The 2026 PokerGO Tour Kickoff series has come to a close, with the two final events of the six-tournament festival wrapping up on Saturday, Jan. 31. A total of $4.5 million in prize money was awarded during the half-dozen no-limit hold’em events on the schedule, with 745 total entries made along the way. This article takes a closer look at the final pair of PGT Kickoff winners.
Berk’s Career-Best
Michael Berk was the champion of the largest event of the series. He outlasted 103 entries in event no. 5, the first of two $10,000 buy-ins on offer. Berk was awarded $262,650 as the champion, his biggest score yet on the live circuit. Prior to this triumph, his top payday had been the $229,000 he earned for a 42nd-place finish in the 2023 World Series of Poker main event.
With this victory, Berk increased his career earnings to nearly $2.7 million. This was his second big title run early in a calendar year, having also won a $5,000 event at the 2025 Lucky Hearts Poker Open last January. He now has three live titles to his name, including in the 2023 MSPT Iowa main event.
Berk also earned 525 PGT points for his first win on this high-stakes centric tour, catapulting him into second place in the season-long standings.
The strong turnout for this event built a prize pool of $1,030,000 that was split amongst the top 15 finishers. Plenty of big names ran deep, including Patrick Leonard (13th), David ‘ODB’ Baker (12th), Landon Tice (11th), Dan Smith (10th), Joe Serock (9th), and Andrew Lichtenberger (6th). Recent PGT Last Chance event winners Neil Warren (5th) and Clemen Deng (4th) also joined Berk at the final table, along with PGT regular Brock Wilson (3rd) and bracelet winner Daniel Maor (2nd).
Five-time bracelet winner Kristen Foxen made an impressive run at winning this event for the third consecutive year, but ultimately bowed out in seventh place ($41,200). This extended her lead on the women’s all-time money list, with nearly $15.2 million in total earnings giving her a $4.3 million edge on second-ranked Vanessa Selbst.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points | PGT Points |
| 1 | Michael Berk | $262,650 | 600 | 525 |
| 2 | Daniel Maor | $169,950 | 500 | 340 |
| 3 | Brock Wilson | $118,450 | 400 | 237 |
| 4 | Clemen Deng | $92,700 | 300 | 185 |
| 5 | Neil Warren | $66,950 | 250 | 134 |
| 6 | Andrew Lichtenberger | $51,500 | 200 | 103 |
| 7 | Kristen Foxen | $41,200 | 150 | 82 |
One For Mantel’s Mantelpiece
Ariel Mantel emerged victorious from a field of 52 entries in the series-ending $10,000 turbo event. This was the first recorded live tournament win for the Argentinian, who walked away with the trophy and $171,600.
Mantel defeated Clemen Deng heads-up for the win. Deng, who had finished fourth in event no. 5 earlier in the same day for $92,700, secured another $109,200 with this runner-up showing. Deng climbed to eighth in the Card Player Player of the Year race presented by CoinPoker. He has already cashed for over $524,000 in 2026, with three final tables and one title won.
In addition to this win, Mantel also placed 12th in event no. 4 for $18,125. His success at this festival has his career earnings approaching the $1.4 million mark.
Other notables among the eight players who cashed in this event included Patrick Leonard (8th), Matthew Wantman (7th), Brandon Wilson (5th), Andrew Lichtenberger (4th), and Dan Smith (3rd). Licthenberger, who won event no. 1 at this festival, is currently leading the PGT points race with 531 total points across three final tables. He is now sitting in seventh in the POY rankings.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points | PGT Points |
| 1 | Ariel Mantel | $171,600 | 300 | 343 |
| 2 | Clemen Deng | $109,200 | 250 | 218 |
| 3 | Dan Smith | $72,800 | 200 | 146 |
| 4 | Andrew Lichtenberger | $52,000 | 150 | 104 |
| 5 | Brandon Wilson | $41,600 | 125 | 83 |
| 6 | Bin Duan | $31,200 | 100 | 62 |
| 7 | Matthew Wantman | $20,800 | 75 |
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Photo credits: PGT / Antonio Abrego.
