Michael Berk Wins 1st PGT Title at PGT Kickoff for $262,650

Another first-time winner was crowned during PGT Kickoff as Michael Berk emerged victorious to win Event #5: $10,100 No-Limit Hold'em for $174,000. Berk defeated Daniel Maor in heads-up play to earn $262,650 in prize money, 525 PGT points, and the PGT Kickoff Gold Cup.

Berk has been a regular in No-Limit Hold'em PGT events over the past few seasons, but this was his breakthrough win after arriving at his sixth final table. Berk's maiden PGT victory sits hand-in-hand with 15th career PGT cashes and $939,952 in career PGT earnings. This was also Berk's largest career cash, trumping his 42nd place in the 2023 WSOP Main Event for $229,000. Berk now has amassed more than $2,790,000 in lifetime tournament earnings, according to The Hendon Mob.

The stakes were raised for the penultimate event of PGT Kickoff as Event #5: $10,100 No-Limit Hold'em attracted a 103-entrant field. The final 15 players finished in the money, and those included Nick Seward, Matthew McEwan, Patrick Leonard, David 'ODB' Baker, Landon Tice, Dan Smith, Joe Serock, and John Andress.

Berk was the overall chip leader entering the final table, but the story of the event was Kristen Foxen chasing a third consecutive victory in this very event. In 2024, she won Event #5 for $165,000, while in 2025, she won Event #5 for $197,625. Unfortunately for Foxen, she was the first one eliminated when Andrew Lichtenberger flopped a set of fours against her ace-king. Lichtenberger then exited next when his pocket queens were outdrawn by Berk's ace-queen. 

The double elimination of Clemen Deng and Neil Warren reduced the field to three before Brock Wilson's run of doubles finally ended at the hands of Berk as he took a sizeable four-to-one chip lead into heads-up against Maor. Maor found a double and eventually surged into the chip lead, before Berk wrestled it back. The final hand saw Maor forced all-in from the big blind, but he was unable to best Berk's pocket threes and took home $169,950 for his runner-up finish. Berk is now a PGT title winner after taking the victory in Event #5 for a career-best $262,650 in prize money.

2026 PGT Kickoff Event #5: $10,100 No-Limit Hold'em Results

Michael Berk vaults into the top spot on the PGT leaderboard with 525 PGT points and sits ahead of Andrew Moreno with 518 PGT points. Andrew Lichtenberger earned his second cash of PGT Kickoff and sits third overall with 427 PGT points, while Daniel Maor's runner-up finish and three total cashes have him sitting fourth overall with 386 PGT points. Clemen Deng sits in 11th with 205 PGT points, and Neil Warren is 14th with 153 PGT points, while Brock Wilson's second cash thrusts him to ninth on the PGT leaderboard with 257 PGT points.

Other event winners Taylor Paur and Brian Battistone sit fifth and sixth, respectively, while runner-ups Ethan Yau, Dan Smith, and Jim Collopy are seventh, eighth, and tenth, respectively.

PGT Leaderboard Top 10 

These are the leaderboard standings as of Saturday, January 31, 2026. The current PGT leaderboard is at pgt.com/leaderboard.

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