David ‘ODB’ Baker and Jonathan Little Star in Opening Last Chance Event
The opening event of the PokerGO Tour Last Chance series saw stirring performances from many PokerStake players as David ‘ODB’ Baker finished second for a stunning score of $174,400 and Jonathan Little came in seventh for $43,600. With Phil Hellmuth, Jesse Lonis and PokerGO owner Cary Katz all making the final table too, the first event of six to play out in Las Vegas this week pulled in the crowds and provided great entertainment in Sin City.
Bumper Numbers in Opening Event of 2026
A total of 109 entries was very strong in Event #1 of the PGT Last Chance series, and that meant 16 players would make the money. Among them were some of the stars of PokerStake. Jeremy Ausmus, who won last year’s $1m Freeroll Championship that bookends the PokerGO Tour season for $500,000, cashed in 15th place for $21,800.
Another PokerStake legend finished two places higher up the leaderboard, as Josh Arieh busted in unlucky 13th place when his 
was overtaken by Connor Rash’s 
across a board of 
. Josh’s exit was followed by deaprtures for Joe Serock (12th) and Byron Kaverman (11th) for $27,750, before Jared Jaffee (10th) and Connor Rash (9th) both cashed for $32,700.
The exit of Aram Ognyan for $43,600 in eighth place confirmed the final seven, where Jonathan Little was the first man to depart an all-American collection of players, also cashing for $43,600. At first, Jonathan lost a chunk of his stack to Cary Katz’s pocket kings, before eventually getting his remaining chips into the middle with . Phil Hellmuth called with 
after vocalising that he thought Jonathan had king-queen. The 17-time WSOP bracelet winner was exactly right in his range-finding, and Jonathan busted outside the final six.
ODB Goes Oh So Close
At the end of Day 1, David ‘ODB’ Baker – a recent seller on PokerStake – was sat in fourth place of the six remaining players. After Matthew Wantman’s 
lost to Phil Hellmuth’s pocket eights to bust in sixth for $54,500, however, the field narrowed. Cary Katz departed in fourth place for $70,850 when his own pocket eights couldn’t beat Jesse Lonis’ 
and Hellmuth soon followed him, the ‘Poker Brat’ losing a series of pots to the eventual winner Clemen Deng. All-in with 
, Hellmuth lost to David ‘ODB’ Baker’s pocket jacks and left with $98,100.
All three players took their turns in doubling up through each other before Jesse Lonis was all-in and at risk with pocket nines against the ace-king of Deng. An ace on flop and turn took out the legendary Lonis and gave Deng an overwhelming 25:1 chip lead. David had laddered into second place and that was confirmed when six-three lost to eight-four, leaving the four-time WSOP bracelet winner to claim $174,400 as runner-up. For Clemen Deng, it was a top prize worth $277,950.
A superb return on investment for David, Jonathan, Josh and Jeremy in the opening event of the PGT Last Chance series, then, with tough competitors littering the field. Here’s how the first event’s final table finished.
| PokerGO Tour Last Chance Series $10,000 Event #1 Final Table Results: | |||
| Position | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Clemen Deng | United States | $277,950 |
| 2nd | David ‘ODB’ Baker | United States | $174,400 |
| 3rd | Jesse Lonis | United States | $125,350 |
| 4th | Phil Hellmuth | United States | $98,100 |
| 5th | Cary Katz | United States | $70,850 |
| 6th | Matthew Wantman | United States | $54,500 |
| 7th | Jonathan Little | United States | $43,600 |
Brock Wilson Among Challengers in Event #2
With just six players left in the second event of the series, PokerStake players are once again either well-placed or already amongst those who have cashed. An even bigger field in the $10,000 Event #2 saw 126 entries battle to reach the 18 money places. Chris ‘Big Huni’ Hunichen finished 17th for $18,900, Brandon Wilson cashed for $22,050 in 14th place and Jeremy Becker bubbled the final table in eighth place for $50,400.
Heading into tonight’s final table, Event #2 is poised delicately, with the British player Patrick Leonard leading the way on 5.1m chips. Joao Simao sits in second place on 3.1m, with a chasing pack of four players featuring three PokerStake greats.
David Coleman (1.94m), the current GPI Player of the Year, is followed by both Jeremy Ausmus (1.72m) and Brock Wilson (1.71m), with Jared Jaffee a short stack at the table on 800,000 chips. The seven-time WSOP bracelet winner and oftentimes PokerGO commentator Nick Schulman won’t be able to call the action, sitting on 1.34m chips as he bids to win his first trophy of the year.
Photos by PokerGO, the home of the PGT Last Chance series.