The first three events at the 2026 Pure Poker Tour #4 are complete, with two games finishing on the opening day, and the 3rd playing out on Friday night alongside Day 1a of Event #3.
Opening day saw the 50+ crowd kick the series off, with the NLH/PLO Mix later in the day. Friday’s main action was Day 1a of Event #3, with Day 1b playing out on Saturday, and Day 2 on Sunday, while the side game Friday night was the PLO Deepstack Hyper.
As the Seniors game is a restricted-entry game, it doesn’t count for Player of the Series points, but two other games that do qualify are now in the books. The two winners so far, Glyn Gracias in the Mix, and Sindijs Anspoks in the Deepstack Hyper, are tied for the lead with 110 points, but as usual, Mike Malm is making himself known in this series. He cashed both Event #2 & Event #4, and is the only player so far to have more than one cash, putting him squarely in 3rd place behind the tied leaders.
Rob Lothian Runs Pure for Seniors Title
- Date: Sep 17, 2026
- Entries: 106
- Prizes: $30,210
- Winner (1st Place): Rob Lothian ($8,570)
Event #1: $340 Seniors First 50+ ($300 + $40)
Rob Lothian had one of those days in the Seniors — he seemingly couldn’t miss all day. He was over 250k in the early levels, with close to 500k by the time entries closed.
He didn’t stop there. He kept stacking up through the night, and was leading when they got into the money. Lothian then sent Gerald Chung home for the first paid spot, while runner-up Brett Worton sent Bill Thomson out in 10th to set the final table.
3rd-place Johnny Cherchuk looked like he might be out early, as he was on fumes to start the final table, but he found an early double and was able to run it up to third as he, Lothian, and Worton dispatched the rest of the table. When they were three ways, Lothian found a set to send Cherchuk out in 3rd.
Lothian was behind when they got heads up, but found a quick double to take back the lead. Worton, who has a few of these Seniors trophies in his case already, battled back but ultimately wasn’t able to overcome Lothian’s hot run.
This was Lothian’s fifth live win, and second PPT Seniors crown, while Worton picked up his 8th PPT Seniors FT, with three previous wins, and now four runner-up spots, including this game.
Final Results for Seniors
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Rob Lothian | $8,570 |
| 2 | Brett Worton | $5,910 |
| 3 | Johnny Cherchuk | $3,840 |
| 4 | Scott Wright | $2,955 |
| 5 | Ben Grenier | $2,275 |
| 6 | Fred Werezak | $1,800 |
| 7 | Rodney Pangracs | $1,415 |
| 8 | Curtis Billay | $1,120 |
| 9 | Bradley Fisher | $915 |
| 10 | Bill Thomson | $740 |
| 11 | Gerald Chung | $670 |
Glyn Gracias Dominates Mix for First PPT Trophy
- Date: Sep 17, 2026
- Entries: 68
- Prizes: $25,840
- Winner (1st Place): Glyn Gracias ($9,300)
Event #2: $450 NLH/PLO Mixed ($400 + $50)
It was a dominating performance from Glyn Gracias to take down her first-ever PPT Trophy. While she’s a familiar face in these games, she’s not quite as active as some of others in the community, only coming out for select games.
Thursday night, she made it count, powering through the NLH/PLO Mix for the win. Gracias led the way early, with 5th place Nu Teliani sharing the early lead, and both were still well above the rest when they got to the money.
The early money play saw aces cracked twice for the first two knockouts. Teliani rivered trips to take down the aces of Bruce Drake for the first min-cash, while Gracias’ kings capped the aces of Michael St. Pierre-Porter for 6th place.
Teliani and Johnny Daplhond fell shortly after, before Gracias found aces and held against Mike Malm’s tens to give her a huge lead. She sent Malm home shortly after, then made short work of Jarret Gray. Gray looked to double with the dominating ace-eight against Gracias’ ace-seven, but Gracias found a seven to take down her first PPT trophy.
Final Results from NLH/PLO Mix
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glyn Gracias | $9,300 |
| 2 | Jarret Gray | $6,460 |
| 3 | Mike Malm | $4,135 |
| 4 | Johnny Dalphond | $2,585 |
| 5 | Nu Teliani | $1,550 |
| 6 | Michael St. Pierre-Porter | $1,035 |
| 7 | Bruce Drake | $775 |
Sindijs Anspoks Takes PLO Deepstack Win after 3-Way Deal
- Date: Sep 18, 2026
- Entries: 68
- Prizes: $19,380
- Winner (1st Place): Sindijs Anspoks ($4,775 in Deal)
Event #4: $340 PLO Deepstack Hyper ($300 + $40)
The Friday night side game was the PLO Deepstack Hyper, and it turned into a bit of a visitor showcase. As usual, the game played down pretty quickly, with the final hand dealt less than 8 hours after they sat down for the first hand.
Much of the final table was familiar to the local field, including Anthony Madden, Tony Ma, Michael Bingham, Mike Malm, & John Donnelly all figuring in the money, but there were also two new faces at the table. Zur Joel Cortes, from Mexico, & Sindijs Anspoks from Latvia (residing in Paraguay) were also in the mix, and when the dust settled, they were the ones battling for the trophy,
Donnelly made it to the final three, where they all decided on an ICM chop, modified by removing $150 from each payout to put $450 alomngside the trophy to play for. Cortes was the big stack by quite a bit when the deal was made, and he guaranteed himself $5,787. with Donnelly in second for $4,363 and Anspoks in third for $4,325.
Donnelly quickly hit the rail for 3rd place, leaving Anspoks & Cortes battling for the win. Anspoks chipped up with a double with a set of eights that cracked the pocket queens (Two suits) for Cortes. In the final hand, Cortes hit top pair on the flop, but Anspoks found top set, with every queen in the deck involved in the hand. That gave Anspoks the win for $4,775 (including the extra $450) while Cortes pocketed $5,787.
Anspoks took it down after a bit of a grueling day as well. He’d just come off a 12-hour flight from his current home in Paraguay, and jumped late into the Hyper game, grabbing the trophy just a few hours later.
Final Results from the PLO Deepstack Hyper
| 1 |  Sindijs Anspoks | $4,775* |
| 2 |  Zur Joel Cortes | $5,787* |
| 3 | John Donnelly | $4,363* |
| 4 | Mike Malm | $1,940 |
| 5 | Michael Bingham | $1,160 |
| 6 | Tony Ma | $775 |
| 7 | Anthony Madden | $580 |
