Sam Soverel Wins Record 18th PGT Title

Poker player Sam Soverel won the 5th event of the 2026 PGT Sprint series on PokerGO Tour. Soverel, who was the last player standing in the $10,500 buy-in no-limit Texas hold'em tournament with 61 entrants, won $195,200. This is his 18th PGT win and a record. The 38-year-old player had earned his 17th PGT title one month earlier.

This was Soverel's fifth PGT championship this season. On the high-stakes tour, the player, who has cashed 22 times this season, has earned more than $1.7 million. Soverel, a four-time bracelet winner, has career earnings of more than $34.1 million. Earning 360 Card Player Player of the Year points from this tournament, Soverel entered the top 100 of the 2026 rankings sponsored by CoinPoker with 2,912 points. He also climbed into the top 10 of the PGT season standings.

The prize pool was $610,000, and only the top nine players were paid. Nicholas Schulte was eliminated on the bubble. Sam Laskowitz finished ninth for $18,300, and Victoria Livschitz finished eighth for $24,400. Kent Stephens, the short stack in seventh place, went out with ace-nine against Michael Berk's pair of queens and earned $24,400. Berk, holding a pair of eights, lost to Kuan Han Lee's three nines and finished sixth, earning $33,550.

Jeremy Becker finished fifth for $45,750. Becker, holding ace-king, lost to a flush in a hand that Soverel won. Nicholas Seward lost most of his stack in a big clash with Soverel at four-handed. David Coleman called Seward's small all-in with a pair of aces, and Seward, holding 6-4, finished fourth and won $61,000. Lee, who finished third, won $85,400, which was the highest tournament score of the Taiwanese player's career.

At three-handed, Soverel took a significant chip lead by beating Lee's ace-queen with ace-five. In heads-up play against Coleman, Soverel built a 4-to-1 chip advantage and quickly won the final hand. Coleman limped from the button, Soverel moved all-in from the big blind with 8-7, and Coleman called with about 10 big blinds. The flop came queen-jack-five, and the river seven gave Soverel a pair of sevens and the championship. Coleman finished second for $122,000. This stood out as Coleman's 14th career final table and a record that includes two titles.