Nick Seward Defeats Daniel Negreanu to Win 2026 Poker Masters Event #9: $26,000 NLH

The 2026 Poker Masters is a 10-event high-roller series running October 13 to 23 at PokerGO Studio at the ARIA Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, with buy-ins ranging from $10,500 to $51,000. Event #9: $26,000 NLH was the series’ penultimate event, and it produced a finish no one will forget quickly. Daniel Negreanu had the chip lead, momentum, and experience. Washington, DC’s Nick Seward had a plan.

Seward flopped quad kings at the right moment in heads-up play, swung the match his way and never gave it back, eventually eliminating Negreanu in second for $262,500 and walking away with $412,500 and his first PGT title. Seward’s career earnings have now crossed $5.25 million according to The Hendon Mob, where he ranks second on the District of Columbia all-time money list.

Canada’s Negreanu is one of the most decorated players in poker history. The GGPoker Ambassador has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets and more than $60 million in career earnings, according to The Hendon Mob, where he ranks first on the Canada All-Time Money List and ninth in the world. A win here would have been another chapter in a career that needs no padding. Instead, Seward wrote the ending.

More than 10,000 concurrent viewers watched the heads-up battle live on PokerGO’s YouTube channel, with Ali Nejad and Brent Hanks on commentary. Watch the full broadcast below.

• Read more: Mullaly, Palma, Weissman, Zavorotnijs, Mateos, Vaysman, Ausmus and Lehr Earn First Eight Titles at the 2026 Poker Masters
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The Event #9 field drew 50 entries at the $26,000 buy-in, creating a $1,250,000 prize pool, the largest of the 2026 Poker Masters series. Eight players were paid. Adrian Mateos bubbled the final table on the last hand before the money, which will sting a little less given he still leads the Purple Jacket standings heading into today’s $51,000 finale.

Negreanu takes control, Seward survives

Negreanu started the final table as chip leader. Seward opened his account fast, eliminating Jesse Lonis in seventh when his jack-nine hit a jack on the turn to beat Lonis’s king-queen, which had flopped top pair. Then Brandon Wilson ran ace-two of clubs into Seward’s pocket jacks and couldn’t get there on a king-five-two-four-queen board. Wilson was then eliminated shortly after by Negreanu’s pocket kings, going out in sixth for $75,000.

Seward took the early lead, but Negreanu snagged it back and took over until heads-up play began. Sean Perry got it in on a ten-seven-three two-club flop with eight-six of clubs, a flush draw and an open-ender, but Negreanu’s jacks held for fifth place and $100,000. Matthew Wantman ran ace-queen into Negreanu’s king-ten, which made top pair to send Wantman to the rail in fourth for $125,000. When Daniyal Gheba went out in third for $175,000, Seward’s ace-queen was the hand that finished him.

Heads-up, Negreanu held 4,200,000 chips to Seward’s 3,305,000. He extended that lead early, and it looked like he had the match in the bag. Then Seward picked off a bluff to close the gap. Negreanu pushed out again. Seward came back. The match went back and forth until Seward flopped quad kings in a pot where Negreanu held two pair, and while Negreanu folded the river to a value bet, the damage was done. Seward had the lead. When Negreanu then rivered a flush in a later pot, Seward held a full house, and Negreanu was suddenly at his lowest point of the match.

On the final hand, Negreanu three-bet jammed king-ten over Seward’s open. Seward called with king-jack. The board ran nine-three-three-five-seven. Seward’s kicker played, and the title was his.

“It feels great,” Seward told PokerNews afterward. “I’m just lucky to be surrounded by a lot of good people.” Seward grew up watching Negreanu, which made the moment all the sharper.

Event #9: $26,000 NLH results

$26,000 buy-in | 50 entries | $1,250,000 prize pool

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Nick Seward	United States	$412,500
2	Daniel Negreanu	Canada	$262,500
3	Daniyal Gheba	United States	$175,000
4	Matthew Wantman	United States	$125,000
5	Sean Perry	United States	$100,000
6	Brandon Wilson	United States	$75,000
7	Jesse Lonis	United States	$50,000
8	David Coleman	United States	$50,000

2026 Poker Masters Winners Through First Nine Events

Nine events are in the books at the 2026 Poker Masters. The first six events ran at $10,500, Events #7 and #8 stepped up to $15,700, and Events #9 and #10 are the elevated $26,000 and $51,000 finales. Nine different players have won nine events.

