Cherish Andrews paces list of early winners at 2026 US Poker Open

Event #1 drew 93 players and Wilson beat a final table with Chino Rheem, Justin Zaki, and Jeremy Ausmus. Rheem finished sixth, Zaki was third, and Ausmus played runner up in the series opener. Ausmus held a big lead at the beginning of heads-up play, but a quick Wilson double was followed by a misfired bluff and the tables were turned. Wilson closed out the tournament with a flopped set of threes. 

Brock Wilson picked up his third PGT victory of the year.

PGT US Poker Open Event #1 $5K final table results

1. Brock Wilson - $120,900
2. Jeremy Ausmus - $76,725
3. Justin Zaki - $55,800
4. Natalie Ferguson - $41,850
5. Rodger Johnson - $32,550
6. Chino Rheem - $23,250
7. Kent Stephens - $18,600

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Deng wins second PGT title

Clemen Deng won his second PGT title in the second event of the series, where 98 entries jumped in to build up for Event #2. It was another $5K, this time awarding Deng $127,400 for the win. Deng entered the final day among four players chasing Michael Rossitto's chip lead, but an early double shifted the fortunes of the winner and set the chip leader on the course for third place. Yifu He went first in fifth place and Justin Vaysman was out in fourth before Rossitto ran out of room following another double to Peter Mugar. Mugar would move on to face Deng and chip away at a 3-to-1 chip lead, but Deng won an ace vs. ace battle to close the deal. 

Clemen Deng erased Michael Rossitto's chip lead to earn his second PGT title.

PGT US Poker Open Event #2 $5K final table results

1. Clemen Deng - $127,400
2. Peter Mugar - $80,850
3. Michael Rossitto - $58,800
4. Justin Vaysman - $44,100
5. Yifu He - $34,300
6. Vlastimil Pustina - $24,500
7. Aaron Messmer - $19,600

Andrews flips script after ICM deal

The third event of the series brought another second-time winner in Andrews, who finished the job after a heads-up deal for her first PGT title since November 2025 at NAPT Las Vegas. It's also her third cash of the season, placing her just outside the cut line in 43rd place on the PGT Championship leaderboard. 

The final table started on Tuesday with Sam Laskowitz on top of the chip chart, but he didn't make it beyond the flurry of opening eliminations that sent Michael Berk and Ethan 'Rampage' Yau to the rail. Yifu He, who can be found in fifth place on the Event #2 leaderboard, outlast them for a third-place finish at his second final table of the series. 

Only Adam Hendrix and Andrews remained, with Hendrix holding a big chip lead for heads-up play. They agreed to an ICM deal and played for an extra $9K, but Andrews turned it around right away amd marched into the lead. Hendrix would eventually shove pocket eights with his last handful of big blinds, but Andrews called with pocket nines and closed it down without a sweat. 

Cherish Andrews is the clubhouse leader in the overall USPO points race.

PGT US Poker Open Event #3 $5K final table results

1. Cherish Andrews - $117,407*
2. Adam Hendrix - $115,468*
3. Yifu He - $63,250
4. Sam Laskowitz - $48,875
5. Ethan 'Rampage' Yau - $37,375
6. Michael Berk - $28,750
7. David Stamm - $23,000

^{* - denotes heads-up deal}

After the win, Andrews is now on top of the overall USPO leaderboard, followed by Deng, Wilson, and Mugar. They're all playing for the USPO's Golden Eagle trophy and a $25,000 PGT Passport. The buy-ins will now kick up to $10K for the fourth event, which will run its opening day on Tuesday. That final table will return for the first PokerGO livestream of the series on Wednesday, followed by three more $10K events that run through the weekend. The series wraps up with a $15K and a $25K next week. 

^{Images courtesy of PokerGO.}