The Pure Poker Tour (PPT) is back for 2026 with five more chances to win the new 2025-designed PPT Diamond trophies. After a big 2025 that saw more than $4.25 million in prizes handed out across the tour, 2026 is set to go even bigger.
Nearly 9,000 entries were recorded across the 2025 season to build those prizes, and the big name to emerge from the competition was local air traffic controller Pav Braich. Braich had won a couple of trophies on the tour in side events, but as 2025 came to a close, he turned it up to 11, scoring two back-to-back Main Event titles to close out the year.
That meant Braich joined Winnipeg’s Eric Wasylenko as the only two-time winners of the PPT Main Event, and interestingly, they both went back-to-back to score the landmark. Wasy got his two in the first two series of 2024, while Braich scored his Main Event trophies in the final two series of 2025.
Opening Salvos for 2026 Fired on Feb 22
With 2025 officially in the rearview, the new 2026 season looms large on the horizon. The opening series of the season kicks off on Feb 22 at the Argyle facility, with a week of satellite play alternating between Pure Casino Edmonton and Pure Casino Yellowhead before the opening events run on Feb 26 in the Argyle Social room.
While there is limited information available on the specific series schedules yet (the first series schedule should be public in early Feb), the full 2026 season dates have been released, so that players can block out their poker travel in advance. The 2026 dates are similar to previous years on the schedule, with 2026 once again playing out exclusively between the two Edmonton Pure Canadian Gaming properties. Convenient hotel options include Chateau Nova for events at Yellowhead and Four Points by Sheraton for events at Argyle.
The opening hands for the 2026 PPT will be played out at the Argyle facility in the final week of February. That series will kick off with a week of satellite action, followed by ~16 events starting on the 26th. Most likely, the series will continue with the tradition of “Seniors First”, kicking off the series at noon on the 26th with the 50+ game, followed by an evening half & half game with four- and two-card rounds.
Players can expect to get at least two multi-day games with multiple Day 1 starting flights, as well as a High Roller that has a single starting flight, but extends over two days of play. Popular games from the 2025 schedule, like the Big Bounty & the Last Chance, which both saw big single-day numbers in 2025, are also likely to make a return on the 2026 schedules.
Full details for the opening series should be available in the week following this preview, and a more specific look at the PPT #1 schedule will follow once the full details are released.
Anatomy of the 2026 PPT Season
- PPT #1
- Venue: Pure Casino Edmonton
- Dates: Feb 22 – Mar 8
- Satellite Week: Feb 22 – 25
- Trophy Games: Feb 26 – Mar 8
- PPT #2
- Venue: Pure Casino Yellowhead
- Dates: May 3 – 17
- Satellite Week: May 3 – 6
- Trophy Games: May 7 – 17
- PPT #3
- Venue: Pure Casino Edmonton
- Dates: Jul 12 – 26
- Satellite Week: Jul 12 – 15
- Trophy Games: Jul 16 – 26
- PPT #4
- Venue: Pure Casino Yellowhead
- Dates: Sep 13 – 27
- Satellite Week: Sep 13 – 16
- Trophy Games: Sep 17 – 27
- PPT #5
- Venue: Pure Casino Yellowhead
- Dates: Nov 15 – 29
- Satellite Week: Nov 15 – 18
- Trophy Games: Sep 19 – 29
Get ready for another season of hot PPT action in Edmonton for 2026. The 2026 Alberta poker year started off with a huge bang in Calgary, crushing previous records for local field sizes and prize pools. That bodes extremely well for the upcoming live poker season around the province, and while it’s unrealistic to expect a local tour like PPT to attract the same numbers as a global brand, the huge numbers in Calgary are encouraging for a big year across the Alberta live poker landscape.
