PGT Kick Off Opener Chewed Up by Chewy as Champlin Runs Deep
The opening event of the PokerGO Tour Kick off series saw Andrew win the first title of 2026, while PokerStake’s Spencer Champlin ran deep to make the final table too. In a week dominated by early success for Jon Kyte in the Montenegro Merit Poker Championship, Champlin’s seventh-place finish earned him vital PGT Points to kick off his year in style.
Champlin Lives Up to Billing
As 2026 kicked off, we told you that one of our early picks for profit was Spencer Champlin. In many ways, he was an easy player to tip, given his consistent 2025 and steady rise over the last several years. Still, a tough field in the first week of PGT competition pushed all the 135 entries to their limit as they battled to reach the money places.
Among those to make profit were PokerStake’s Cherish Andrews, who technically bubbled but did so at the same time as Michael Rossitto, meaning she got a cash of $5,064.50 – essentially her entry fee back. In a week where we caught up with David ‘ODB’ Baker to discuss how he approaches markup in selling action on PokerStake, it was great to see him cash for $10,125 in 16th place, with Brock Wilson also representing team PokerStake by winning the same amount in 19th position.
With the reigning PokerGO Tour Player of the Year Alex Foxen coming 10th for $20,250, there were only enough seats for seven at the final table and Champlin joined six others in making it under the lights. Sadly, Champlin could make it no further, eliminated for a score of $27,000.
Lichtenberger Takes the Title
With six players left, Peter Mugar busted for $33,750. Soon, Ethan ‘Rampage’ Yau was all-in with pocket aces but they were brutally cracked by pocket kings. Yau, a former Global Poker Award for his content creation, had to settle for a score of $40,500 in fifth place.
It was the turn of PokerGO’s creator and owner Cary Katz to depart in fourth place, as the 19th-placed All-Time Money List player cashed for another $54,000 to boost his total winnings to an eye-watering $42.5 million. His exit was followed by that of Shannon Shorr, who joined his fellow WSOP bracelet winner on the rail with $70,875.
Heads-up, it was a battle between the overnight chip leader Andrew ‘LuckyChewy’ Lichtenberger and Jeremy Eyer. The latter has already cashed six times in 2026 so far, and by far the biggest of those results was the $97,875 he claimed as runner-up here. Chewy did the trick, however, taking home the PGT Gold Cup, the $162,000 top prize money, and 324 PGT points to lead the PGT Top 40 after one event.
| PokerGO Tour Kickoff Series $5,300 Event #1 Final Table Results: | |||
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Andrew Lichtenberger | United States | $162,000 |
| 2nd | Jeremy Eyer | United States | $97,875 |
| 3rd | Shannon Shorr | United States | $70,875 |
| 4th | Cary Katz | United States | $54,000 |
| 5th | Ethan Yau | United States | $40,500 |
| 6th | Peter Mugar | United States | $33,750 |
| 7th | Spencer Champlin | United States | $27,000 |
Battistone Denies The Cowboy Heads-Up
The second event of the PGT Kickoff series saw Brian Battistone deny Dan Smith his first major title of the year as he won the top prize of $173,600 instead. ‘The Cowboy’ came second for $109,475 as those final two outperformed 149 other entries to battle for glory heads up.
Players such as Chris ‘Big Huni’ Hunichen, Jeremy Becker, Chino Rheem, Nacho Barbero, Patrick Leonard and Stephen Song all made the money before the seven-handed final table was reached, with Dan Smith looking to convert the overnight chip lead into victory. After Nick Schulman busted in seventh place for $30,200, Sam Laskowitz exited for $37,750 in sixth before Yifu Hu ended in fifth for $45,300.
Into the top four, Mike Zulker became the only player to cash in both of the first two PGT Kickoffs events when he banked $56,625, before Maksim Pisarenko finished third for $75,500. Heads-up, experience couldn’t triumph against chips as Battistone got the win for his first-ever career PGT title as well as the PGT Gold Cup, the $173,600 top prize and 347 PGT points. Battistone’s previous best PokerGO Tour cash was the $78,641 he received for coming eighth in the 2025 WSOP $10,000 Big O Championship event last summer.
On this form, he won’t have long to wait for his next big win on the PokerGO Tour.
| PokerGO Tour Kickoff Series $5,300 Event #2 Final Table Results: | |||
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Brian Battistone | United States | $173,600 |
| 2nd | Dan Smith | United States | $109,475 |
| 3rd | Maksim Pisarenko | Russia | $75,500 |
| 4th | Mike Zulker | United States | $56,625 |
| 5th | Yifu He | United States | $45,300 |
| 6th | Sam Laskowitz | United States | $37,750 |
| 7th | Nick Schulman | United States | $30,200 |