The 2024 PokerGO Cup is moving into its final few events, but just as exciting as the poker at the tables is the race for the overall PokerGO Cup title. In that battle, Jonathan Little sits atop the standings, but there are two tournaments left for someone to rise to pass Little. One of those tournaments is Event #6, a $15,000 No Limit Hold’em battle, which will see Dylan DeStefano lead David Coleman and Jeremy Ausmus to the final table this afternoon.
Jonathan Little Builds Slight Lead over Cary Katz
In the fight over the PokerGO Cup, Jonathan Little used a victory in Event #2 to amass the majority of the 277 points that he has accumulated to this mark. In that tournament, Little scooped up 240 points, but two other cashes in Event #1 (a seventh-place finish) and Event #5 (a ninth-place showing) have given Little the momentum to take the top slot. Without those other cashes, another player with significant motivation would be in the pole position.
That player would be the defending PokerGO Cup champion, Cary Katz. Katz, who won Event #4 on this year’s schedule, went through the carnage in 2023 to win the overall championship and the PokerGO Cup. He has seemed particularly interested in retaining that trophy and, with that win in Event #4, has put himself in a position to repeat as the overall champion.
Here are the current standings in the race for the 2024 PokerGO Cup:
1. Jonathan Little, 277 points
2. Cary Katz, 252
3. Dylan Weisman, 240
4. Justin Zaki, 232
5. Alex Foxen, 185
6. Stoyan Madanzhiev, 184
7. Joey Weissman, 175
8. Daniel Smiljkovic, 156
9. David Peters, 142
10. Dan Shak, 139
Dylan DeStefano Leads Event #6 Final Table, Main Event Starts Friday
There are only two tournaments left in the 2024 PokerGO Cup series, and one of those finishes its final table on Thursday. Dylan DeStefano will head a seven-player final table this afternoon at the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, with the next-to-last championship of this year’s festival on the line.
The $15,000 buy-in tournament started Wednesday and, surprisingly, the players were in their seats for the start of the event. Players (for some reason) decide that they can miss the earlier level of tournaments because the SERIOUS play will not happen until a few levels have been burned off. In Event #6, however, there were 26 players in their chairs, and it was the crème of the High Roller world.
Daniel Negreanu and Little shared the same patch of baize, while Kristen Foxen (currently third in the PGT Championship standings), Poker Hall of Famer John Hennigan, and Seth Davies took up another table. Event #1 champion David Peters, Jeremy Ausmus, Erik Seidel, Jesse Lonis, and current PGT Championship leader David Coleman were arranged around the other tables. Once the tournament started, the remaining tables in ARIA were filled out, as did the tournament leaderboard.
By the time the late registration period ended, 63 entries had been received in the tournament (yes, it was an unlimited reentry format). That built a prize pool of $945,000, the biggest yet of the 2024 PokerGO Cup, of which the final nine players would take a piece. The eventual champion of the event takes down $302,400 and (perhaps more importantly) points towards the PokerGO Cup overall championship.
Justin Saliba brought the field to the money in the tournament, knocking off Sean Winter on the money bubble. Once Winter hit the rail, Nick Schulman ($28,350) and Sam Soverel ($37,800) left in ninth and eighth places, respectively, eliminated by DeStefano on both hands. That pushed DeStefano into the lead as the only player with over two million in chips.
1. Dylan DeStefano, 2.9 million
2. David Coleman, 1.24 million
3. Michael Brinkenhoff, 1.14 million
4. Jeremy Ausmus, 895,000
5. Seth Davies, 795,000
6. Justin Saliba, 555,000
7. Aram Zobian, 360,000
The final table will reconvene on Thursday at noon, with the streaming action beginning on a one-hour delay at 1 PM.
After this event concludes, the players will rest up for the 2024 PokerGO Cup Main Event. Event #8 on the schedule is a $25,000 buy-in tournament that will not only crown the biggest winner of the festival but also decide who will walk off with the PokerGO Cup. That tournament starts at noon on Friday, and it should draw everyone who is in the Top Ten of the Cup standings, plus some who are looking to make a final charge to that title.
(Photo courtesy of PokerGO.com)
