The PokerGO Tour (PGT) is the official tour and ranking system for professional poker players that play in high roller poker tournaments with a minimum $5,000 buy-in.[1] The PGT awards points to poker players based on prize money won in approximately 150 tournaments around the globe.[2][3] The player who accumulates the most points during the year is crowned PGT Player of the Year. A predetermined cutoff point of the top point earners each year determines who will compete in a season ending event, with the winner of that event crowned PGT Champion.
Current season, competition or edition: 2023 PokerGO Tour | |
 | |
| Sport | Poker |
|---|---|
| Founded | April 22, 2021[1] |
| Most recent champion(s) |  Daniel Smiljkovic |
| Most titles |  Ali Imsirovic (20) |
| Official website | PGT.com |
History edit
Launched in April, 2021, the PokerGO Tour was created for poker players that played in high roller poker tournaments around the world. The top three finishers would share in $175,000 in prize money, and when residential mortgage company Guaranteed Rate was announced as the presenting sponsor in September, the prize money was increased to $350,000, awarded as: $200,000 and the Guaranteed Rate Cup for the points leader, $100,000 for second place, and $50,000 for third place.[3][4][5][6]
Following the conclusion of all qualifying PokerGO Tour tournaments for the 2022 season, the top 21 players on the PokerGO Tour leaderboard were to be invited to play in the season-ending PGT Championship.[7] Players were to receive starting chips based on how many points they earned during the season, and the PGT Championship was to be a winner-take-all where the winner would collect the $500,000 first-place prize.[8][9][10]
Following the conclusion of all qualifying PokerGO Tour tournaments for the 2023 season, the top 40 players on the PokerGO Tour leaderboard and select "Dream Seat" winners were to be invited to play in the season-ending PGT Championship.[11] All players were to receive starting chips based on how many points they earned during the season, with the minimum set at 100 big blinds. The PGT Championship was to be a $1,000,000 freeroll with a $500,000 first-place prize.[12]
Points system edit
This section may be confusing or unclear to readers. In particular, All points to winner? Points distributed via a secondary formula to all players who win cash in the event? And what do the percentages for smaller tournaments apply to - 0.0010% of what exactly?. (March 2024) |
The PokerGO Tour calculates all cashes that are less than $1,000,000 in prize money by using three percentages based on buy-in amounts; 0.0010% for $5,000 to $24,999 buy-in events, 0.0006% for $25,000 to $99,999 buy-in events, and 0.0003% for $100,000+ buy-in events.[13] For cashes more than $1,000,000 in prize money, the following points table is used for cashes that fall within structured segments.[13]
| Cash | $10,000 - $24,999 | $25,000 - $99,999 | $100,000+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5,000,000 - $5,999,999 | 1,600 | 1,100 | 800 |
| $4,000,000 - $4,999,999 | 1,500 | 1,000 | 700 |
| $3,000,000 - $3,999,999 | 1,400 | 900 | 600 |
| $2,500,000 - $2,999,999 | 1,350 | 850 | 550 |
| $2,000,000 - $2,499,999 | 1,300 | 800 | 500 |
| $1,500,000 - $1,999,999 | 1,250 | 750 | 450 |
| $1,000,000 - $1,499,999 | 1,200 | 700 | 400 |
| < $1,000,000 | 0.0010% | 0.0006% | 0.0003% |
Seasons and champions edit
Each year, players compete throughout the entire year in poker tournaments and are ranked by the PGT leaderboard. Each PGT season, there is a season-ending event called the PGT Championship.
