Haxton Tops PGT Leaderboard, Schulman and Rheem Climb Into Top 40

It’s been a busy seven weeks on the PokerGO Tour (PGT) recently. The 2023 Poker Masters, Super High Roller Bowl VIII, PGT MIxed Games II, Super High Roller Bowl PLO, PGT PLO Series II, and PGT Sprint all took place within that seven-week span, leading to a lot of movement on the PGT leaderboard. The most notable change is that Isaac Haxton has moved into the top spot on the leaderboard thanks to two big results from the Super High Roller Bowl events. Nick Schulman and Chino Rheem also made big moves.

Haxton won Super High Roller Bowl VIII to close out September and pick up a chunk of 550 PGT leaderboard points. It was Haxton’s second time winning Super High Roller Bowl after first winning Super High Roller Bowl V back in 2018. Haxton then went to battle in the first-ever Super High Roller Bowl PLO and finished second to Jared Bleznick, adding another 251 PGT leaderboard points to his season total. That pushed Haxton to 2,548 points total this season and moved him ahead of Daniel Weinman to take the top spot on the PGT standings.

As things stand entering the final three months of the 2023 PGT season, Haxton is 248 points clear of anyone else on the leaderboard and the favorite to be crowned PGT Player of the Year. That title goes to the player who accumulates the most points during the PGT season, and the title comes with a $50,000 bonus prize.

Haxton’s move to number one bumped 2023 WSOP Main Event champion Weinman (2,300 points) into second, and then it’s Chris Brewer (2,185 points), Stephen Chidwick (2,077 points), and Alex Foxen (1,743 points) rounding out the top five on the PGT standings.

Of that top-five group behind Haxton, Chidwick, who was the 2022 PGT Player of the Year, has added 1,227 points during the recent seven-week stretch. Chidwick won the 2023 Poker Masters Purple Jacket and finished third in both Super High Roller Bowl VIII and Super High Roller Bowl PLO.

Two other big movers during the recent batch of PGT events included Nick Schulman and Chino Rheem. Schulman has cashed seven times in PGT events in the last seven weeks, adding 679 points to his total. Within that stretch, Schulman won Event #7 at the Poker Masters for $374,000 and he won Event #5 at PGT MIxed Games II for $144,000. Schulman climbed to 1,105 points on the season. That has Schulman sitting in 28th place on the PGT leaderboard, which currently qualifies him for the season-ending PGT Championship $1,000,000 freeroll. The top 40 players at the end of the season qualify for that event, so we’ll see if Schulman can hold onto his standing.

Rheem has racked up 11 PGT cashes in the last seven weeks. During the PGT MIxed Games II series, Rheem outdid all competitors to win the series title and be crowned PGT MIxed Games II champion. Rheem now sits in 34th place on the PGT leaderboard with 1,029 points, and the bulk of those points, 916 of them, have come during the recent seven-week stretch.

PGT Leaderboard Top 40 Through PGT Sprint

When we last reviewed the PGT leaderboard standings, places 32 through 40 were occupied by Daniel Holzner, Arthur Morris, Adrian Mateos, Aram Oganyan, Daniel Negreanu, Leon Sturm, Dan Smith, Lautaro Guerra, and Brian Rast. Of those nine players, only three of them remain inside the top 40. Those three are Holzner, Morris, and Negreanu. Holzner went from 32nd to 40th and is at risk of falling outside the top 40. Morris moved from 33rd to 31st, improving his standing by two spots. Negreanu was in 36th and bettered his position to 30th. Mateos, Oganyan, Sturm, Smith, Guerra, and Rast have all slipped outside the top 40 and will need to score results in the final run of the season in order to qualify for the PGT Championship $1,000,000 freeroll.

Leaderboard standings as of Monday, November 6, 2023. See the complete and current PGT leaderboard at pgt.com/leaderboard.

PGT Championship Qualification & Player of the Year Bonus

Players to finish the 2023 PGT season ranked in the top 40 of the PGT leaderboard earn qualification for the season-ending PGT Championship $1,000,000 freeroll, held at the PokerGO Studio from January 9-10, 2024. The PGT Championship winner will take home $500,000, and there will be additional payouts for the final table. The more points a player earns, the more starting chips they'll begin the PGT Championship with.

The player who finishes the 2023 PGT season with the most leaderboard points will be named PGT Player of the Year and be awarded a $50,000 bonus.

What's Next On the PGT Schedule?

There are three PGT-qualifying events as part of the 2023 WSOP Europe series. Players to finish in the money Event #8: €25,000 GGMillion€, Event #12: €50,000 Diamond High Roller, and Event #13: €10,350 Main Event at the WSOP Europe series will all earn PGT leaderboard points. The full WSOP Europe schedule is available on WSOP.com.

From November 27-30, there are four ARIA High Roller tournaments scheduled. These are all $10,100 buy-in tournaments with rake reduction for on-time registrants. Each tournament is a single-day event starting at 12 p.m. PT at ARIA Resort & Casino. For full details, visit pgt.com/schedule.

In December, there are six WSOP Paradise tournaments qualifying for the PGT. Players to cash in Event #3: $25,000 GGMillion$ High Roller, Event #5: $25,000 PLO High Roller, Event #7: $50,000 Super High Roller, Event #9: $100,000 Ultra High Roller, Event #13: $10,000 PLO Championship, and Event #15: $10,000 High Roller 6-Handed will all earn PGT leaderboard points. The full WSOP Paradise schedule is available on WSOP.com.

The PGT Last Chance series is a series of six $10,100 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournaments scheduled for January 2-7, 2024, at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. The first-of-its-kind PGT Last Chance series is exactly as the name suggests: a last-chance series giving players the opportunity to both improve their leaderboard standing and qualify for the season-ending PGT Championship. Two Dream Seats will be up for grabs during the PGT Last Chance series, with the winners of the Dream Seats granted automatic entry into the season-ending PGT Championship $1,000,000 freeroll. For full details, visit pgt.com/schedule.

For full PGT schedule information, check out pgt.com/schedule.

Connect with PokerGO.com on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Watch daily poker clips on the PokerGO YouTube channel. Join the conversation on the PokerGO Discord server. You can save $20 off an annual subscription to PokerGO.com by using the code “PGT2023” at checkout.