Jason Koon Holds Majority of Chips as Six Remain in 2022 PGT Championship

Jason Koon bagged a massive lead and holds nearly 57% of the chips in play as six players remain in the 2022 PGT Championship. Koon’s stack of 1,829,000 is more than five times that of the next player on the leaderboard, Chad Eveslage (347,000).

Sean Winter (322,000), Nick Petrangelo (285,000), Benny Glaser (283,000), and Stephen Chidwick (152,000) round out the players returning to the final day.

The top 21 players on the 2022 PGT leaderboard were all eligible to play in the PGT Championship for a shot at the title and the $500,000 top prize. The 2022 PGT season concluded with 174 events, 24,983 total entrants, and prize pools eclipsing $425.6 million.

Starting chip counts in the PGT Championship were all determined by PGT points earned throughout the season. Chidwick finished atop the leaderboard and began the day with the chip lead. He made it through to the final day, but he will now have to navigate the final table with the short stack.

Glaser squeaked into the 21st and final spot on the leaderboard following his runner-up finish in the WPT World Championship yesterday, and he will return with an opportunity to score another big payday.

Although Koon has a huge lead going into the final day, the winner-take-all format of the PGT Championship provides a different dynamic than normal as there’s no laddering, and the $500,000 first-place prize will go to the one person with all of the chips at the end of the tournament.

Players who were eliminated earlier in the day include Isaac Kempton, Sam Greenwood, Alex Foxen, reigning WSOP champ Espen Jorstad, and Daniel Negreanu. Jeremy Ausmus was then eliminated in ninth place before the remaining players converged on a single table with Koon as the chip leader.

It would take more than three hours until the next elimination when Koon eliminated Cary Katz in eighth place. Katz got in his chips on the turn with flush and straight draws, but couldn’t improve against Koon’s aces and was sent to the rail.

Soon after, Koon eliminated Seth Davies, who was second in chips when the hand began. Davies called for the rest of his chips on the river with top pair, but it was no good against Koon’s two pair, and Davies was gone in seventh place on the last hand of the night.

2022 PGT Championship Final Table

When play resumes, the button will be on Stephen Chidwick and there will be 14:41 remaining in Level 10 (blinds of 6,000/12,000 and a 12,000-big blind ante).

Play will resume at 12 p.m. PT on Thursday, December 22 from the PokerGO Studio at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the final table will be streamed on delay starting at 1 p.m. PT on PokerGO.com. 

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 by using the code “PGT2022” at checkout.