Chad Eveslage drubs Negreanu, LuckyChewy in buzzsaw PGT finale

For what it's worth, 2025 still probably falls short of a "career year" for Eveslage, who has spent the first half of this decade putting up Hall of Fame numbers. In 2021, he won his first WPT title and a high roller at Seminole to earn more than $1.8 million. He followed that up with his first WSOP bracelet and a run to WPT Player of the Year in 2022, just to sweep the WSOP Dealer's Choice events for two bracelets in 2023. 

Eveslage's stellar season included a SHRB win , a WSOP Bracelet, and the PGT Championship.

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A short, strange tournament

The newest accolade for Eveslage, a PGT Championship, may have been one of the toughest. 

"It's a strange tournament," Eveslage said of the $1,000,000 freeroll.

The tough field and the top-heavy prize were complemented by a speedier format. Throw in 14 unpredictable Dream Seat winners and it's a slippery ride from post to post. Eveslage returned near the bottom of the counts, trailing the leader Michael Wang and a murderer's row of PokerGO Studio regulars like Andrew Lichtenberger, Daniel Negreanu, John Riordan, Eric Blair, and Dream Seat winner Aaron Kupin. 

The final seven players would need to eliminate one player to unlock the money spots on Day 2, and their scapegoat was Blair. Riordan followed Blair out the door in sixth, claiming the $40,000 min-cash, followed by Kupin in fifth. Kupin spun up his original short stack to $60,000 after qualifying for the tournament with a PGT victory at WSOP Paradise. 

Daniel Negreanu logged his first PGT final table of 2026.

Negreanu was next in fourth after he couldn't turn an early burst of energy into sustained momentum, but we did get a few golf tips from Kid Poker on a chatty stream appearance. That left Wang, Eveslage, and Lichtenberger, with the champ now holding the lead after a bold start that included the knockouts of Negreanu and Riordan.

"I was thinking at the final table I should probably play a little bit more aggressively and try and go for the win," he explained later.

Wang would soon find a juicy spot, but it was too good to be true. 

It started when Wang opened, only to be met with a three-bet from Eveslage. Wang tossed in the chips to call and the flop was . Eveslage, who had picked up , applied big pressure with a bet that would put Wang all in, but Wang's meant a snap-call for a pot that would be one of the day's biggest.  

The turn was no help for Eveslage, but a dropped on the river to counterfeit the previously mentioned two pair and send Wang to the rail with a thud. Heads-up play started with a big tilt toward Eveslage, and Lichtenberger didn't wait long to find a spot with . Eveslage snapped it off with and Lictenberger didn't even survive to see a river. 

The no-limit triumph is a fitting end for a season in which Eveslage won at everything. But is there anything he can't do?

"Yeah, Pot-limit Omaha."

But don't get too excited. He's working on that, too. 

"I've gotten a lot better at PLO. I used to be completely clueless."

^{Images courtesy of Antonio Abrego/PokerGO.}