It has been a busy week around the PokerGO Studios at ARIA in Las Vegas. A trio of players have earned titles during the 2025 Poker Masters, allowing them to stake their claim to the vaunted Purple Jacket. Leading that race right now is Mitchell Halverson, who has started with three strong finishes in tournaments to capture the lead at the halfway pole.
Moreno, Elias, and Rheem Win $10K Tournaments
Following the debut of the $1,000,000 Showcase and a $5,000 Event #2 earlier this week, the 2025 Poker Masters decided to get serious. A trio of $10,000 No Limit Hold’em tournaments have taken place before Saturday, with some familiar names picking up the mini-Purple Jacket trophy. They also took home some decent cash, as all the tournaments on the 2025 Poker Masters have been well attended.
On Wednesday, Andrew Moreno captured his first Poker Masters title when he was able to outlast a 101-entrant field. Moreno came to the final table in third place behind Brian Batt and chip leader Sam Lazkowitz. Still, Moreno would indicate his intentions towards the title by knocking out Matthew Wantman in fifth place to take over the chip lead. Moreno then would calmly wait for a player to be determined to face him heads-up; that would eventually be Batt, who started the heads-up battle at a significant 5:1 deficit and could not rally, earning Moreno the title.
Thursday, it was Darren Elias’ turn to take a title. He would come to the final table with the chip lead, but it would take a bit of work for him to defeat such notables as Halverson, Victoria Livschitz, Adam Hendrix, and Stephen Song on his way to the title. Going up against David Chen heads-up, Elias and Chen would swap the lead back and forth before a critical clash (with the stacks nearly even) saw Elias river a straight to leave Chen on fumes; Elias would complete the title run following that moment.
Friday, the action did not slow down at all. David ‘Chino’ Rheem started that $10,000 final table with the chip lead, and he was happy to sit back and watch the carnage. Such players as Aram Zobian, Andrew Lichtenberger, John Riordan, and Stephen Song went as far as they could in the 112-entrant field, but it wasn’t deep enough to deny Rheem the title. Rheem would earn that victory after taking a massive lead to heads-up play against Daniyal Gheba, sealing the title when his 7♦ 5♦ found a seven on the flop to vanquish Gheba’s 6♥ 4♥.
Halverson Holds Lead for Purple Jacket at Halftime
With five tournaments in the record books of the ten scheduled for the 2025 Poker Masters, Mitchell Halverson has been able to stake himself to a slim lead. After starting the schedule with consecutive runner-up finishes in the first two tournaments, Halverson has slowed a bit, with only a minor cash in Event #5 on his resume. Still, he is in first place at this point with his 330 points.
Song has been the surprise of the event. He has earned four cashes to this mark in the 2025 Poker Masters, racking up just over $300K for his efforts. Those finishes, topped by three fourth-place finishes in the Showcase, Event #4, and Event #5, put him right behind Halverson on the leaderboard with 302 points.
With his title on Friday evening, Rheem once again puts his name in the hat for another overall PGT championship. Previously, Rheem has won two PGT Mixed Game Series overall titles, and he is looking to make the 2025 Poker Masters his third. Because of the win on Friday, Rheem is now in an excellent position to make that run, holding 290 points and lurking in the pack in third place.
Five tournaments remain in the 2025 Poker Masters, so it is, as they say, anyone’s championship to take. Here is how they stand at the halfway post in the race for the Purple Jacket:
1. Mitchell Halverson, 330 points
2. Stephen Song, 302
3. David ‘Chino’ Rheem, 290*
4. Darren Elias, 280*
5. David Coleman, 270*
6. Andrew Moreno, 265*
7. Daniyal Gheba, 185
(tie) David Chen, 185
9. Brian Batt, 172
10. Mike Zulker, 157*
(* – indicates tournament winners)
Event #6 on the 2025 Poker Masters roster, the next-to-last $10,000 tournament on the schedule, is at its final table for action on Saturday. Martin Zamani is leading the way with his 4.57 million in chips, while Andrew Lichtenberger (2.24 million) and Alex Foxen (2.16 million) are looking to challenge him. It promises to be another exciting battle, livestreamed over the PokerGO service this afternoon, beginning at 1:00 PM (PDT).
(Photo courtesy of PokerGO)