Sean Winter Wins Final PokerGO Cup $10,000 Event

Sean Winter has been a top performer inside the PokerGO Studio for years and has the hardware to prove it. The 35-year-old poker pro secured his eighth PokerGO Tour title on Saturday, March 14. He beat out a field of 70 entries in the final $10,000 buy-in event of the 2026 PokerGO Cup festival to secure the trophy and the first-place prize of $210,000.

Winter has now cashed 105 times and made 68 final tables in PGT events, accumulating over $13.3 million in earnings along the way. That accounts for more than a third of his total career earnings of nearly $37.3 million.

This latest triumph for the Florida native also came with 210 PGT points, enough to move him into third place in the series standings. He has cashed in four events so far, accumulating $330,650 and 347 points along the way. He added 420 Card Player Player of the Year points, enough to move him within reach of the top 250 in the 2026 POY race presented by CoinPoker.

Grise Leads Final Seven With Winter In Hot Pursuit

Benjamin Grise hopped into this event shortly after finishing second in the previous $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em affair for a career-best score of $136,500. The Indiana resident battled his way into the chip lead by the end of day 1 action, with Winter bagging the next-largest stack.

Grise extended his advantage when he flopped trip threes to crack the pocket kings of bracelet winner Aram Zobian. Grise value bet the river and received a call, leaving Zobian on fumes. He was soon sent packing in seventh place, earning $28,000 for his latest deep run.

What a start to today’s PokerGO Cup final table for @BenGrise.

Watch the PokerGO Cup on https://t.co/2RQh5ROjQG. pic.twitter.com/QXPnJxBuy1

— PokerGO (@PokerGO) March 14, 2026

Justin Zaki (6th – $38,500) soon followed. He committed most of his stack with K-J against the pocket tens of Myles Mullaly preflop, then got the remainder in on the flop with his two overcards to the nine-high board. Mullaly turned top set and improved to a full house on the river to narrow the field to five.

Winter did his best to keep pace, winning a preflop coin flip with A♦Q♦ over J♠J♦ to send Brandon Wilson home in fifth place ($52,500). This was Wilson’s eighth final-table showing so far in 2026, with three titles won and over $1.6 million in POY earnings accumulated along the way. He remains the top-ranked player in the POY standings, with 3,373 points giving him a 1,153-point lead over the nearest contender, Nicholas Seward.

Pocket Aces Giveth And They Taketh Away

The next two knockout hands both involved pocket aces. They first held for Grise, with six-time bracelet winner Jeremy Ausmus’ K♠10♣ making top pair after the chips went in preflop but improving no further. Ausmus earned $70,000 for his 386th career in-the-money finish, growing his lifetime haul to more than $29.1 million.

Mullaly did not fare as well with his A♦A♣. He got all-in on a Q♦7♦6♦6♥ board with his overpair and nut diamond draw facing the K♦4♦ of Grise for a made flush. The Q♠ saw Mullaly eliminated in fourth place. He earned $94,500 for his efforts, the second-largest payday of his career.

Mullaly has now cashed in four events this festival, including a runner-up showing for $85,000 in the $3,300 buy-in that kicked off the stop. With 335 points, he now sits in fourth place in the series standings heading into the final event.

Winter Mounts Comeback To Secure The Title

Heads-up play began with 7,250,000 for Grise and 1,500,000 for Winter. That gap was narrowed considerably in the early going, with Winter able to more than double his stack in the first half hour or so of action without an all-in confrontation.

The two did eventually square off in a hefty preflop showdown, though, and it was Winter who came out on top. He min-raised to 250,000 from the button to start the hand with A♠J♦. Grise three-bet shoved for 3,500,000 effective with A♥10♥ and Winter made the call. The board ran out J♣10♦3♣2♥A♣ and both players made aces-up. Winter’s aces and jacks were best, though, and they earned him the double to 7,125,000. Grise was left with just 1,625,000.

Grise did manage a double-up after that, but was still in need of a comeback of his own. He was ground back down to fewer 9 big blinds when the final hand of the tournament was dealt. He open-shoved for 1,300,000 from the button with 9♦7♦ and Winter called with A♦5♠. The flop brought some excitement with the K♦4♣2♦. The 2♠ turn left Grise in need of a diamond, nine or seven on the end. The 5♥ appeared instead, giving Winter fives and deuces for the win.

Grise matched his career-best score of $136,500 thanks to finishing as the runner-up for the second time in as many days. He is now sitting in sixth place in the series standings.

While these two big scores account for a huge chunk of his lifetime earnings, they were recorded amidst an emotionally trying weekend for Grise. Shortly after wrapping up his first of two final-table appearances, he received devastating news about his friend and fellow Indiana poker regular Matt Lushin. According to local news, Lushin was recently found dead in his home. The 47-year-old’s passing is being investigated as a homicide.

 Final Table Results

Current PokerGO Cup Points Standings

Photo credit: PokerGO Tour / Antonio Abrego.