History of the PokerGO Cup

The PokerGO Cup was first held in July 2021 and has been a staple on the PGT as one of the first PGT majors of the season every year.

The first-ever PokerGO Cup was an eight-event series culminating in a $100k finale won by Cary Katz. However, it was Daniel Negreanu's fourth-place finish in the event that secured his crowning as the inaugural PokerGO Cup champion with 537 PGT points from four cashes. In 2022, the finale buy-in was halved to $50k, with Sean Perry earning his second win of the series. Unfortunately for Perry, it wasn't enough for him to ascend to the top as Jeremy Ausmus cashed four times - including a third-place finish in the $50k finale - and earned 658 PGT points to be crowned the 2022 PokerGO Cup champion.

The 2023 PokerGO Cup would see Cary Katz cash in five of the eight events to amass 460 PGT points and be crowned the 2023 PokerGO Cup champion. In 2024, the buy-in for the finale was reduced to $25k, and the final two participants determined who would be crowned the 2024 PokerGO Cup champion. Both Jonathan Little and Justin Zaki had won events earlier in the series, and they would be the final two remaining in the $25k finale. Little would emerge victorious and ensure his first PGT series title.

Last year, in 2025, Joey Weissman ran away with the PokerGO Cup champion title after a dominating performance throughout the eight events. Weissman cashed four times, including a runner-up finish in Events #1, #4, and #8, as well as a win in Event #2 for $295,000. His 758 PGT points secured his crowning as the 2025 PokerGO Cup champion.

PokerGO Cup All-Time Leaderboard

Cary Katz is the all-time leader in PokerGO Cup cashes, final tables, and winnings, and has used this series to start his PGT campaign each year in a great position. Katz has begun his 2026 PGT season with two cashes and 133 PGT points, and if he can replicate his 2023 PokerGO Cup results, he surge into the top ten on the PGT leaderboard.

Daniel Negreanu is tied on 11 cashes with Sam Soverel and Nick Schulman, but sits second all-time in PokerGO winnings with $1,709,100. Negreanu has played only one event in the 2026 PGT season and failed to cash, but with a strong PokerGO Cup campaign, he can turn his cold start into a hot one. Soverel and Schulman are winless at the PokerGO Cup, but both have 11 cashes. Soverel has nine final table visits, while Schulman has seven appearances at a final table. Both players will be looking to take home a PokerGO Cup trophy in 2026.

Alex Foxen has two PokerGO Cup victories and is tied with Jeremy Ausmus with 10 cashes. Ausmus has one additional final table but one fewer title, though he did win a series championship in 2022. Sean Winter, Justin Saliba, and Brock Wilson all have nine cashes, while David Peters is the only player with eight cashes. Sitting just outside the top ten are Kristen Foxen and Stephen Chidwick with seven cashes each.

What to Expect at the 2026 PokerGO Cup?

The first five installments of the PokerGO Cup featured an eight-event schedule, but in 2026, the series gets a huge shake-up. The 2026 PokerGO Cup runs from March 1-15, and the schedule expands to 10 events, including a $3,300 multi-flight opening event, followed by three single-day $5,300 buy-in events. Beginning with Event #5, the series returns to the standard two-day events and $10,500 buy-ins, while the Event #10 finale will be a $15,700 buy-in. The player who accumulates the most PGT points will be awarded the PokerGO Cup and a $25,000 PGT passport, while all event winners will receive new and unique trophies manufactured by Society Awards.

Seven final tables will be livestreamed on PokerGO.com, and PokerNews will be providing exclusive live reporting of all the PokerGO Cup events.

For complete PGT schedule information, check out pgt.com/schedule.

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