PGT Leaderboard Middle of the Pack: Jared Bleznick and Chris Hunichen Capitalizing on Other Players Ineligibility

Only six qualifying events remain in the 2024 PGT season before the season finale PGT $1,000,000 Championship freeroll takes center stage at the PokerGO Studio from January 10-11, 2025. The final series of the PGT season is PGT Last Chance, running from January 2-9, 2025, and will provide players one final chance to qualify for the PGT $1,000,000 Championship. 

PGT Last Chance also offers a unique series leaderboard that will award a Dream Seat to the three highest-ranked players who do not qualify for the PGT $1,000,000 Championship via the Top 40. In addition, the next five players on the series leaderboard will receive a Dream Pass and be granted entry into the exclusive Dream Seat Invitational. They will compete against other Dream Pass winners for one of the final six Dream Seats into the PGT $1,000,000 Championship.

The Top 20 on the PGT leaderboard may be locked into a seat in the PGT $1,000,000 Championship, but their final positions and starting stacks will likely change pending some results during PGT Last Chance. For the players ranked between 21st and 30th, six of them have not yet qualified for the PGT $1,000,000 Championship. Unless they can collect the necessary cashes to be eligible to play, players from outside of the Top 40 will benefit as they'll be awarded a seat in the PGT $1,000,000 Championship.

Will Viktor Blom Travel Back to Las Vegas?

Viktor Blom had an outstanding WSOP, which included eight cashes for $2,657,994 in earnings. Those eight cashes yielded Blom 1,246 PGT points, pushing him to 21st on the PGT leaderboard. The biggest question is whether Blom will return to Las Vegas to participate in the PGT $1,000,000 Championship. Blom hasn't played in the PokerGO Studio, and being based in Europe with a busy December that includes EPT Prague, it is likely that Blom may opt to skim the PGT $1,000,000 Championship. If Blom does make the trip to Las Vegas to participate, he'll begin the PGT $1,000,000 Championship with 240 big blinds.

More Cashes Needed for Main Event Final Tablists 

Only two players from the 2024 WSOP Main Event final table have qualified to participate in the PGT $1,000,000 Championship, with Jordan Griff and Joe Serock having locked up their seats in their most recent PGT series'. Jonathan Tamayo needs one more cash to lock up a 300-big blind starting stack, but it is a bevy of the opponents he defeated at the final table that are ranked in the middle of the pack and need another cash or two. Jason Sagle (22nd - 1,200 PGT points), Boris Angelov (24th - 1,189 PGT points), Andres Gonzalez (27th - 1,150 PGT points), and Malo Latinois (30th - 1,100 PGT points) are all not eligible to participate in the PGT $1,000,000 Championship with Sagle, Gonzalez, and Latinois needing two more cashes, while Angelov needs just one more. With these four players having not participated in PGT events outside of the WSOP this season, it is unlikely that they'll attend PGT Last Chance in an effort to chase the cashes needed to qualify for the PGT $1,000,000 Championship. Consequently, they'll likely free up seats for Matthew Wantman, Isaac Haxton, Sergio Aido, and Ren Lin, who are all currently outside the top 40.

Brian Rast, Jared Bleznick, and Chris Hunichen Movin' On Up

Brian Rast is currently 23rd on the PGT leaderboard with 1,196 PGT points, and with four players above him who are currently ineligible to play in the PGT $1,000,000 Championship, Rast will likely improve his starting stack from 215 big blinds to 235 big blinds. If Rast attends PGT Last Chance, he is just one event win outside of the Top 15 where he can improve his PGT $1,000,000 Championship starting stack to potentially 270 big blinds. Jared Bleznick is 25th on the PGT leaderboard with 1,170 PGT points from his PGT season, which includes one win and eight cashes. With five players above him who are currently ineligible to play in the PGT $1,000,000 Championship, Bleznick's starting stack will likely improve from 205 big blinds to 230 big blinds. Sitting 29th on the PGT leaderboard is Chris Hunichen, who has 1,100 PGT points from his one win and five cashes. Eight players above Hunichen have yet to qualify for the PGT $1,000,000 Championship, which means that Hunichen's starting stack will likely improve from 185 big blinds to 225 big blinds. Hunichen is also a PGT Last Chance victory away from entering the Top 40 on the PGT leaderboard, where he'll start the PGT $1,000,000 Championship with potentially 250 big blinds.

Matthew Lambrecht Ready to Fire

After winning the WSOP $10k Mystery Bounty and cashing in the WSOP Main Event, Matthew Lambrecht knew he needed one more cash to qualify for the PGT $1,000,000 Championship. Lambrecht played the Poker Masters and NAPT Las Vegas, but was unable to collect his third cash, meaning all his eggs are in the PGT Last Chance basket. Lambrecht is currently 26th on the PGT leaderboard with 1,150 PGT points, and collecting one more cash at PGT Last Chance will make him eligible to play in the PGT $1,000,000 Championship and likely begin with 225 big blinds.

PGT Leaderboard - Ranks #21 to #30 

These are the leaderboard standings as of Monday, December 9, 2024. The complete and current PGT leaderboard is at pgt.com/leaderboard.

Remaining Events in the 2024 PGT Season

• PGT Last Chance (January 2-9) | Structure Sheet
• Dream Seat Invitational (January 9) | Structure Sheet
• PGT $1,000,000 Championship Freeroll (January 10-11) | Structure Sheet

For information on the upcoming PGT schedule, check out pgt.com/schedule.

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