PGT Leaderboard Top 10: Jeremy Ausmus, Daniel Negreanu, Seth Davies Holding Top Spots

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 PGT leaderboard and players' positions will change during PGT Last Chance, but for at least nine players inside the PGT leaderboard top ten, their spot is secure in the PGT $1,000,000 Championship. It will just be a matter of where they finish on the PGT leaderboard and how many chips they will begin the PGT $1,000,000 Championship with.

Will Jeremy Ausmus Sit Out PGT Last Chance?

Jeremy Ausmus has accumulated the second-most PGT points in the four-season history of the PGT, winning six PGT titles, cashing 81 times, and accumulating $12,612,600 in PGT earnings. After finishing 10th on the PGT leaderboard in 2023, Ausmus doubled down in 2024 and rode a wave of results to sit on top of the PGT leaderboard with 2,789 PGT points. Ausmus has cashed 25 times for $5,814,316 in PGT earnings, and heading into PGT Last Chance, he sits 735 PGT points ahead of Daniel Negreanu in second place.

The biggest question for Ausmus heading into PGT Last Chance is if he'll extend his Christmas break and sit out the series. Why would Ausmus want to sit out PGT Last Chance? It is incredibly unlikely Negreanu will be able to pass him as the Canadian will need to win at least three PGT Last Chance events, and maybe even a fourth to overtake Ausmus. With the changes in rules where the PGT leaderboard position dictates starting stack, Ausmus can also not improve on his starting stack in the PGT $1,000,000 Championship, where he will begin with 350 big blinds.

Extended Break for Daniel Negreanu?

Knowing that he is 735 PGT points behind Jeremy Ausmus and has been preaching "Quality over Quantity" during the 2024 PGT season, it is likely that Daniel Negreanu may skip PGT Last Chance. With a healthy 340 big blind starting stack entering the PGT $1,000,000 Championship, he'll have a few sweats from the players below him. Negreanu is 199 PGT points ahead of Seth Davies, 219 PGT points ahead of Michael Rocco, 235 PGT points ahead of Jesse Lonis, and 324 PGT points ahead of Jonathan Tamayo. This means Negreanu is likely fading a win from Davies or Rocco, and a win and another final table appearance from Lonis and Tamayo. 

Even if both Davies and Rocco overtake Negreanu, his PGT $1,000,000 Championship starting stack will only drop by ten big blinds with each spot he drops. It will be incredibly unlikely that Negreanu begins the PGT $1,000,000 Championship with worse than a 300-big blind starting stack.

Jonathan Tamayo Searching for 1 More Cash

After his third-place finish in the inaugural Texas Poker Open and winning the WSOP Main Event for $10,000,000, Jonathan Tamayo rocketed into the PGT leaderboard top ten with 1,730 PGT points. Although not a regular in PGT events held in the PokerGO Studio, Tamayo understood that he needed one more cash to be eligible to participate in the PGT $1,000,000 Championship. Tamayo played both PGT-qualifying events at the PokerStars NAPT Las Vegas and chased his third cash at the Texas PLO Roundup, but unfortunately fell short. 

"This is getting expensive," Tamayo told the PGT during the Texas PLO Roundup, but he confirmed that he'll be at PGT Last Chance looking to collect that third cash to qualify. If he does reach the money at PGT Last Chance, and his PGT leaderboard position doesn't change, he'll begin the PGT $1,000,000 Championship with 300 big blinds.

Seth Davies, Michael Rocco, and Jesse Lonis Separated by 36 PGT Points

Seth Davies has built his 2024 PGT season on three career-defining wins: the PGT PLO Series $25k Pot-Limit Omaha Championship for $522,000, Super High Roller Bowl IX for $3,206,000, and Super High Roller Bowl: $100k Pot-Limit Omaha for $1,500,000. Davies sits third on the PGT leaderboard with 1,855 PGT points and trails Daniel Negreanu by 199 PGT points, but it is the players he leads provide the biggest threat to Davies and his current podium position on the PGT leaderboard. 

Michael Rocco is fourth on the PGT leaderboard with 1,835 PGT points and trails Davies by only 20 PGT points. With a non-min cash for Rocco, he'll likely overtake Davies, while any big result for Rocco can put him in contention to overtake Negreanu. Jesse Lonis sits fifth on the PGT leaderboard with 1,819 PGT points and is 36 PGT points behind Davies and 16 PGT points behind Rocco. If Lonis can reach a PGT Last Chance final table, he'll likely secure enough PGT points to overtake both Rocco and Davies and move to third on the PGT leaderboard. Outside of those three players, Jonathan Tamayo will need a runner-up finish, while Jim Collopy will need a win to disrupt Davies, Rocco, and Lonis's current placings. 

With PGT $1,000,000 Championship starting stacks for the top five separated by ten big blinds with each place drop, there is value for Davies, Rocco, and Lonis to participate in PGT Last Chance in an effort to lock up at least a 300-big blind starting stack. 

Jim Collopy, Aram Zobian, David Coleman, and Dylan Weisman Round Out Top 10

Only 120 PGT points separates Jim Collopy in seventh on the PGT leaderboard and Dylan Weisman in tenth on the PGT leaderboard. Collopy benefited from two recent cashes to ladder up to 1,728 PGT points, putting him 2 PGT points behind Tamayo, and due to his current ineligibility, Collopy moves up one spot and improves his PGT $1,000,000 Championship starting stack to 300 big blinds. Aram Zobian dropped one position on the PGT leaderboard and remains on 1,663 PGT points, while David Coleman moved back into the top ten and sits on 1,615 PGT points. Both players are a PGT Last Chance event victory away from entering the top five on the PGT leaderboard. 

Dylan Weisman dropped to tenth on the PGT leaderboard and remains on 1,608 PGT points. Weisman could enter the top five with a PGT Last Chance win, but stringing a few cashes together can see him overtake Zobian and Coleman ahead of him. Weisman is currently set to begin the PGT $1,000,000 Championship with 285 big blinds, and with each place he ladders up until the top five, he can add five big blinds to his chip stack. 

These four players' competition comes from each other, and they'll likely be using PGT Last Chance to jostle for position. If they can get off to a hot start at PGT Last Chance, they'll have a shot at making a run at the PGT leaderboard top five. 

PGT Leaderboard Top 10 

These are the leaderboard standings as of Monday, December 2, 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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