Pav “Back-to-Back” Braich has just accomplished what only one other person on the Pure Poker Tour has managed to do — go back-to-back in successive Main Events. Winnipeg’s Eric Wasylenko, who was also at this Main Event final table, did the deed last year in the first two series of 2024, and now Braich has closed out 2025 with the same feat.
In addition to the Main Event, which played from Friday through Sunday, the final weekend of the 2025 PPT #5 also saw the team game and the Last Chance play out to close out the series. The team of Mitch Heidt and Keith Stick took down the team game on Saturday night, before Heidt had to sit down for Day 2 of the Main on Sunday, while the final trophy of 2025 was awarded to Denis Mujcin in the Last Chance late Sunday evening.
Braich Goes Back-to-Back in the Main Event
Event #14: $1,100 NLH Main Event ($990 + $110)
| Date: | Nov 28 – 30, 2025 |
| Blinds: | 40/60 Minutes |
| Starting Stack: | 30k |
| Entries: | 355 (156 Day 1a, 199 Day 1b) |
| Prizes (1st Place): | $333,878 (Pav Braich – $50,000 in Deal) |
The Main Event is always the biggest game of any series, and the PPT5 Main was no exception. It had the biggest field, as well as the two biggest one-day fields of any game in the series, with $333,878 to play for by the time entries closed on Day 1b.
The original 1st-place prize was set at $67,950, but the final three players decided to cut a deal to smooth out the payouts a bit. The final three agreed to take $47k each guaranteed, with $3k left on the table to play for, which Braich eventually added to his take for a winning payout of $50k even.
It wasn’t an easy run for Braich, either. He was one of the shorter stacks coming into Day 2, playing just 152.5k to start the final day of play. That was well behind Nadav Bitton’s lead stack of more than 700k, and Braich was looking up at a lot of other big stacks on the final day as well.
He played a patient game throughout the day, but never managed to run away with it until the endgame. Runner-up Johnny Daphond was leading for much of the final day, amassing a million chips early and holding with that or more for most of the day. He was shadowed at the top end of the day by Julius Roque and Quentin Siffledeen.
The eventual winner was down to just 500k, or ten big blinds at the time, when they were seven-handed, and at that point, Roque had been chipped down and was the only player smaller than Braich, with just 350k to play with. Roque found a double with kings just before 3rd place, Luteng Li, sent Siffledeen home in 7th place.
Roque was next to fall, taking 6th place, and he was followed by Chris Hak for 5th. That left four players remaining, with Braich still near the bottom. Teo Sanchez, who had been surviving with rivers when he needed to, was the short stack, and he ended his day shortly before the final three made their deal.
Braich then turned up the heat, finding aces for a huge double to the lead. Li then doubled back through Braich to even out the stacks, and that’s when the final three started talking deal. Li hit the rail shortly after for 3rd place, followed by runner-up Dalphond when Braich’s pair of eights held for the win against ace-six for Dalphond. That left Braich with all the chips, and his second PPT Main Event trophy in as many events.
Final Table Results from the Main Event
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Pav Braich | *$50,000 |
| 2 | Johnny Dalphond | *$47,000 |
| 3 | Luteng Li | *$47,000 |
| 4 | Teo Sanchez | $23,430 |
| 5 | Chris Hak | $18,040 |
| 6 | Julius Roque | $14,295 |
| 7 | Quentin Siffledeen | $11,245 |
| 8 | Saeed Ganji | $8,905 |
| 9 | Eric Wasylenko | $7,265 |
Team Heidt/Stick Win Team Event for $2,530
Event #15: $220 Team Tournament ($200 + $20)
| Date: | Nov 29, 6 PM |
| Blinds: | 20 Minutes |
| Starting Stack: | 20k |
| Entries: | 31 |
| Prizes (Winner): | $5,890 (Team Mitch Heidt/Keith Stick, $2,530) |
The Team game played out on Saturday night, and as usual, it was as much party as poker tournament. The cash room at Pure Casino Yellowhead was full to the rafters, with 31 entries in this game playing alongside several tables of cash games, including a massive PLO game with 10’s of thousands on the table.
Mitch Heidt teamed up with Keith Stick, both from Saskatchewan, and they managed to make their way through to the win over the local team of Brian Iwanicki & Bradley Spencer. Get all the details for the Team game from our Live Reporting page, courtesy of Alek Gillies.
Final Results for the Team Game
| Place | Team | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Mitch Heidt/Keith Stick | $2,530 |
| 2 | Team Brian Iwanicki/Bradley Spencer | $1,710 |
| 3 | Chris Campbell/Collin Armstrong | $1,060 |
| 4 | Rod Macarthur/Jason Dent | $590 |
Denis Mujcin Takes Down the Last Chance for $10,900
Event #16: $340 Last Chance NLH ($300 + $40)
| Date: | Nov 30, 2 PM |
| Blinds: | 30 Minutes |
| Starting Stack: | 25k |
| Entries: | 144 |
| Prizes (Winner): | $41,040 (Denis Mujcin, $10,900) |
The final game of the 2025 PPT season played out on Sunday afternoon, and Denis Mujcin took down the top prize worth almost $11k. This game played out in the Poker Room at Pure Casino Yellowhead while Day 2 of the Main Event was playing out in the Pearl Showroom, so the coverage of this one is a bit sparse, as Alek was focusing his attention on the Main at the end of the night.
Get all the details from the final PPT game of 2025 from our Live Reporting page.
Final Results for the Last Chance Tournament
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denis Mujcin | $10,900 |
| 2 | Rob Lothian | $7,500 |
| 3 | Ryan Smith | $4,875 |
| 4 | Lucas Lacko | $3,750 |
| 5 | Jason Law | $2,885 |
| 6 | Resul Dauti | $2,285 |
| 7 | Shane Hall | $1,800 |
| 8 | Stefan Maloney | $1,425 |
| 9 | Rodica Fatol | $1,160 |
| 10 | Alexander Bichovsky | $935 |
| 11 | Ndumiso Gama | $765 |
| 12 | Tim Baiden | $765 |
| 13 | Glenn Tarasoff | $665 |
| 14 | Andy Truong | $665 |
| 15 | Colin Orleski | $665 |
