One of the toughest things to do in the poker world is ride a streak to the championship. Jeremy Druckman started off the 2026 PGT PLO Series at Venetian $10,000 Main Event in the Top Ten of the 57 entries and, after two days of play, found himself as the chip leader of the five men left in the tournament. On Sunday, Druckman would complete his run in taking down the championship of the Omaha exclusive series after defeating Isaac Kempton in heads-up play.
A Lead, But a Tentative One
Druckman has a sizeable lead with his 5.35 million stack, but it was tenuous, especially against the competition he faced. Arranged around the felt to stop him were PLO specialist LaDarren Banks with 3.775 million chips, Kempton on 3.125 million, Philip Shing with 2.7 million chips, and the “short stack” (if you could call it that) of Zachary Schwartz with 2.175 million. One slip by Druckman and that once sizeable lead would disappear in a flash.
Druckman came out of the gates with a highly aggressive approach, putting optimal pressure on the entire table. One of those pressure situations saw Druckman defeat Banks and send him out in fifth place after Druckman’s double-suited A-J-J-6 (clubs and spades) obliterated Banks’ A-K-J-3 when a Jack hit the flop. After a break, Druckman continued to devastate the field by sending Schwartz to the rail in fourth after Druckman rivered a flush.
With 11.375 million in chips, Druckman had more chips than both Kempton and Shing combined (roughly 5.375 million). Druckman would end Shing’s dreams of taking the overall PGT PLO Series at Venetian title when he dumped Shing in third place. Druckman got Shing to commit all his chips and, after his A-Q-J-6 topped Shing’s A-Q-10-3 following a J-9-5-10-3 runout, he would move to heads-up play against Kempton with more than a 4:1 lead.
Kempton battled valiantly for almost an hour, but he never seriously mounted a challenge. On the final hand, Kempton called a 600K bet out of Druckman after limping in. A very tantalizing 8-7-6 flop came down, and Druckman slowed down with a check. Kempton potted for 1.4 million, and Druckman sprung his trap; he potted himself, putting Kempton to the test, and after Kempton called, the cards went to their backs:
Kempton (button/small blind): K-8-7-2
Druckman (big blind): K-9-9-5
Druckman had flopped a straight, but he still had to dodge the flopped two pair of Kempton. Alas, a King on the turn and a Jack on the river did not help Kempton any, and the chips and the championship were shipped to Jeremy Druckman.
1. Jeremy Druckman, $182,400
2. Isaac Kempton, $114,000
3. Philip Shing, $79,800
4. Zachary Schwartz, $57,000
5. LaDarren Banks, $42,750
6. Jordan Glazer, $31,350*
7. Richard Green, $22,800*
8. Dylan Linde, $22,800*
9. Allan Le, $17,100*
(* – eliminated during Saturday’s play)
Bruno Furth Goes Unchallenged
He staked himself to the lead from the start of the series, and nobody mounted a serious challenge to him for the rest of the way. After taking down Event #1 on the 2026 PGT PLO Series at Venetian schedule, Bruno Furth did not need any other help in holding on to the lead and winning the overall championship of the series.
Perhaps this was an indicator of the remaining schedule’s weakness, or maybe it was due to a lack of players who came out for it. Regardless of cause, Furth was able to parlay that victory in the $3,000 PGT PLO Series Event #1 into the overall title. He wasn’t even challenged until the end, when only one player had a chance to cut him down.
After ‘Chino’ Rheem failed to make it deep into the $10,000 Main Event, Furth only had to fade one more competitor who had a chance to clip him. Philip Shing needed to win the Main Event to knock Furth off the top of the mountain. Once Shing was eliminated from the Main Event in third place, Furth’s series championship was guaranteed, and the spoils were his alone. Here is how the overall championship finished:
1. Bruno Furth, 300 PGT Points
2. David ‘Chino’ Rheem, 281
3. Jeremy Druckman, 223
4. Philip Shing, 222
5. John Riordan, 214
6. Michael Wang, 198
7. Jeremy Ausmus, 193
8. Jordan Glazer, 186
9. Sam Soverel, 177
10. Brian Smith, 150
With the 2026 PGT PLO Series at Venetian in the books, the players will have a bit of time off before the next PGT battle. On April 9, the U.S. Poker Open, which has become a “must play” event for many in the poker world, starts its ten-day battle at the PokerGO Studios in Las Vegas. Shannon Shorr will be back to defend his title against some of the best – and deepest-pocketed – players in the world, trying to become technically the first person to win back-to-back championships (David Peters won twice (2019 and 2021), but they were separated by the 2020 “lost year” of poker). Even if Shorr is unable to pull off this feat, the excitement at the USPO is palpable, as we have roughly 10 days until its start.
(Photo courtesy of PokerGO)
