Nicholas Seward beat Daniel Negreanu heads-up to win $412,500 and his first PokerGO Tour title at the 2026 Poker Masters in Las Vegas. The $26,000 No-Limit Hold’em Event #9 drew 50 entries, creating a $1.25 million prize pool, and its result has brought another contender into the race for the Purple Jacket.
Negreanu returned for the final seven with 2,205,000 chips to Seward’s 1,700,000. He took $262,500 for second, while Seward’s victory on Thursday, October 22, put him within 54 points of series leader Adrian Mateos with only the $51,000 Championship remaining.
Seward turns the final table around
The opening stages were good for Seward. He knocked out Jesse Lonis after his jack-nine of hearts improved against king-queen, putting the American in the lead. Negreanu soon fought back, notably eliminating Sean Perry with pocket jacks against a strong drawing hand, and later removing Matthew Wantman in fourth after pairing his king against ace-queen.
When Daniyal Gheba left in third for $175,000, Negreanu had 4.2 million to Seward’s 3.305 million. The pair then traded the lead during a heads-up session in which neither could assume a straightforward march to the title. Seward flopped four kings against Negreanu’s kings and threes, but his river shove found no customer.
An even bigger confrontation came when Seward held ace-six on an ace-six-three-nine-six board. Negreanu’s queen-jack had turned a club flush, but Seward’s river full house was best. Negreanu bet the river, faced an all-in and found a fold that saved him about 1.9 million chips, giving himself one more chance.
The reprieve was brief. Negreanu three-bet shoved around 21 big blinds with king-ten, Seward called holding king-jack, and a nine-three-three-five-seven runout left the better kicker playing. Seward had his first PGT trophy, with the Hall of Famer forced to settle for second.
Poker Masters Event #9 final results
| Position | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicholas Seward | $412,500 |
| 2 | Daniel Negreanu | $262,500 |
| 3 | Daniyal Gheba | $175,000 |
| 4 | Matthew Wantman | $125,000 |
| 5 | Sean Perry | $100,000 |
| 6 | Brandon Wilson | $75,000 |
| 7 | Jesse Lonis | $50,000 |
| 8 | David Coleman | $50,000 |
Eight players were paid. Coleman, the 2025 Purple Jacket winner, finished eighth before the final seven returned to play for the trophy. The other expensive exit came on the direct money bubble, where Mateos was the final player to leave without a cash for an extraordinary fifth time at this festival.
The Purple Jacket is not settled
| Rank | Player | Series points | Prize money |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adrian Mateos | 451 | $467,700 |
| 2 | Nicholas Palma | 407 | $424,400 |
| 3 | Nicholas Seward | 397 | $578,500 |
| 4 | Vitalijs Zavorotnijs | 365 | $400,400 |
| 5 | Daniyal Gheba | 348 | $424,850 |
There is an odd contrast between Mateos and Seward. Mateos has bubbled five tournaments, yet his victory in Event #5 and second place in Event #2 have kept him top. Poker Type reported that turnaround in our story on Mateos’s $229,500 victory. Seward, meanwhile, has cashed four times, including fourth in Event #8, and now leads the trio on tournament prize money from this series.
Justin Vaysman also remains in the top ten on 325 points after an astonishing win from a quarter of a big blind in Event #6. The final event, the $51,000 NLH Championship, will determine who takes home the Purple Jacket and $25,000 PGT Passport.
More than a one-week heater
Seward already had a 2024 WSOP bracelet from the $3,000 six-max event, which paid him $516,135. Earlier in 2026, he won the WPT Venetian Spring Championship for $418,700. His reported career live cashes now exceed $5.4 million, although reported tournament earnings measure gross prizes, not a player’s profit after entries, swaps or travel.
Negreanu is still among poker’s most decorated tournament players, but he was second-best in this particular match. The final hand and payout information were reported in CardPlayer’s event coverage, while PGT carries official tour schedules. For now Seward has done his part; he has given Mateos and Palma another player to worry about in the last tournament.