In 2021, Ali Imsirovic was crowned the 2021 PGT champion ahead of Michael Addamo and Sean Perry.[14][15][16]
In 2022, Stephen Chidwick finished as the 2022 PGT Player of the Year, while Jason Koon won the PGT Championship.[17][18]
In 2023, Isaac Haxton finished as the 2023 PGT Player of the Year, while Daniel Smiljkovic won the PGT Championship.[19][20][21]
| Season | Events | PGT Champion | Most wins | Most cashes | Highest earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 145 | Ali Imsirovic
|
Ali Imsirovic (14)
|
Ali Imsirovic (34)
|
 Michael Addamo ($9,418,837)
|
| 2022 | 175 |  Jason Koon
|
 Stephen Chidwick (6)
|
Stephen Chidwick (32)
|
 Espen Jørstad ($10,217,955)
|
| 2023 | 133 | Daniel Smiljkovic
|
Isaac Haxton (4)
|
 Daniel Negreanu (25)
|
Daniel Weinman ($12,180,000)
|
PGT majors edit
There are currently four PGT majors, three of which (PokerGO Cup, Poker Masters, U.S. Poker Open) include multiple events through the year to determine the overall winner of that major. They exception is the Super High Roller Bowl, a single event major.
PokerGO Cup edit
| Season | Events | Cup winner | Tournament winnings | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 8 | Daniel Negreanu
|
$1,016,200 | Ali Imsirovic
|
| 2022 | 8 | Jeremy Ausmus
|
$824,500 | Sean Perry
|
| 2023 | 8 | Cary Katz
|
$655,800 | Anthony Hu
|
Poker Masters edit
| Season | Events | Purple Jacket winner | Total winnings | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 | Michael Addamo
|
$1,840,000 | Nick Petrangelo
|
| 2022 | 10 | Sean Winter
|
$777,000 | Jason Koon
|
| 2023 | 10 | Stephen Chidwick
|
$1,109,000 |  Vladas Tamasauskas
|
The Poker Masters was first held in 2017. It was first included in the PGT in 2021 as the PGT launched for that year.
U.S. Poker Open edit
| Season | Events | Golden Eagle winner | Total winnings | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 | David Peters
|
$832,950 | Sean Winter
|
| 2022 | 12 | Sean Winter
|
$1,196,000 |  Tamon Nakamura
|
| 2023 | 10 | Martin Zamani
|
$835,800 |  Ren Lin
|
The U.S. Poker Open was first held in 2018. It was first included in the PGT in 2021 as the PGT launched for that year.
Super High Roller Bowl edit
| Season | Events | Championship ring winner | Total winnings | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super High Roller Bowl VI | 1 | Michael Addamo
|
$3,402,000 | Justin Bonomo
|
| Super High Roller Bowl VII | 1 | Daniel Negreanu
|
$3,312,000 | Nick Petrangelo
|
| Super High Roller Bowl VIII | 1 | Isaac Haxton
|
$2,760,000 | Andrew Lichtenberger
|
| Super High Roller Bow: PLO | 1 | Jared Bleznick
|
$1,292,000 | Isaac Haxton
|
The Super High Roller Bowl was first held in 2015. It was first included in the PGT in 2021 as the PGT launched for that year.
Player stats edit
Top 10 all-time money list edit
Information correct as of 24 December 2022.
| Rank | Player | PGT winnings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Addamo
|
$11,225,480 |
| 2 | Espen Jørstad
|
$10,217,955 |
| 3 | Jake Schindler
|
$10,179,541 |
| 4 | Jason Koon
|
$9,655,677 |
| 5 | Ali Imsirovic
|
$9,641,477 |
| 6 | Alex Foxen
|
$9,312,620 |
| 7 | Stephen Chidwick
|
$9,223,404 |
| 8 | Koray Aldemir
|
$9,204,452 |
| 9 | Nick Petrangelo
|
$8,499,074 |
| 10 | Daniel Negreanu
|
$7,735,079 |
Top 10 most tournament wins edit
Information correct as of January 27, 2023.
