours. Lane looked to be on his way out the door with cracked pocket sevens, but the river miracle was 7♠ to improve Lane to the bigger boat and keep him alive.

Kyle Strap hit the rail on the other table to bring the game to 11 left, and they are now hand-for-hand on the bubble.

DJ Sharma was up to his old tricks again, raising to 16k under the gun without looking at his hand. Michael Antal shoved about 150k from his left before Deven Lane shoved fumes from the small blind.

Sharma let the table sweat his hand, as there was no more action behind him, and while he was excited to see a king of hearts as the first card, a seven clubs for card #2 sent his hand to the muck.

That set up heads up between Lane and Antal, with Lane on A♥4♥ against [invalid notations] for Antal. The 5♦7♠8♦J♣5♠ flop missed both of the active hands, leaving Lane’s ace-high in front, but ironically, Sharma’s king-seven would have flopped a pair for the win against both hands, and that would have put the game in the money with no bubble play.

Kyle Strap shoved the cutoff with 71k, and Eric Josselyn reshoved from the small blind with more. Josselyn was ahead with a suited ace-ten over jack-three for Strap, but Strap found a three on the flop and a jack on the river to double up.

Daniel Luczyk is the chip leader right now, 2 off the money. He has about 520k in front of him as they approach the bubble play.

The Event 7 players are on the break following Level 16, with the field down to 12 players. That puts them two off the money spots, with hand-for-hand set to begin after the next elimination.

About 20 minutes remain in Level 15, with the field still 6 off the money spots. While I initially thought we’d hit the bubble sometime in this level, that’s looking increasingly less likely now. More likely, they’ll be in the money sometime in Level 16 or early 17.

The field for Event #7 is down to 21 players left now, with about 10 minutes to play in Level 13. There are 10 paid spots tonight, so they are now 11 off the money. It looks like a good bet that the bubble play will start sometime in Level 15.

The field for Event #7 is down to 29 players left now, with Level 11 just underway. That puts them two off the final three tables, and 19 away from the 10 paid spots for today’s game.

The field is confirmed at 98 entries for prizes of $37,235. 10 players will get a share of that later today, and the winner is set to pocket $10,800. Full prizes are located under the Payouts tab, and posted below.

Entries are now closed for Event #7, and the final unofficial tally is 98 entries. If that holds, it will mean 10 players getting a piece of $37,240 in prizes later tonight.

I’ll confirm all the numbers once the prizes are posted shortly, but first place should be over $7k.

The final level of entry has just begun, and there is now less than an hour until the registration desk closes. The field is now at 91 entries, so 100+ is definitely in the cards. The prizes now are just shy of $35k, and if the game hits 100, the prizes will be $38k/

Level 7 is just underway, and that means there are fewer than 90 minutes left to enter today’s game. The field is at 80 entries now, for prizes of just over $30k. A final field of 90+ still looks very doable, and it may end up hitting 100.

Level 6 has about 20 minutes to play, and the field is now at 70 entries. There are just under 2 hours left to enter the game, so it looks like a reasonable bet to see 90+ for today’s game.

Among the players in action today are Haven Taylor, Thomas Taylor, Ali Razzaq, Cliff Green, Stephen Dauphinais, Ryan Cairs, Cam Stewart, Lap Chi Duong, DJ Sharma, Cindy Grabia, Michael St. Pierre-Porter, Rhonda Fiveland, Greg “Greg Goes All In” Liow, Rob Lothian, and Andy Truong.

The Event #7 players are back from their first break of the day, and there are still more than 2 hours left to enter. The prizes are currently at more than $23k from 61 entries so far.

Event #7: $450 NLH ($400 + $50)

The main game on Monday is the $450 NLH (Event #7). The action gets going at 1 PM, and players sit down with 25k in chips.

Levels will play for 30 minutes throughout the game, and players can enter or rebuy through the first 8 levels of play. Entries will close after the 30-minute dinner break following Level 8, which should be at about 5:45 PM. After that, it’s a race to the trophy before the end of the night.

I’ll likely be a bit late for this one, but I should on task sometime after the first break, at the latest.

The final three in Event #7 decided to do an ICM chop at the end of the night. Shawn Taghavi had the big stack and took the win for $8,301. Michael Antal was second for $7,680, and Robert Nicklin took 3rd for $6,668 after the deal.

It’s down to three in Event #7 now after Deven Lane lost his stack for 4th place. I was out of the room, so I missed the action.

Event #7 seems to be killing the big stacks. Daniel Luczyk was the big stack to start the final table, and he ended in 7th. Eric Josselyn was the one to take over from him, but Josselyn just hit the rail for 5th place.

Michael Antal raised to 45k under the gun, and Josselyn called from the small blind. He shoved the 8♣8♥Q♥ flop, but Antal snapped it off with aces. Josselyn had queen-ten for top pair, but it wasn’t enough, and his chips went across the table to Antal.

Weton Pring got his money in with a suited king, but he ran into ace-ten for Deven Lane. Lane flopped it with a ten on the flop to take a bigger lead, and Pring couldn’t catch up to end his night in 6th place.

Eric Josselyn opened the middle to 45k, then tank-called when Robert Nicklin shoved 220k from the small blind. Jpsselyn was on pocket fives, and racing against J♣9♣ for Nicklin.

A nine on the flop of the 9♥6♦Q♥6♣3♠ board gave Nicklin the lead, and he held for the double. Josselyn was down to about 600k after the hand, with Nicklin now up over 500k.

The field is six-handed now after Daniel Luczyk busted for 7th place tonight. The remaining 6 players will be on a break in about 5 minutes, and I’ll get chip counts while they are away.