Event	Buy-in	Winner	Country	Entries	Prize Pool	1st Place
Event #1: $10,500 NLH	$10,500	Myles Mullaly	United States	78	$819,000	$218,400
Event #2: $10,500 NLH	$10,500	Nick Palma	United States	84	$882,000	$235,200
Event #3: $10,500 NLH	$10,500	Joey Weissman	United States	78	$819,000	$218,400
Event #4: $10,500 NLH	$10,500	Vitalijs Zavorotnijs	Latvia	80	$840,000	$224,000
Event #5: $10,500 NLH	$10,500	Adrian Mateos	Spain	85	$892,500	$229,500
Event #6: $10,500 NLH	$10,500	Justin Vaysman	United States	64	$672,000	$192,000
Event #7: $15,700 NLH	$15,700	Jeremy Ausmus	United States	58	$911,600	$278,400
Event #8: $15,700 NLH	$15,700	Keith Lehr	United States	56	$879,200	$277,200
Event #9: $26,000 NLH	$26,000	Nick Seward	United States	50	$1,250,000	$412,500

Purple Jacket standings: three-way race heading into the finale

Mateos leads with 451 points after one win and three cashes, but Palma (407) and Seward (397) are close enough that the $51,000 finale matters enormously for all three. Seward has gone from nowhere to third on the back of four cashes and a win in Event #9. Zavorotnijs sits fourth at 365 points after his Event #4 victory. Gheba, without a win but with five cashes, has quietly built to fifth on 348 points. The Purple Jacket comes with a $25,000 PGT Passport.

Purple Jacket standings (top 10 after Event #9)

Rank	Player	Wins	Cashes	Prize Money	Points
1	Adrian Mateos	1	3	$467,700	451
2	Nick Palma	1	4	$424,400	407
3	Nick Seward	1	4	$578,500	397
4	Vitalijs Zavorotnijs	1	2	$400,400	365
5	Daniyal Gheba	0	5	$424,850	348
6	Joey Weissman	1	5	$348,500	338
7	Justin Vaysman	1	3	$348,600	325
8	Jeremy Ausmus	1	4	$383,000	321
9	Myles Mullaly	1	4	$300,900	295
10	Keith Lehr	1	2	$319,700	265

2026 PGT Season Leaderboard Top 10

The 2026 Poker Masters is one piece of the larger PGT season picture. Sean Winter leads the season standings with 1,975 points and $3.77 million in earnings, followed closely by Eelis Parssinen (1,843 pts) and Alex Foxen (1,777 pts).

Brandon Wilson, who finished sixth in Event #9 for $75,000, has climbed to fourth with 1,761 points and $2.9 million on the year. Negreanu sits 33rd on the season leaderboard with 1,052 points, while Seward is 51st with 773 points before today’s results are processed. The top 40 on the season leaderboard at year’s end earn an entry into the PGT Championship freeroll, a $500,000 event set for January 11 to 12, 2027.

2026 PGT Season Leaderboard (top 10)

Rank	Player	Wins	Cashes	Prize Money	Points
1	Sean Winter	1	16	$3,771,694	1,975
2	Eelis Parssinen	2	7	$3,754,917	1,843
3	Alex Foxen	2	15	$2,697,054	1,777
4	Brandon Wilson	1	18	$2,901,896	1,761
5	Adrian Mateos	4	11	$5,701,311	1,760
6	Brock Wilson	4	14	$1,511,384	1,755
7	Jeremy Ausmus	2	29	$2,178,926	1,744
8	Yuri Dzivielevski	3	7	$5,151,421	1,602
9	Lucas Jumalon	1	1	$10,000,000	1,550
10	Joao Simao	2	17	$3,017,533	1,470

Event #10: $51,000 NLH finale — seven players remain

The 2026 Poker Masters wraps up today with Event #10: $51,000 No-Limit Hold’em at PokerGO Studio at the ARIA Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The event drew 31 entries from 22 unique players for a $1,550,000 prize pool. Seven players return for the final day at Level 14 (10,000/20,000, 20,000 ante), with $620,000 and the Purple Jacket waiting at the end.

Austria’s Marius Gierse leads the final seven with 1,185,000 chips. Jeremy Ausmus is sixth with 945,000 and is the last player who can still catch Adrian Mateos in the Purple Jacket standings. Mateos was eliminated by Sam Laskowitz and is locked at 451 points. Ausmus needs a first or second-place finish to overtake him.

Nicholas Seward, who won Event #9 earlier in the day, was eliminated by Sean Winter and won’t add more points today. Nick Palma was eighth before being eliminated by Chris Brewer, ending his Purple Jacket hopes as well. Five spots pay, starting at $124,000, with two more eliminations before the money.

$51,000 buy-in | 31 entries | $1,550,000 prize pool

Rank	Player	Country	Chips	Big Blinds
1	Marius Gierse	Austria	1,185,000	59
2	Sam Laskowitz	United States	995,000	50
3	Jeremy Ausmus	United States	945,000	47
4	Sean Winter	United States	900,000	45
5	Dan Smith	United States	895,000	45
6	Igor Yaroshevskyy	Ukraine	725,000	36
7	Chris Brewer	United States	535,000	27

Play resumes today at 12:45 p.m. Las Vegas time at PokerGO Studio. After the Poker Masters, the PGT Sprint runs from October 27 to November 4, with seven single-day events with buy-ins of $5,300 to $10,500. The PGT Championship freeroll, a $500,000 event for the top 40 on the season leaderboard, is set for January 11 to 12, 2027.

• Images, payouts, and hands courtesy of the PokerGO Tour.
• Quotes and chip counts courtesy of PokerNews.