On a Roll: Jason Koon Wins PokerGO Tour Championship; First Quarter of 2023 Schedule Also Released
Fresh off a win over Phil Hellmuth in High Stakes Duel, Jason Koon added a PokerGO Tour Championship title to his resumé last week in Las Vegas for a score of $500,000 .
The GGPoker ambassador was one of 21 players who qualified for the event. Players’ chip stacks were based on PGT points accumulated throughout the year and Koon nursed his stack to the win.
“It’s always beautiful,” Koon told PokerGO after the win. “I somehow run hot toward the end of the year. Do you remember the WPT at Bellagio when they had those two $25Ks and I won them back-to-back in late December? I just kind of run hot in December. I don’t know if it’s Christmas time or what, but it’s beautiful.”
Koon turns Day 1 chip lead into PokerGO Tour title
The winner-take-all format of the PGT Championship brought some interesting dynamics to the PokerGO Studio. The field was a bit smaller than planned as well with six players unable to attend.
The first day of action saw Koon emerge as chip leader. He parlayed that to an even deeper run and eventually found himself heads-up with Sean Winter for the title.
That battle came with some see-saw action as both players took the chip lead at times. The final hand saw Koon grab two pair to send his opponent to the rail and claim the title of 2022 PGT champion. Here’s a look at the final six players.
- Jason Koon – $500,000
- Sean Winter
- Nick Petrangelo
- Benny Glaser
- Stephen Chidwck
- Chad Eveslage
This marked the second season for the PGT and some of the results overall included:
- 175 events
- 24,998 total entries
- $426.1 million in prize money awarded
The win came after Koon won a $50,000 Poker Masters event in October for $666,000. He also profited $800,000 for defeating Hellmuth and now has more than $42 million in lifetime winnings.
Koon is now awaiting his next opponent to be announced for High Stakes Duel.
We're seeking our next challenger for High Stakes Duel 3 Round 6!
The rules are simple:
▫️ Must post $1.6M within 30 days to challenge @JasonKoon.
▫️ Must win back-to-back matches in order to cash out.The clock to find a new challenger is ticking.
Who will step forward? pic.twitter.com/vCWicdqcJh
— PokerGO (@PokerGO) December 8, 2022
First quarter of PGT Tour unveiled
The 2022 PGT season may have come to a close, but the tour is quickly ramping up more action for 2023. PokerGO recently released the schedule for the first quarter of the new year. The action gets underway in January with the PokerGO Cup.
Running Jan. 11-20 at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas, the Cup is a series of eight high-roller tournaments with buy-ins from $10,000 to $50,000. The winner of the overall series is crowned the PokerGO Cup champion and wins a $50,000 bonus.
The schedule includes two new series with the first of those beginning in February. The PGT Mixed Games Festival takes place Feb. 4-11 at the PokerGO Studio.
The eight-event schedule features buy-ins from $5,300 to $25,500. Tournaments include HORSE, Eight-Game Mix, Dealer’s Choice, No Limit 2-7 Single Draw, and more.
In March, the first PGT Pot Limit Omaha Series comes to the PokerGO Studio March 11-19. Buy-ins range from $2,200 to $25,000. The high-stakes series aims at crowning the world’s best PLO player.
“Home to poker’s elite players and most competitive high-stakes tournaments, the PGT saw tremendous growth in the tour’s second season, with total awarded prize money increasing more than 50% and total entries increasing nearly 40%,” PokerGO Mori Eskandani said in a news release.
“Furthermore, the PGT is awarding the biggest player-of-the-year prize in poker history in 2022. The tour’s plans for the 2023 season can be summed up by, ‘Go big, or go home,’ and we are confident that we have put together an incredible offering of events that will allow the PGT to grow even more.”
In addition to these series, the 2023 PGT season includes Aria High Roller events and select poker tournaments meeting PGT criteria.PokerGO will stream many 2023 PGT.