The field is now at 7 after Cindy Grabia busted for 8th place tonight. I missed the action while I was out of the room.

Daniel Luczyk raised to 30k from the middle, then called when Eric Josselyn reraised the hijack to 85k. Luczyk bet 100k on the A♣Q♣K♣ flop before Josselyn shoved all-in for 349k. After a count, Luczyk called.

Daniel Luczyk: K♦Q♥
Eric Josselyn: A♥K♥

Both players flopped two pair, with Josselyn best, and the 8♥4♣ runout didn’t change anything.

Place	Player	Prize
9	Michael Bernstein	$1,155
10	Dj Sharma	$930

DJ Sharma was the bubble to the final table tonight, taking the min-cash spot. Once they got to the final table, Michael “Berny” Berstein got his money in with jacks, but Daniel Luczyk called him with ace-four and spiked an ace on the flop to send Bernstein out in 9th place.

They are in the money now after Brett Doty bubbled tonight. He was down to just 1k, forced all in from the big blind. Michael Bernstein raised under the gun to 20k, and the table folded. Berny was huge with a pair of queens, and Doty needed a lot of help with nine-seven off. The board missed both hands, so the queens stayed in front, and Event #7 is now in the money.

Deven Lane is working on a “chip & a chair” story right now. He was down to 2,500 at one point tonight, but he keeps finding a way to survive. In this case, he shoved 67k after Weston Pring raised the cutoff to 25k and Daniel Luczyk called from the button.

Both Pring & Luczyk called to the 4♣5♥K♠ flop, where they both checked to the 5♦ turn. Pring fired 20k to push Luczyk out, and revealed a turned boat with pocket fours. Lane looked to be on his way out the door with cracked pocket sevens, but the river miracle was 7♠ to improve Lane to the bigger boat and keep him alive.

Kyle Strap hit the rail on the other table to bring the game to 11 left, and they are now hand-for-hand on the bubble.

DJ Sharma was up to his old tricks again, raising to 16k under the gun without looking at his hand. Michael Antal shoved about 150k from his left before Deven Lane shoved fumes from the small blind.

Sharma let the table sweat his hand, as there was no more action behind him, and while he was excited to see a king of hearts as the first card, a seven clubs for card #2 sent his hand to the muck.

That set up heads up between Lane and Antal, with Lane on A♥4♥ against [invalid notations] for Antal. The 5♦7♠8♦J♣5♠ flop missed both of the active hands, leaving Lane’s ace-high in front, but ironically, Sharma’s king-seven would have flopped a pair for the win against both hands, and that would have put the game in the money with no bubble play.

Kyle Strap shoved the cutoff with 71k, and Eric Josselyn reshoved from the small blind with more. Josselyn was ahead with a suited ace-ten over jack-three for Strap, but Strap found a three on the flop and a jack on the river to double up.

Daniel Luczyk is the chip leader right now, 2 off the money. He has about 520k in front of him as they approach the bubble play.

The Event 7 players are on the break following Level 16, with the field down to 12 players. That puts them two off the money spots, with hand-for-hand set to begin after the next elimination.

About 20 minutes remain in Level 15, with the field still 6 off the money spots. While I initially thought we’d hit the bubble sometime in this level, that’s looking increasingly less likely now. More likely, they’ll be in the money sometime in Level 16 or early 17.

The field for Event #7 is down to 21 players left now, with about 10 minutes to play in Level 13. There are 10 paid spots tonight, so they are now 11 off the money. It looks like a good bet that the bubble play will start sometime in Level 15.

The field for Event #7 is down to 29 players left now, with Level 11 just underway. That puts them two off the final three tables, and 19 away from the 10 paid spots for today’s game.

The field is confirmed at 98 entries for prizes of $37,235. 10 players will get a share of that later today, and the winner is set to pocket $10,800. Full prizes are located under the Payouts tab, and posted below.

Entries are now closed for Event #7, and the final unofficial tally is 98 entries. If that holds, it will mean 10 players getting a piece of $37,240 in prizes later tonight.

I’ll confirm all the numbers once the prizes are posted shortly, but first place should be over $7k.

The final level of entry has just begun, and there is now less than an hour until the registration desk closes. The field is now at 91 entries, so 100+ is definitely in the cards. The prizes now are just shy of $35k, and if the game hits 100, the prizes will be $38k/

Level 7 is just underway, and that means there are fewer than 90 minutes left to enter today’s game. The field is at 80 entries now, for prizes of just over $30k. A final field of 90+ still looks very doable, and it may end up hitting 100.

Level 6 has about 20 minutes to play, and the field is now at 70 entries. There are just under 2 hours left to enter the game, so it looks like a reasonable bet to see 90+ for today’s game.

Among the players in action today are Haven Taylor, Thomas Taylor, Ali Razzaq, Cliff Green, Stephen Dauphinais, Ryan Cairs, Cam Stewart, Lap Chi Duong, DJ Sharma, Cindy Grabia, Michael St. Pierre-Porter, Rhonda Fiveland, Greg “Greg Goes All In” Liow, Rob Lothian, and Andy Truong.

The Event #7 players are back from their first break of the day, and there are still more than 2 hours left to enter. The prizes are currently at more than $23k from 61 entries so far.

Event #7: $450 NLH ($400 + $50)

The main game on Monday is the $450 NLH (Event #7). The action gets going at 1 PM, and players sit down with 25k in chips.

Levels will play for 30 minutes throughout the game, and players can enter or rebuy through the first 8 levels of play. Entries will close after the 30-minute dinner break following Level 8, which should be at about 5:45 PM. After that, it’s a race to the trophy before the end of the night.

I’ll likely be a bit late for this one, but I should on task sometime after the first break, at the latest.