The PGT Championship, effectively the last remaining live tournament of 2023, is nearing the six-handed final table as Daniel Smiljkovic holds a dominant chip lead. With 2,895 million chips, Smiljkovic has twice the stack of his nearest competitor.
2023 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Daniel Weinman is the nearest competitor and is in second place with 1.430 million chips. Next is Leon Sturm with 1.005 million. Leading the back half of the final table is Artur Martirosyan with 720,000, followed by Arden Cho with 665,000. Darren Elias is the short stack with 180,000 chips.
The PGT Championship is a $1 million freeroll open to the top 40 players in the 2023 PokerGO Tour rankings, as well as 14 additional players who have won Dream Seats. Two of these dream places were only awarded earlier this week in the PGT Last Chance series.
In total, 47 of the 54 eligible players appear to have taken part in the tournament, according to table lineups posted in the live updates on the PGT website. Only the six players at Wednesdaysay's final table will receive money, with $500,000 going to the winner. Each remaining player is guaranteed at least $40,000.
Of the six final table players, Daniel Weinman took the highest spot in the 2023 PGT Rankings and finished the year in fourth place. Smiljkovic was 16th, Sturm 22nd, Elias 30th and Martirosyan 32nd. Actress Arden Cho (“Teen Wolf”, “Chicago Med”, “Partner Track”) reached the championship via Dream Seat.
It mattered where players finished in the rankings, not just qualifying for the tournament. Players began the PGT Championship with 1,000 chips for every ten points they had on the leaderboard. The Dream Seat winners started with 100,000 chips.
There was almost a second dream seater at the final table. Samuel Laskowitz, who had just qualified for the PGT Championship at the Last Chance Series, was eliminated in seventh place by Smiljkovic in the final hand of Day 1. 11th and 13th place, in addition to Laskowitz.
The PGT Championship final table is just beginning at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. Tune in later to see how it turns out.
PGT Championship 2024 – Final Table Chip Counts
- Daniel Smiljkovic – 2,895,000
- Daniel Weinman – 1,430,000
- Leon Sturm – 1,005,000
- Artur Martirosyan – 720,000
- Arden Cho – 665,000
- Darren Elias – 180,000
Photo credit: PokerGO.com
