PGT Leaderboard Outside the Top 10: Adrian Mateos, Kristen Foxen, and Nick Schulman Eyeing Top 10

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 10 on the PGT leaderboard may be locked into a seat in the PGT $1,000,000 Championship, but their final positions and starting stacks could change if some players outside the Top 10 collect some results at PGT Last Chance. For the players ranked between 11th and 20th, each position they move up or down the PGT leaderboard is worth five big blinds in the PGT $1,000,000 Championship.

Can't Miss EV Spot for Adrian Mateos?

Adrian Mateos was once a staple in PGT events in the PokerGO Studio, but for the 2024 PGT season, he has primarily played in Europe. Mateos still earned 1,568 PGT points, including one win and ten cashes, this season during the WSOP and at the Super High Roller Series in North Cyprus. Mateos is currently set to begin the PGT $1,000,000 Championship with 280 big blinds and is often regarded as one of the best players in the world. Is this an event one the Spaniard can't miss? 

Fellow Europeans Stephen Chidwick and Daniel Smiljkovic used last season's PGT Last Chance to pad their position on the PGT leaderboard - eventually finishing third and 16th, respectively. So it's likely that Mateos may make the trek in early January to dust off some rust, earn some PGT points, and look to push his PGT $1,000,000 Championship starting stack upwards to 300 big blinds.

Kristen Foxen, Nick Schulman, and Sean Winter Separated by 38 PGT Points

Kristen Foxen has accumulated 1,421 PGT points this season from her one win and 11 cashes to currently sit 12th on the PGT leaderboard. She is a PGT Last Chance victory away from entering the Top 10, but if she can replicate how she began the season at PGT Kickoff, where she won one event and cashed in another, Foxen could easily make a run at the Top 5. Her current PGT $1,000,000 Championship starting stack is 275 big blinds, but a 300-big blind starting stack isn't out of reach.

In a year where he won his sixth WSOP bracelet and fifth career PGT title, Nick Schulman is currently 13th on the PGT leaderboard with 1,403 PGT points. Along with his victory in the WSOP $25k No-Limit Hold'em High Roller, Schulman collected 17 cashes and $2,299,583 in earnings for this 2024 PGT season. He trails Foxen by just 18 PGT points, roughly a PGT Last Chance min-cash, and his 270-big blind starting stack in the PGT $1,000,000 Championship will make him one to watch as he shoots for his 63rd career PGT cash.

Sean Winter is tied for fourth this season in cashes with 19, which puts him 14th on the PGT leaderboard with 1,383 PGT points. Winter is just 20 PGT points behind Schulman, and 225 PGT points outside of the PGT leaderboard Top 10. With a PGT Last Chance victory and a second cash, he'll likely enter the Top 10 and improve his current 265-big blind starting stack in the PGT $1,000,000 Championship to something just south of 300 big blinds. In his PGT career, Winter ranks fourth in PGT points (7,135), final tables (56), cashes (79), and 12th in PGT earnings ($11,026,988).

Brian Kim and Niklas Astedt Searching for 1 More Cash

In a similar fashion to 2024 WSOP Main Event champion Jonathan Tamayo, both Brian Kim and Niklas Astedt are also searching for one more cash to qualify for the PGT $1,000,000 Championship. Kim and Astedt finished seventh and third, respectively, to Tamayo in July, but both had previous PGT cashes for the season. Kim is very aware of needing an additional cash to qualify as he was a frequent participant on the PGT in previous seasons, but for Astedt, excluding the WSOP, he rarely travels outside of Europe to play poker. 

Kim has announced his intention to play PGT Last Chance to collect that third cash to qualify for the PGT $1,000,000 Championship, but Astedt's attendance is unknown at this stage. Will the Swede make the trek to Las Vegas for PGT Last Chance, or will he forego his PGT $1,000,000 Championship EV and see his spot roll down the PGT leaderboard to the next qualified player?

The PokerGO Studio Awaits Santhosh Suvarna

Although he has played on High Stakes Poker, Santhosh Suvarna hasn't participated in PGT-owned and operated events at the PokerGO Studio. Suvarna had an incredibly impressive WSOP that yielded 1,339 PGT points, a victory in the WSOP $250k Super High Roller, and six total cashes. He currently sits 16th on the PGT leaderboard and will likely begin the PGT $1,000,000 Championship with 255 big blinds.

The big question is whether Suvarna will take his seat in January to play in the PGT $1,000,000 Championship. Suvarna travels the world playing all the high-stakes poker tournaments, including Triton, WSOP Europe, and WSOP Paradise, so he may use January as some a time to relax before high-stakes poker tournaments in Europe and Asia begin in February. If Suvarna doesn't take his seat in the PGT $1,000,000 Championship, because he has qualified, his seat will not roll down the PGT leaderboard.

Jordan Griff, Ben Tollerene, and Joe Serock Round Out the Top 20

When Jordan Griff finished 27th in the Texas PLO Roundup $3,300 Main Event, he secured his seat in the PGT $1,000,000 Championship. Griff stated that he'll likely skip PGT Last Chance and turn up fresh for the PGT $1,000,000 Championship, where he is currently set to begin the event with 260 big blinds as he sits 15th on the PGT leaderboard with 1,371 PGT points. 

Ben Tollerene put on a clinic during September and October on the PGT by winning two of the biggest events on the schedule. Tollerene won the Poker Masters $25k finale for $510,000 and followed that by winning the PGT PLO Series II $25k Pot-Limit Omaha Championship for $496,000. Add a final table in the Super High Roller Bowl: $100k Pot-Limit Omaha, and a runner-up finish to Suvarna in the WSOP $250k Super High Roller, and Tollerene sits 17th on the PGT leaderboard heading into the PGT $1,000,000 Championship, where he'll likely begin the event with 250 big blinds.

Following an eighth-place finish in the WSOP Main Event, and a fourth-place finish in Event #3 of the PGT PLO Series II, Joe Serock needed one more cash to qualify for the PGT $1,000,000 Championship. Just two days later, Serock locked that up with a fourth-place finish in Event #5 of the PGT PLO Series. Serock rose up to 20th on the PGT leaderboard, where he has 1,256 PGT points and will likely begin the PGT $1,000,000 Championship with 245 big blinds.

PGT Leaderboard - Ranks #11 to #20 

These are the leaderboard standings as of Thursday, December 6, 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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