Brandon Wilson Wins Poker Masters Finale

Brandon Wilson has taken his tournament poker game to a whole new level in the past couple of years. He has cashed for more than $6.8 million since the start of 2024, including winning seven titles. All of those triumphs have come in events with buy-ins of $10,000 or higher, including his latest victory. On Thursday, Oct. 2 Wilson came out on top in the $25,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event that closed out the 2025 Poker Masters. 

Wilson outlasted 63 entries to secure the title and $464,000 in prize money. He now boasts lifetime earnings of nearly $8.1 million. This was his fourth title and 12th final-table finish of 2025 alone. The 504 Card Player Player of the Year points that came with the trophy grew his total to 6,712. That’s good for sixth place in the overall standings presented by CoinPoker.

Five of Wilson’s top ten largest tournament scores have now come in 2025, including his first seven-figure payday. Just a few weeks before this win, he finished runner-up in a $50,000 buy-in at the Triton Jeju stop for $1,150,000.

This latest win was Wilson’s only cash at the Poker Masters, but it alone was enough to see him finish eighth in the series standings. This was his second PokerGO Tour title of the season, and fourth cash. His earlier victory came in a $15,000 buy-in at the U.S. Poker Open. He is now ranked 81st in the season-long PGT standings with 687 points.

“I prepare hard for this. I’m not perfect, but I prepare hard, I try hard, and sometimes you get rewarded with results. When it happens, it does mean a lot,” Wilson told PokerGO‘s reporters after this win.

Setting The Stage

The strong turnout to the PokerGO Studio inside ARIA Resort & Casino created a final prize pool of $1,575,000. The top nine finishers earned a share of that sum, with Vinny Lingham eliminated on the bubble. Two-time PGT Mixed Games series champion Chino Rheem (9th) and World Poker Tour champion Aram Oganyan (8th) bowed out inside the money by the end of day 1.

The second and final day began with seven players remaining, all of whom had locked up at least $63,000 by reaching that point.

David Chen, who finished second in event no. 4 earlier this series, was left on fumes after committing the majority of his stack preflop with Q-J and folding to a river bet from Wilson, who had made the wheel with A-4 on the low-card-centric runout. Chen committed his final 5,000 chip not long after that with K♦8♥. He wound up facing three opponents, with David Coleman’s A♣J♥ winning at showdown after a Q♣10♦8♣J♦Q♠ runout. Chen’s seventh-place showing in this event brought his earnings for the series to $278,200 across three cashes.

Preflop Monsters Collide, Rearranging The Leaderboard

The next big clash saw Jason Koon’s Q♣Q♦ square off against the A♥K♠ of Coleman. The action was five-bet by Coleman preflop after he opened under the gun, Nick Schulman three-bet with J♦10♦, and Koon four-bet with his big pocket pair.

Koon flat called Coleman’s five bet after Schulman got out of the way, putting 1,470,000 (49 big blinds) in the middle before the flop of Q♠10♠3♦ was dealt. Coleman moved all-in for his remaining 630,000 after Koon had checked. Koon quickly called with top set and was a big favorite to win the pot and move into a virtual tie for the chip lead. The 8♠ turn complicated matters for him, though, as Coleman added a flush draw to go with his gutshot. The original draw was the one that came in, though, with the J♣ giving Coleman broadway. He dragged the massive pot while Koon was left with a single big blind.

Jaw-dropping. That’s all we got.

Stream the Poker Masters on https://t.co/2RQh5ROjQG, live and on demand. pic.twitter.com/Rxj0dtkRbP

— PokerGO (@PokerGO) October 2, 2025

Koon, a two-time bracelet winner and the all-time Triton Poker title’s leader with 12 wins, kicked off his attempt at a comeback by making a flush to chip up to a four big blinds. He was soon all-in and at risk again, though, with pocket sevens trailing the pocket jacks of Doug Lee. Neither player connected with the board and Koon was eliminated in sixth place ($86,600). This score grew his career earnings to more than $69.3 million.

More Big Names Sent Packing

2025 Poker Hall of Fame inductee Nick Schulman was the next to fall. Schulman hit middle pair with J♣7♠ on a flop of A♣J♦5♥ after defending his big blind. He checked and Lee, who had raised with 5♠5♣, fired 85,000. The 6♣ rolled off after Schulman called. He checked a second time and Lee bet 275,000. Schulman called and 2♦ completed the board and Schulman check-called again, this time for his final 130,000. Lee’s set earned him the pot and the knockout, while Schulman settled for $118,100. He now sits in fourth place in the PGT season-long standings, with one title and 13 final-table finishes.

Three-time bracelet winner Dylan Linde was left short after his jack-high bluff attempt was jammed on by Wilson, who himself only had bottom pair. Soon after that, Linde committed 300,000 of his 310,000 stack preflop with K-J and checked down against Wilson, who won with A-Q high. Linde’s final fraction of a blind went in not long after with pocket threes. He was up against two opponents. Coleman showdown down aces and deuces with a jack kicker to claim the pot and send Linde on his way. The WPT champion earned $157,500, surpassing $15 million in career earnings as a result.

Strong Showing For Lee

Lee began to fall behind the rest of the pack as three-handed play continued. The Canadian has been hot on the tour recently, finishing third in the PGT Venetian Classic before placing sixth in the kickoff event and second in event no. 6 at this festival.

His final hand saw him jam nine big blinds from the button with K♦9♦. Wilson called with A♠7♥ and the flop came down K♣10♥7♠ to give Lee top pair and the lead. The Q♦ turn gave Wilson a gutshot to go with his outs to trips and aces up. The J♦ river completed Wilson’s straight, ending Lee’s run in third place ($220,500).

This was the third-largest score of his career. The $462,500 he secured across his four cashes at this festival grew his career earnings to more than $2.7 million.

Doug Lee is all in and at risk against Brandon Wilson! Could this lead to the Purple Jacket for David Coleman?

The Poker Masters is part of the @PokerGOTour, and the PGT streams live and on demand on https://t.co/2RQh5ROjQG. pic.twitter.com/ctsFvvGPnV

— PokerGO (@PokerGO) October 3, 2025

Wilson Triumphs, Coleman Secures Purple Jacket

Heads-up play began with a 2:1 chip advantage for Wilson over Coleman. The final two contenders soon hashed out a deal to redistribute the remaining prize money a bit, locking up $355,000 for Coleman while Wilson assured himself of at least $395,000. That left $69,000 and the trophy to play for.

The final hand of the tournament saw Wilson limp from the button for 80,000 total with Q♦10♥. Coleman checked his option with K♣3♣ and an action flop of Q♣10♠4♣ was dealt. Wilson led out for 95,000 with his two pair when checked to. Coleman check-raised to 310,000 with his flush draw and Wilson called. The K♥ turn gave Coleman top pair to go with his draw. Both players checked and the 8♠ completed the board. Wilson moved all-in over the top of Coleman’s 350,000 bet, an effective shove of 1,865,000. Coleman made the call and was eliminated in second place ($355,000).

Coleman cashed three times during this series, including winning the kickoff $5,000 buy-in $1,000,000 showcase event for $270,000. All told, he accumulated $657,700 and 492 PGT points, enough to see him surpass Alex Foxen at the last moment to capture the Purple Jacket and the $25,000 PGT passport.

This impressive performance by Coleman propelled his career earnings past $12.7 million. He has one title and 11 final tables in 2025, and enough POY points to sit inside the top 40 heading into the final few months of the year.

Final Table Results

Poker Masters Points Race Final Standings

Photo credit: PokerGO Tour / Antonio Abrego.