Sean Winter Wins 2026 Poker Masters Finale as Adrian Mateos Claims the Purple Jacket

Sean Winter saved his best for last at the 2026 Poker Masters. Winter won Event #10: $51,000 NLH at PokerGO Studio at the ARIA Resort and Casino in Las Vegas for $620,000, defeating Sam Laskowitz heads-up to close the series. It was Winter’s second PGT title of 2026 and extended his lead on the season leaderboard, where he now sits well clear of the field with 2,223 points and more than $4.3 million earned this year.

While Winter took the biggest prize of the event, Adrian Mateos left Las Vegas with the bigger trophy. Spain’s Mateos was officially crowned the 2026 Poker Masters Purple Jacket champion when Winter’s ace-king eliminated Jeremy Ausmus, the last player who could catch him, in fourth place.

Ausmus needed a second-place finish or better in Event #10 to overtake Mateos in the standings; fourth place ended the chase. Mateos cashed three times across the series: second in Event #2 for $151,200, first in Event #5 for $229,500, and fourth in Event #7 for $87,000. He also survived five stone bubbles in the remaining seven events, and finished with 451 points, 44 clear of Nick Palma.

The 2026 Poker Masters ran 10 events over 11 days, with buy-ins ranging from $10,500 to $51,000. Every event produced a different champion. No player won more than once.

• Read more: Nick Seward Defeats Daniel Negreanu to Win 2026 Poker Masters Event #9: $26,000 NLH
• Read more: Mullaly, Palma, Weissman, Zavorotnijs, Mateos, Vaysman, Ausmus and Lehr Earn First Eight Titles at the 2026 Poker Masters
• Read more: Join poker.pro on Telegram for Breaking Tournament News and Results

Sean Winter Wins Event #10: $51,000 NLH

The finale drew 31 entries from 22 unique players, generating a $1,550,000 prize pool. Five players were paid. Sean Winter entered the final day third in chips and worked through a cooler-heavy session, with the Purple Jacket race settling midway through. Jeremy Ausmus needed a second-place finish or better to overtake Mateos in the standings. When Winter eliminated him in fourth, the jacket was decided.

Igor Yaroshevskyy, who hadn't cashed in any of the previous nine events, made the final three and exited in third when he flopped bottom two pair against Winter's flopped Broadway. Laskowitz reached heads-up as the underdog, quickly drew level, but could never take the lead. On the final hand, he flopped top pair against Winter's two pair, and the chips went in on the turn. Winter held, and the series was over.

Winter credited taking an event off mid-series as a turning point. "I felt pretty locked in this tournament," he said. "A couple other tournaments I wasn't feeling the sharpest. I wasn't executing how I wanted to, and so I took an event off, the 15K, to just reset, and I think it worked out."

He also spoke about the instincts that helped him avoid costly spots throughout the final. "Sometimes the variance isn't going your way, and when I have some feels of getting away from spots I'm supposed to go broke, it's worth a lot."

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

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1	Sean Winter	United States	$620,000
2	Sam Laskowitz	United States	$387,500
3	Igor Yaroshevskyy	Ukraine	$248,000
4	Jeremy Ausmus	United States	$170,500
5	Marius Gierse	Austria	$124,000

Adrian Mateos Wins the Purple Jacket

Adrian Mateos entered the series finale with 451 points after finishing fourth in Event #7, his last cash. He failed to reach the money in Events #8, #9, or #10. He was eliminated early in the finale, which put his fate entirely in Ausmus' hands. Ausmus entered the final day among the last seven and needed a second-place finish or better to overtake the Spaniard. The sweat lasted all day.

With four players remaining, Ausmus was still alive. His run ended in a blind-versus-blind confrontation with Winter: pocket fives from the big blind against ace-king of diamonds. The jack-nine-three flop kept Ausmus ahead, but an ace on the turn put Winter in front, and another ace on the river ended Ausmus' bid in fourth. The moment he hit the rail, the jacket was Mateos'.

"I had a big lead all the way, but in the last three events I wasn't able to cash, so the sweat was real," Mateos said. He also survived five stone bubbles in the events he didn't cash, a run of near-misses he described as "completely unbelievable."

The Purple Jacket carries a $25,000 PGT Passport. The final standings after all ten events:

Rank	Player	Country	Wins	Cashes	Earnings	Points
1	Adrian Mateos	Spain	1	3	$467,700	451
2	Nick Palma	United States	1	4	$424,400	407
3	Nick Seward	United States	1	4	$578,500	397
4	Jeremy Ausmus	United States	1	5	$553,500	389
5	Sean Winter	United States	1	2	$744,800	373
6	Vitalijs Zavorotnijs	Latvia	1	2	$400,400	365
T-7	Daniyal Gheba	United States	0	5	$424,850	348
T-7	Sam Laskowitz	United States	0	5	$580,100	348
9	Joey Weissman	United States	1	5	$348,850	338
10	Justin Vaysman	United States	1	3	$348,600	325

Ten Events, Ten Different Champions

The 2026 Poker Masters crowned a different winner in every event, with the 10 tournaments collectively paying out $9,200,000 in prize money. The first six ran at $10,500, Events #7 and #8 stepped up to $15,700, and the series closed with the $26,000 Event #9 and $51,000 finale. The complete results:

Event	Winner	Country	Entries	Prize Pool	1st Place
Event #1: $10,500 NLH	Myles Mullaly	United States	78	$780,000	$218,400
Event #2: $10,500 NLH	Nick Palma	United States	84	$840,000	$235,200
Event #3: $10,500 NLH	Joey Weissman	United States	78	$780,000	$218,400
Event #4: $10,500 NLH	Vitalijs Zavorotnijs	Latvia	80	$800,000	$224,000
Event #5: $10,500 NLH	Adrian Mateos	Spain	85	$850,000	$229,500
Event #6: $10,500 NLH	Justin Vaysman	United States	64	$640,000	$192,000
Event #7: $15,700 NLH	Jeremy Ausmus	United States	58	$870,000	$278,400
Event #8: $15,700 NLH	Keith Lehr	United States	56	$840,000	$277,200
Event #9: $26,000 NLH	Nick Seward	United States	50	$1,250,000	$412,500
Event #10: $51,000 NLH	Sean Winter	United States	31	$1,550,000	$620,000

Winter Leads the PGT Season Heading to the Sprint

Sean Winter's finale win vaulted him to 2,223 points atop the PGT season leaderboard. Finland's Eelis Parssinen sits second at 1,843, followed by Jeremy Ausmus at 1,812 and Alex Foxen at 1,777. American Brandon Wilson and Spain's Adrian Mateos are locked in a tight battle for fifth, separated by a single point at 1,761 and 1,760, respectively.

The next stop on the PGT is the PGT Sprint, seven single-day events running October 27 to November 4 with buy-ins from $5,300 to $10,500. The PGT Championship, a $500,000 freeroll for the top 40 on the season leaderboard, is scheduled for January 11 to 12, 2027.

2026 Poker Masters: FAQ

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