Aram Zobian Caps U.S. Poker Open Final Table Streak With Victory

Aram Zobian rode out a rollercoaster final day on his way to victory in event no. 9 of the 2026 U.S. Poker Open. After starting out as the chip leader, Zobian slipped to the brink of elimination heads up against Brandon Wilson, only to quickly turn it around and secure victory.

Zobian won $292,800 and his fourth career PGT title. It was his first PGT trophy since 2024, when Zobian won both a U.S. Poker Open event and a PGT Texas Poker Open title. This was Zobian’s third consecutive final table at this series, following a fourth-place finish in event no. 7 and fifth-place showing in event 8.

This win lands among Zobian’s top five results of his career, with his sixth-place finish in the 2018 World Series of Poker main event for $1,800,000 remaining his top score. The 31-year-old from Rhode Island now has over $9.3 million in career live tournament earnings.

Wilson settled for second place, which was worth $183,000. Wilson added 360 Card Player Player of the Year points, pushing his total for the year thus far to 5,925 points and extending his lead in the yearlong contest presented by CoinPoker. Zobian’s 432 POY points for his victory pushed him up into the top 150 on the 2026 leaderboard.

A total of 61 entrants put up the buy-in for this $15,000 no-limit hold’em event, matching the turnout from event no. 8. Nine players finished in the money, with Bill Klein (9th), Natalie Ferguson (8th), and Vinny Lingham (7th) falling before the close of play on day 1.

Zobian and Wilson were virtually tied for the chip lead heading into day 2, with each of them holding more than three times as many chips as any of the four other players at the final table.

Jockeying For Position

Chino Rheem found an early double through Wilson to pull ahead of the rest of the chasing pack. Nicholas Seward recorded the first elimination of the day, with his pocket nines turning a set to beat Clemen Deng’s A♦7♠. This was Deng’s (6th – $50,325) third final table and fourth cash of the 2026 U.S. Poker Open, with his run highlighted by a victory in event no. 2.

Marius Gierse soon surged out of the danger zone, winning a coin flip to double through Seward before flopping a set of aces for a significantly larger double through Zobian. Rheem then picked up the rest of Seward’s (5th – $68,625) chips when pocket nines got a clean runout to hold off Seward’s K♥Q♥.

Gierse’s surge ended in an unlucky runout against Zobian. The German high roller got all in with A♦Q♦ against Zobian’s A♣9♠, but Zobian flopped an open-ended straight draw and turned a queen-high straight to pick off Gierse in fourth place ($91,500). Gierse now has over $6 million in career live tournament earnings after this performance inside the PokerGO Studio.

That pot gave Zobian the chip lead back, just ahead of Rheem, with Wilson trailing behind. The gap between the three players closed significantly, and shortly after Wilson surpassed Rheem, they clashed in one of the biggest pots of the tournament. In a battle of the blinds, Rheem and Wilson saw a 8♠4♥2♥ flop. Rheem bet just over a quarter of the pot, Wilson called, and the Q♣ hit the turn. After Rheem shoved, Wilson called with Q♥6♥. Rheem had fallen behind, with his A♦4♠, and couldn’t find an ace or a four on the river to survive. The four-time PGT series champion earned $128,100 for his latest deep run.

Over In An Instant

Wilson held a 1.5:1 lead going into his heads-up battle against Zobian. Wilson picked up several big pots in a row and had Zobian on the brink, extending his advantage to almost 6:1 at its largest. Zobian fought back, though, picking up a massive pot after he flopped two pair with 7♦2♦ and bet it down to the river. Zobian took a slight chip lead after that, and the tournament would end suddenly on the very next hand.

.@AramZobian‘s third consecutive final table at the 2026 U.S. Poker Open results in a $292,800 win! pic.twitter.com/SEctKmTd8N

— PokerGO (@PokerGO) April 22, 2026

Wilson limped the button, Zobian shoved, and Wilson snap-called to create a pot that contained all but two of the total big blinds in play. Wilson had the edge, with A♥9♠, and Zobian needed help with K♣6♥. The 9♦ in the door card was strong for Wilson, but the K♦ was hiding behind it. Neither player improved upon their flopped pair, and Zobian’s kings pushed him into the winner’s circle.

With this win, Zobian earned 234 PGT points, catapulting him into third place on the U.S. Poker Open leaderboard with one event remaining. He’s within striking distance of two-time 2026 U.S. Poker Open winner Brock Wilson. Both Zobian and Jeremy Ausmus, currently in second, will need a big result in the U.S.P.O. championship event to surpass Wilson.

With 146 PGT points for his runner-up finish, Brandon Wilson now sits seventh on the U.S. Poker Open leaderboard, and ninth in the season-long PGT leaderboard.

Final Table Results