Joe McKeehen rallies heads-up to win $10,500 PGT Sprint finale for $174,900

Joe McKeehen overturned a deficit of more than 2-to-1 at the start of heads-up play to win the closing event of the 2026 PGT Sprint in Las Vegas. The win added 175 PGT points to his season total as the tour heads toward PGT Last Chance and its $500,000 Championship freeroll.

• McKeehen collected $174,900 for winning Event #7: $10,500 No-Limit Hold'em, the final event of the PGT Sprint.
• The event drew a field of 53 entries and paid the winner 175 PGT points.
• Card Player said the title was McKeehen's fourth career PGT win, and the organizers said it was his first PGT title of the season.
• The PGT Championship, a $500,000 freeroll with $250,000 for the winner, is set for Jan. 11-12, 2027, at the PokerGO Studio.

Joe McKeehen closed the 2026 PGT Sprint on Nov. 4 by winning Event #7: $10,500 No-Limit Hold’em at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. He took $174,900 and 175 PGT points from a field of 53 entries. The PokerGO Tour announced the result on Nov. 5 and noted it was his first PGT title of the season.

He started heads-up play well behind. Daniyal Gheba began the duel with more than double McKeehen’s chips, according to Card Player. McKeehen took the lead, then called Gheba’s four-bet shove of about 1,800,000 holding pocket kings. The board ran 9-5-2-9-3. The kings held.

The win is McKeehen’s fourth career PGT title, and Card Player counts it as the 35-year-old’s 33rd recorded tournament title. The Pennsylvania pro, from North Wales, won the 2015 World Series of Poker Main Event for $7,683,346. Outside the PGT, he has won four other events in 2026 and reached 10 final tables on the circuit this year. About two weeks before the Sprint, he finished third in Event #7 of the 2026 Poker Masters for $121,800 and 97 PGT points, an event Jeremy Ausmus won for $278,400, PGT.com reported.

Lichtenberger, Lonis, Rheem and Wilson took earlier Sprint titles

The tour billed the Sprint as seven single-day tournaments running Oct. 27 through Nov. 4, with buy-ins from $5,300 to $10,500. Chino Rheem opened the series by winning Event #1: $5,300 NL Hold’em for $119,600, with the result announced Oct. 28. That result earned him 179 PGT points, lifted him to 19th in the season standings and gave him 10 career PGT titles.

Brock Wilson followed in Event #2, announced Oct. 29. It was his fifth title of the 2026 PGT season and moved him back into second place in the PGT Player of the Year race. Jesse Lonis won the $5,300 Event #3 from 78 entries on Oct. 29 for $101,000 after a heads-up deal that paid Sam Laskowitz $78,400, PokerTube reported. Lonis then sat 34th in the standings with 1,099 points.

In Event #6, the last Sprint tournament ahead of the finale, Andrew Lichtenberger topped 60 entries in the $10,500 event to collect $192,000 and 192 PGT points. He came back from almost 10-to-1 down heads-up against Alex Foxen.

PGT Last Chance on Jan. 4-9 sets the top 40 for the freeroll

Sean Winter led the 2026 PGT leaderboard with 2,223 points from 17 cashes worth $4,391,694 after winning the $51,000 Poker Masters finale for $620,000, the tour reported Oct. 24. The leaderboard player with the most points at the end of the regular season will be named PGT Player of the Year, receive a $25,000 PGT Passport and start the Championship as chip leader.

The six-event PGT Last Chance series runs Jan. 4-9 at the PokerGO Studio, sets the final leaderboard and awards five extra Dream Seats into the freeroll. Only the top 40 eligible players qualify through the leaderboard. To be eligible, a player must opt in before Last Chance begins and must have cashed in PGT events at least four times this year, with one or more of those cashes coming in an event the tour itself owns and operates. The PGT Championship follows on Jan. 11-12, 2027, as a $500,000 freeroll paying $250,000 to the winner.