On Tuesday, the opening event of the 2025 PokerGO Tour (PGT) came to a thrilling conclusion as the final seven combatants in the PGT Kickoff Event #1: $5,100 No-Limit Hold'em played down to a winner. The 84 entrants generated a prize pool of $420,000, with 12 places paid and $117,600 for the eventual winner.
When the final hand was dealt, Andrew Lichtenberger had collected all the chips in play to lay claim to the $117,600 top prize and his seventh PGT title.
After battling late into the Las Vegas evening, Lichtenberger emerged from Day 1 with a sizable chip lead over his remaining opponents, but with a table full of proven players, the hunt for a seventh title was far from over. John Riordan and Nick Schulman started proceedings neck-and-neck in second and third place respectively, while PGT-newcomer Patrick Leonard began fourth in the counts after parlaying his tour debut into a final table appearance. Matthew McEwan, Erik Seidel, and Dennis Beres came in as the shorter stacks, each in need of a spin up to chase the win.
Seidel falls first, Leonard and Beres follow
After a prolonged period of tentative play which saw Schulman make the most of the ICM implications at hand, Seidel found a near-perfect spot to secure a full double-up. The Hall of Famer had, for the most part, remained uninvolved in the fight, but when he looked down at 
, it was time to activate.
Seidel's raise off of just over 15 big blinds saw the action fold around to Schulman in the small blind who moved all-in over the top with 
. McEwan fled the scene from the big blind and Seidel wasted no time in throwing a chip across the betting line for a call. The 
runout left Seidel drawing dead on the flop and his run came to an abrupt end in seventh place.
Leonard's PokerGO Studio debut ended shortly after as he committed the last of his roughly ten big blinds with 
. The Brit found action from Lichtenberger who raised over the top of Leonard's all in with 
to clear the players behind him. The 
flop added flush outs to Lichtenberger's over cards and the 
turn locked up the pot for the chip leader and sent Leonard to the payout desk in sixth place.
The very next hand, Beres moved all-in off of a short stack with 
and Schulman made a quick call from the big blind with 
. The 
flop added chop outs to Beres' hopes, but the 
turn and 
river weren't the cards he needed to see and his run ended with a fifth-place finish.
Schulman downs Riordan, McEwan rallies
With only four players remaining, the chip distribution saw Lichtenberger and Schulman well out in front of Riordan and McEwan. As the blinds increased, the short stacks found themselves with their backs to the wall. Thus, when Schulman raised first-to-act, Riordan took his shot and moved all in from the big blind with 
. Unfortunately for Riordan, Schulman had 
and, after some consideration, made the call to put his opponent at risk. The 
runout offered no saving grace for Riordan, and his run came to an end with a fourth-place finish.
Despite starting three-handed play as the clear short stack, McEwan fought hard to pick up a couple of pots and give himself some breathing room. Then, he secured a full double-up courtesy of Schulman after picking up . Schulman, in the face of an open from McEwan, moved all-in over the top from the big blind with 
. McEwan snap-called and the 
runout provided a slight sweat but ultimately kept it clean.
Shortly after, McEwan collided with Lichtenberger in an all-in, blind-versus-blind confrontation that would typically see the two players chop up the pot. This time, however, McEwan's smashed the 
flop to leave Lichtenberger's drawing dead. Two hands later, a well-timed four-bet saw McEwan surge into the chip lead.
Lichtenberger resumes control, McEwan out
It didn't take long for Lichtenberger to seize upon an opportunity to retake the chip lead he started the day with. With 
on the button, Lichtenberger came in for a min-raise. Schulman got out of the way from the small blind, but McEwan moved all-in over the top with 
[] and Lichtenberger quickly called. The 
flop provided McEwan with another chance at making a flush to Lichtenberger's detriment and the turn added even more outs to his arsenal. The river 
proved the old 'too many outs' adage true – this time – and Lichtenberger surged back into the chip lead.
With a little less than fifteen big blinds, McEwan moved all-in from the button with and found unwanted action from Schulman in the big blind. McEwan's hand was dominated – up against Schulman's – and the 
left a slim path to victory. On the turn, McEwan's hand drew dead and the meaningless completed the board to send him to the payout desk to collect his third-place winnings.
Lichtenberger vs. Schulman
The heads-up battle between Lichtenberger and Schulman saw the former start with a slight chip lead over his opponent. Over the course of the opening half hour, Lichtenberger extended his chip lead as he won pot after pot with well-timed aggression and favorable card distribution.
As the blinds increased further, Schulman found himself with a little more than ten big blinds. With the need for a double mounting, Schulman moved all-in with and Lichtenberger called it off with . The 
had Schulman drawing dead on the turn and Lichtenberger finished the final table just as strongly as he started it.
PGT Kickoff Event #1 final table results
| Place | Player | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Lichtenberger | $117,600 |
| 2 | Nick Schulman | $75,600 |
| 3 | Matthew McEwan | $54,600 |
| 4 | John Riordan | $39,900 |
| 5 | Dennis Beres | $29,400 |
| 6 | Patrick Leonard | $21,000 |
| 7 | Erik Seidel | $16,800 |
Images Courtesy of Antonio Abrego/PokerGO Tour
