The first PokerGO Tour event winner of 2026 has been crowned. Clemen Deng emerged victorious from a field of 109 entries in event no. 1 at the PGT Last Chance festival, earning $277,950 after overcoming a stacked final table in the $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event.
Deng had to square off against some of the most accomplished players in the game on his way to hoisting the trophy, including all-time World Series of Poker bracelet leader Phil Hellmuth (4th) and recently announced 2025 Card Player Player of the Year award winner Jesse Lonis (3rd).
While the rest of the final table was packed with established stars, Deng played the part of the up-and-comer. This was the fifth-largest payday yet for the Portland, Oregon resident. His lifetime haul grew to nearly $5.9 million thanks to this triumph. The rest of his top five scores have all been recorded in the past 18 months, with the biggest being the $695,000 he secured with a final-table showing in a $100,000 Triton Poker event last spring in Jeju, South Korea.
In addition to the title and the money, Deng also secured 600 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. He wound up just outside the top 60 in 2025, making 13 final tables and accruing nearly $2.7 million along the way. Now, he is among the early leaders in the 20226 standings presented by CoinPoker. The 278 PGT points that came with the triumph put him in the early lead for one of the five Dream Seats into the PGT $1,000,000 Championship which are on the line at this series.
Narrowing The Field
The field of 109 resulted in a $1,090,000 prize pool, with the top 16 finishers earning a share. Six-time bracelet winner Jeremy Ausmus (15th), seven-time bracelet winner Josh Arieh (13th), bracelet winners Joe Serock (12th) and Byron Kaverman (11th), two-time World Poker Tour champion and bracelet winner Jared Jaffee (10th), recent WPT bestbet Scramble champion Connor Rash (9th), 2024 WPT Voyage champion Aram Oganyan (8th), and two-time WPT champion and bracelet winner Jonathan Little (7th) all made the money.
The second and final day began with just six players remaining and Lonis well out in front. Hellmuth scores the first knockout of the day, with his pocket eights besting the A-7 of short-stack Matthew Wantman, who won the MSPT Venetian main event just days earlier for $96,284. Wantman added $54,500 with his sixth-place showing.
Lonis then won a race with J♥10♥ against the 8♦8♣ of bracelet winner and PokerGO founder Cary Katz (5th – $70,850) to narrow the field to four.
Hellmuth slid down the leaderboard as short-handed play continued. He made his last stand with A♥2♠ on a 10♥6♣2♦ flop, only to find himself trailing the J♥J♦ of WPT champion and four-time bracelet winner David Baker. The overpair held through the 10♠ turn and 6♦ river to end Hellmuth’s run in fourth place ($98,100). The 17-time bracelet winner now has more than $27.5 million in lifetime cashes.
Surging Across The Finish Line
Jesse Lonis
A classic race all but sealed the win for Deng during three-handed action. Baker opened for 1,300,000 on the button, leaving 500,000 behind. Lonis shoved from the small blind with 9♠9♣ and Deng called with A♣K♦, having both of his opponents covered. Baker opted to fold and the board ran out A♦7♥3♥A♥3♦ to give Deng aces full. Lonis kicked off his POY title defense with a third-place showing for $125,350. He is currently ranked seventh in the PGT points race, meaning he is all but assured of a spot in the season-ending $1,000,000 freeroll that kicks off after this series wraps.
With that, Deng took more than a 26:1 lead into heads-up play with Baker. A quick double-up gave Baker some hope of an incredible comeback, but he was soon all-in and at risk again with an open-ended straight draw facing the bottom pair of Deng. The chips went in after the flop of K♣5♠4♠ with 6♦3♥ for Baker and 8♠4♥ for Deng. The 5♦ turn and J♣ river kept Deng’s hand best, ending Baker’s tournament in second place ($174,400).
Baker’s career earnings now sit at nearly $9.3 million after this strong start to the new year.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points | PGT Points |
| 1 | Clemen Deng | $277,950 | 600 | 278 |
| 2 | David Baker | $174,400 | 500 | 174 |
| 3 | Jesse Lonis | $125,350 | 400 | 125 |
| 4 | Phil Hellmuth | $98,100 | 300 | 98 |
| 5 | Cary Katz | $70,850 | 250 | 71 |
| 6 | Matthew Wantman | $54,500 | 200 | 55 |
| 7 | Jonathan Little | $43,600 | 150 | 44 |
| 8 | Aram Oganyan | $43,600 | 100 | 44 |
Photo credit: PokerGO Tour / Antonio Abrego.