| Rank | Player | Total PGT wins | PokerGO Cup | Poker Masters | U.S. Poker Open | Super High Roller Bowl | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ali Imsirovic
|
20 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 15 | |
| T-2 | Michael Addamo
|
8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||
| T-2 | Sean Perry
|
8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||
| T-2 | Jake Schindler
|
8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| T-5 | Justin Bonomo
|
7 | 7 | ||||
| T-5 | Stephen Chidwick
|
7 | 1 | 6 | |||
| T-5 | Alex Foxen
|
7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ||
| T-8 | Sean Winter
|
6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | |
| T-8 | Chris Brewer
|
6 | 1 | 5 | |||
| T-8 | Nick Petrangelo
|
6 | 1 | 5 | |||
| T-11 | Andrew Lichtenberger
|
5 | 1 | 4 | |||
| T-11 | Daniel Negreanu
|
5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| T-11 | David Peters
|
5 | 3 | 2 | |||
| T-11 | Jason Koon
|
5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| T-11 | Jeremy Ausmus
|
5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Top 10 most cashes edit
Information correct as of January 27, 2023.
| Rank | Player | PGT cashes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ali Imsirovic
|
55 |
| T-2 | Stephen Chidwick
|
53 |
| T2 | Cary Katz
|
53 |
| 4 | Alex Foxen
|
47 |
| 5 | Chris Brewer
|
43 |
| T-6 | Sam Soverel
|
42 |
| T-6 | Sean Winter
|
42 |
| 8 | Sean Perry
|
37 |
| 9 | Jeremy Ausmus
|
36 |
| 10 | Jake Schindler
|
32 |
References edit
- ^ a b "PokerGO Tour Unveiled: A Groundbreaking Professional Poker Tour & Ranking System | PGT". PokerGO Tour. 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ "PokerGO unveils worldwide tour, big events in Las Vegas". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ a b "PokerGO Announces 2021 Schedule, Cash Prizes Under New Point System". www.pokernews.com. 23 April 2021. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ PokerGO. "Guaranteed Rate Announced as Presenting Sponsor of the PokerGO Tour™". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ "Presenting Sponsor of PokerGO Tour | Guaranteed Rate". www.rate.com. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ "Guaranteed Rate Becomes Presenting Sponsor of PokerGO Tour™ | PGT". PokerGO Tour. 2021-09-02. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ "PGT™ Champion To Earn $500,000 Prize at the Conclusion of 2022 Season | PGT". PokerGO Tour. 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
- ^ "PokerGo Tour Champion To Earn $500,000 Prize at the end of the season". VIP-Grinders. 2022-03-10. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
- ^ "PokerGO Tour to Crown 2022 Champion with $500K Winner Take All Tournament". Poker News Daily. 2022-03-07. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
- ^ "2022 PokerGO Tour's PGT Championship To Characteristic $500,000 Winner-Take-All Format". Poker News Desk. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
- ^ "pgt-website". www.pgt.com. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
- ^ "PokerGO Doubles 2023 PGT Championship Freeroll to $1 Million". www.pokernews.com. 7 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
- ^ a b "PokerGO Tour Points System | PGT". PokerGO Tour. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ "Ali Imsirovic Wins PokerGO Tour; Rok Gostisa Takes Season Finale". www.pokernews.com. 21 December 2021. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ "Ali Imsirovic claims PokerGO Tour Player of Year title". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ "PokerGO Tour Concludes for 2021 with Ali Imsirovic, Michael Addamo, and Sean Perry Winning Top Prizes | PGT". PokerGO Tour. 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ "Persistence Pays Off for Jason Koon in PGT Championship Win title". PokerNews.com. 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
- ^ "Jason Koon Wins PGT Championship For $500,000 title". CardPlayer.com. 2022-12-23. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
- ^ "Daniel Smiljkovic Wins PGT Championship for $500,000 | PGT". PokerGO Tour. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
- ^ "Isaac Haxton Crowned 2023 PGT Player of the Year | PGT". PokerGO Tour. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
- ^ "Daniel Smiljkovic Rallies to Defeat Arden Cho Heads-Up for PGT Championship Title ($500,000)". www.pokernews.com. 2024-01-10. Retrieved 2024-01-12.