This year's Poker Masters added a new twist to the PokerGO Tour major rotation with the Poker Masters Showcase, a $1,000,000 multi-flight event for the people with satellites that could get anyone a shot at the big bucks and the bright lights.
The PokerGO Studio welcomed 239 entries over two opening flights and now the final seven will sit down on Monday to play for $270,000 and the first trophy of the Poker Masters series. You can see it all on PokerGO at 1 pm Vegas time.
Meanwhile, let's take a look at the final table.
Ostapchenko leads the last seven
Seat 1: David Coleman — 6,950,000
- Career earnings: $11,417,307
David Coleman ended Day 1B with the overall lead and he will start the finale behind only Andrew Ostapchenko on the chip count scoreboard. He's also the most accomplished among the final seven with over $11 million in lifetime earnings, ahead of only Stephen Song. The 2024 GPI Player of the Year did most of his award-winning work on the PokerGO Tour, winning four times in a tight MVP race.
Seat 2: Doug Lee — 3,900,000
- Career earnings: $2,344,417
Doug Lee is one of two players who grabbed a spot in the $1M Showcase in the $560 satellite at ARIA, the other being Jim Agate. They've each locked up at least $40,000, continuing a significant heater for Lee, who finished third in last week's PGT Venetian Classic for $120,000. Lee has cashes dating back to 2004, including two WSOPC rings, but this is his first PGT finish in the money.
Seat 3: Mitchell Halverson — 2,875,000
- Career earnings: $2,149,373
A good portion of Mitchell Halverson's best finishes are online, but he still gets after it live — including two deep Main Event runs in 2021 and 2023 and an 11th-place finish at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event in that same year. This is already Halverson's best PGT finish.
Seat 4: Andrew Ostapchenko — 7,125,000
- Career earnings: $5,787,096
The final table leader started Day 2 among the average chip stacks before a surge on the main feature put him at the top of the counts. Ostapchenko has wins all over the country, most notably a bracelet win in the $5K 8-Max event and a runner-up finish in the $25K High Roller for $1.2 million at this year's WSOP. A win on Monday would be his first PGT victory.
Seat 5: Stephen Song — 3,425,000
- Career earnings: $10,985,066
Song has stayed locked in for 2025, continuing his rapid career growth with big scores around the world. Two wins at The Lord Poker Tournament in South Korea tallied almost $1M, which can be added to several strong finishes at the PGT Last Chance and Kickoff series at the beginning of the year. He added another $100K with a runner-up finish at Hard Rock Tampa before a third-place score for $438K at the SHRPO at Seminole just down the highway in Hollywood, Florida. The second-most accomplished player at the final table is in the middle of the pack but still a pick to click for Monday.
Seat 6: Jim Agate — 2,800,000
- Career earnings: $1,792,345
Jim Agate is the other satellite qualifier and he has been taking down Las Vegas tournaments for more than a decade. He has three six-figure scores in his career as a regular at the Venetian Deepstacks series, and a win on Monday would be a new high score. One of the three short stacks at the final table, the opening rounds of Monday's final table will be crucial to picking up a fourth six-figure win.
Seat 7: Spencer Champlin — 2,800,000
- Career earnings: $4,140,485
Spencer Champlin enters the final table near the button of the counts but he will have a lot of experience to fall back on in the PokerGO Studio. The native of Maine has already won in the space twice, earlier this year at the PGT Kickoff and in the opening event of last year's Poker Masters. Champlin recently cashed five times at EPT Barcelona after a summer of smaller finishes at the WSOP.
The $1M Poker Masters Showdown final table will kick off at 11:45 am on Monday with a livestream to follow on PokerGO at 1 pm Vegas time.
Images courtesy of PokerGO/Antonio Abrego.
