The Poker Masters Event 6 final table plays down today, October 19, with Sean Winter holding a razor-thin lead over Victoria Livschitz and five other players still in contention for the $192,000 first prize. The $10,500 No-Limit Hold'em event drew 64 entries and a $640,000 prize pool, and PokerNews reports that all seven finalists are from the United States, including a pair of well-known names in Brandon Wilson and Joey Weissman.
This is the sixth of ten events in the 2026 Poker Masters at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. With each win feeding the Purple Jacket race, and the series entering the larger buy-in events from Event 7 onward, the final table will help sort the contenders from the pretenders. Here is what is at stake and who has the edge.
Event 6 at a glance
According to PokerNews, Event 6 ran across October 17 to 19. The field of 64 entries created a $640,000 prize pool, with the top ten finishers paid. The minimum cash is $19,200 and the winner receives $192,000, which is 30 percent of the pool. Seventh place earns $25,600, so the player who busts first at the final table already walks away with more than the minimum cash.
Day 2 begins at Level 17 with blinds of 20,000/40,000 and a 40,000 big blind ante. Cards are scheduled to be in the air at 11:45 a.m. local time, and the final table is streamed live on the PokerGO YouTube channel from 1 p.m.
Final seven chip counts
The stacks are packed closely, which is rare for a final table and sets up a long, tactical day:
| Player | Chips | Big blinds |
|---|---|---|
| Sean Winter | 1,405,000 | 35 |
| Victoria Livschitz | 1,395,000 | 35 |
| Justin Vaysman | 1,205,000 | 30 |
| Sam Laskowitz | 1,115,000 | 28 |
| Brandon Wilson | 1,085,000 | 27 |
| Tony Gregg | 805,000 | 20 |
| Joey Weissman | 795,000 | 20 |
The gap between the chip leader and second place is only 10,000 chips, and the top five players all hold between 27 and 35 big blinds. Gregg and Weissman are short by comparison at 20 big blinds, but 20 big blinds is still comfortable by tournament standards because it leaves room for a re-shove play, not just a desperate all-in.
The key storylines
Sean Winter: chip leader and series regular
Winter is one of the most consistent performers on the PokerGO Tour. He led the PokerGO Tour standings by seven points heading into the series, as our Poker Masters preview noted, and a Poker Masters win would underline why. With 35 big blinds he has the flexibility to both pressure shorter stacks and call selectively against bigger ones.
Victoria Livschitz: one of the few women at the top end
Livschitz sits second with virtually the same stack, 1,395,000 chips against Winter's 1,405,000. She is the only woman at the final table, and a title at this buy-in would be a notable result in a field of seven.
Joey Weissman: the short stack with trophies
Weissman won Event 3 for $218,400, which was his fifth PokerGO Tour title and put his career earnings at about $10.8 million. He starts the final table as the shortest stack, with 795,000 chips, but his recent win shows what a short stack can do in this format. A second title in the same series would be a huge statement.
Brandon Wilson: the Super High Roller Bowl champion
Wilson won Super High Roller Bowl XI just days ago for $1.125 million, and he now sits fifth in chips. Few players come to a final table with more momentum, so his confidence should be high. He is also a reminder that a deep stack in one event does not always carry over; each tournament starts from zero.
The bubble that missed Mateos
The bubble hand was one of the most talked-about of the day. Adrian Mateos, who had just won Event 5, got ace-queen in against Robert Chorlian's ace-six and Justin Vaysman's pocket sevens. Vaysman's pair held, creating a double knockout that burst the bubble. It was Mateos' fourth bubble in six events this series, as we covered in our analysis of his Event 5 win.
Other notable players who missed the money included Nicholas Palma, who had entered the day as the Purple Jacket leader, along with Sean Perry, Chino Rheem, Sam Soverel and Nick Schulman. Michael Berk, Andrew Lichtenberger and Cherish Andrews cashed but did not make the final seven.
What to watch today
- The first elimination. With two players at 20 big blinds and the rest between 27 and 35, expect careful early action. A bust in seventh pays $25,600, so no one is under extreme pressure to gamble.
- Payout jumps. ICM pressure will build as the field shrinks and each pay jump grows relative to the stacks. If ICM is unfamiliar, see what is ICM.
- Purple Jacket implications. Because standings are driven by money won, a Winter or Livschitz win would vault them into the series conversation. A Weissman or Wilson victory would add a second title to their series totals.
What this means for players
Final tables where everyone is within about ten big blinds of each other are decided by small edges, not big gambles. That is a good thing to remember in your own tournaments:
- Respect ICM. When the stacks are balanced, the value of chips is not linear. Folding marginal spots to avoid busting is often right early on. Our ICM guide goes through the math.
- Prefer position and fold equity. With 20 to 35 big blinds, shoving or re-shoving in the right spot is the most profitable move. Calling is harder than shoving, and tough opponents know it.
- Study the pay jumps. Before you sit at a final table, learn exactly what each place pays. Our tournament strategy hub explains how.
- Know your tournaments. Event 6 is a $10,500 buy-in, but you can find similar structures at lower stakes. Our tournaments page lists the largest guaranteed events online, and the cash games vs. tournaments comparison helps decide which format suits you.
If you would rather watch than play, the final table is free to stream on YouTube. Fans in the US can also check the poker on TV page for where else to find coverage of the PokerGO Tour.
What comes next
The Poker Masters continues with Event 7 ($15,700 NLH, October 19-20), Event 8 ($15,700 NLH, October 20-21), Event 9 ($26,000 NLH, October 21-22) and the series-ending $51,000 event on October 22-23. The higher prices tend to attract the deepest fields of professionals and the biggest payouts, so the Purple Jacket race could look very different by the end of the week.
For now, the story is Event 6: seven Americans, one trophy, a $192,000 first prize, and a stack distribution that makes a prediction almost impossible. We will update our coverage when the winner is crowned.