As is usual in PokerGO Tour events, two 2-day events were also played on Thursday at the US Poker Open (USPO). While the decision in the $10,100 No-Limit Hold’em (Event #5) was made at the final table, the third $10,100 NLH tournament (Event #6) started simultaneously in the PokerGO Studio. In these, the high rollers were not only hunting for big prize money and the PGT trophies but also for points in the USPO overall standings, where a woman took the lead over the entire competition.
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Event #5: $10,100 No-Limit Hold’em – Final Day
6 of the original 80 entries in the $10,100 NLH event returned on Thursday to the cameras at the TV table in PokerGO in Las Vegas. With a guaranteed $40,000, the goal was the Eagle trophy, which also came with a $224,000 first prize and 224 PGT points. Short stack Cherish Andres, after her win in Event #3, could not take home another trophy for now. She was eliminated with KJ against AT from Peter Placey but still took home enough points alongside $40,000 to move to the top of the USPO overall standings ahead of her partner Brock Wilson.
Placey did not stop at Justin Zaki either, whom he knocked out of the tournament with winning pocket sixes against his KJ, earning $56,000. Day 1 chip leader Brandon Wilson had to bow out with pocket fours against Anil Jivani’s AJ, which earned him $76,000 in 4th place. Jivani himself was the one who had to leave the final table in 3rd place. His A8s could not surprise Placey’s pocket nines, so he ended up with $104,000.
In the heads-up, the in-form Peter Placey faced Qinghai Pan with a 7.7M:2.3M chip lead. However, Placey had to give up the lead after an all-in with K5 against Pan’s made pair of eights. In the next all-in, Placey was again behind with 65s against Pan’s pocket fives, but a six on the river breathed new life into the Canadian. He could then really enjoy it when an all-in came on an 8-3-3 flop, where Placey’s Q3 held against Pan’s K8. The turn then gave Placey quads fours, securing his first PokerGO Tour win with a $224,000 payout. Qinghai Pan, as runner-up, can hopefully console himself with the $144,000 despite the heads-up loss.
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The payouts:
| Place | Player | Nat | Prize (USD) |
| 1 | Peter Placey | CAN | $224,000 |
| 2 | Qinghai Pan | USA | $144,000 |
| 3 | Anil Jivani | USA | $104,000 |
| 4 | Brandon Wilson | USA | $76,000 |
| 5 | Justin Zaki | USA | $56,000 |
| 6 | Cherish Andrews | USA | $40,000 |
| 7 | Jesse Lonis | USA | $32,000 |
| 8 | Nick Schulman | USA | $32,000 |
| 9 | Brock Wilson | USA | $24,000 |
| 10 | Justin Saliba | USA | $24,000 |
| 11 | Jeremy Becker | USA | $24,000 |
| 12 | Adam Weinraub | USA | $20,000 |
The PokerGO Livestream VoD of Event #5 Day 2:
Here is the link to the PGT live blog of Day 2!
Event #6: $10,100 No-Limit Hold’em – Day 1
Also in Event #6 of the USPO, exactly 80 entries came in, and with a buy-in of $10,000+$100, the prize pool for the top 12 was $800,000. The last player to leave Event #6 without a payout was Kent Stephens, who was made the bubble boy by Brock Wilson (99 vs AK). After that, the expected “Seat Open” calls came in quick succession. Among the players busted on Day 1 who finished in the money were Cary Katz (12th, $20,000) and Brazilian poker superstar Joao Simao (8th, $32,000), who was the final table bubble boy.
In front of the PokerGO handheld camera, which captured live images from a POV perspective, two more high rollers were eliminated before the remaining five bagged their chips. WSOP bracelet winner Darren Elias left the tournament in 7th place ($32,000) after Clemens Ding called his river bluff. The last player of the starting day was Michael Berk, who was eliminated 6th ($40,000) by Brock Wilson with KJo vs. KTo.
The final five have all secured $56,000 but will surely have their eyes on the $224,000 first prize and the Golden Eagle Trophy. Among the finalists are Nick Schulman, Justin Vaysman, and Jeremy Beker, as well as two current USPO title winners: Clemens Deng (winner of Event #2) and Brock Wilson (winner of Event #1), who we will see again today in the PokerGO livestream from the feature table. The latter will overtake his partner Cherish Andrews in the overall standings with this result and move ahead in the couple’s duel and overall ranking.
The PokerGO Livestream VoD of Event #6 Day 1:
Chip counts after Day 1:
| Pos (CC) | Player | Country | Chip Count | Seat |
| 1 | Jeremy Beker | United States | 2,175,000 | 6 |
| 2 | Brock Wilson | United States | 1,585,000 | 2 |
| 3 | Justin Vaysman | United States | 1,375,000 | 1 |
| 4 | Clemen Deng | United States | 825,000 | 3 |
| 5 | Nick Schulman | United States | 455,000 | 5 |
The payouts:
| Place | Player | Nat | Prize (USD) |
| 1 | $224,000 | ||
| 2 | $144,000 | ||
| 3 | $104,000 | ||
| 4 | $76,000 | ||
| 5 | $56,000 | ||
| 6 | Michael Berk | USA | $40,000 |
| 7 | Darren Elias | USA | $32,000 |
| 8 | Joao Simao | BRA | $32,000 |
| 9 | Nicholas Seward | USA | $24,000 |
| 10 | Landon Tice | USA | $24,000 |
| 11 | Sam Laskowitz | USA | $24,000 |
| 12 | Cary Katz | USA | $20,000 |
Here is the link to the PGT live blog of Day 1!
2026 US Poker Open Leaderboard (after Event #5)
| Rank | Player | Points | Wins | Cashes | Winnings |
| 1st | Cherish Andrews | 282 | 1 | 3 | $183,807 |
| 2nd | Brock Wilson | 271 | 1 | 3 | $210,900 |
| 3rd | Jeremy Ausmus | 262 | 0 | 3 | $217,675 |
| 4th | Peter Placey | 224 | 1 | 1 | $224,000 |
| 5th | Kristen Foxen | 219 | 1 | 2 | $211,950 |
| 6th | Clemen Deng | 208 | 1 | 2 | $139,025 |
| 7th | Peter Mugar | 155 | 0 | 3 | $103,975 |
| 8th | Yifu He | 146 | 0 | 2 | $97,550 |
| 9th | Qinghai Pan | 144 | 0 | 1 | $144,000 |
| 10th | Justin Zaki | 140 | 0 | 2 | $111,800 |
US Poker Open Schedule:
