Chino Rheem calls an all-in blind with seven-deuce to win PGT Sprint Event #1, and Brock Wilson takes Event #2

Chino Rheem won the first event of the 2026 PGT Sprint at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. The single-day event started on the evening of Tuesday, Oct 27, per the PGT schedule, and PGT.com posted the result on Wednesday, Oct 28. Rheem beat 92 entries in the $5,300 no-limit hold'em event and took home $119,600 and 179 PokerGO Tour (PGT) points, according to the official PGT report. It's his 10th career PGT title and his second this season.

The last hand is the one people are talking about. Rheem called Andrew Lichtenberger's all-in "dark", meaning without looking at his cards, and turned over seven-deuce, the hand usually called the worst in hold'em. Lichtenberger had six-five. Neither player paired on an ace-nine-eight-four-queen board, so Rheem's seven played and won.

The numbers

• Entries: 92, per PGT.com and Card Player.
• Prize pool: $460,000, with 14 places paid. Jim Collopy went out in 15th, on the money bubble.
• First prize: $119,600. Runner-up Lichtenberger won $75,900.

Event #1 final table results

How the final table went

Lichtenberger's pocket tens beat John Riordan's ace-queen suited in a preflop all-in to knock him out in seventh. Michael Berk then made two comebacks in a row. His queen-jack suited beat Jesse Lonis's ace-ten, and his ace-three beat Neil Warren's ace-queen. Berk went out in fourth when his jack-five of diamonds lost to Rheem's king-jack of hearts, and Patrick Leonard's ace-queen lost to Lichtenberger's pocket kings in third, per PGT.com and Card Player.

Lichtenberger started heads-up with the chip lead. Then he tried a big bluff with the nine-five of clubs on a board of Q♥ 8♣ 6♦ 8♦ J♦, and Rheem called with pocket tens, per Card Player. That left Lichtenberger very short, and the seven-deuce hand came next.

Who is Chino Rheem?

Rheem, 46, has won four PGT series titles, the most of any player in the tour's history, Card Player says, and he's going for a fifth in the Sprint. His first win of this season came in February, in the $5,300 H.O.R.S.E. event that opened the PGT Mixed Games, for $112,100. Card Player says this win takes his career tournament earnings past $20.3 million. He also won the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event and three World Poker Tour titles, per Card Player.

The win moved him to 19th on the season-long PGT leaderboard with 1,220 points, which PGT.com says puts him firmly in a qualifying spot for the PGT Championship.

Event #2: Brock Wilson's fifth PGT title of 2026

Brock Wilson won Event #2, another $5,300 no-limit hold'em tournament, which started on the evening of Wednesday, Oct 28, with the result posted on Thursday, Oct 29. He beat 79 entries for $110,600 and 166 PGT points, according to PGT.com. Wilson had finished ninth in Event #1.

Martin Zamani led for much of the final table and started heads-up with more chips. Wilson doubled up twice, took the lead and closed it out. PGT.com says it was Zamani's first heads-up loss in a live tournament. Spade Poker put the prize pool at $395,000, shared by the top 12.

It was Wilson's fifth PGT win of the season. He now has 1,942 points and is second on the leaderboard, behind only Sean Winter, who has 2,223, in the race for PGT Player of the Year.

What's next

The Sprint has seven single-day tournaments and runs through Wednesday, Nov 4. Events #3 and #4, on Oct 29 and 30, are also $5,300, and the last three, from Nov 2 to Nov 4, are $10,500, per the PGT schedule. The season ends with the PGT Championship on Jan 11 and 12, 2027, a $500,000 freeroll for the top 40 eligible players on the leaderboard plus Dream Seat winners. To take a top-40 seat, a player also needs at least four PGT cashes this season, including one in a PGT-run event, and has to opt in before the final series.

A note on the buy-ins

Both events cost $5,300 to enter. Of that, $5,000 from each entry went into the prize pool, which is why 92 entries made $460,000 and 79 made $395,000. The other $300 is the fee the house keeps.