Andrew Lichtenberger surged to the top of the 2026 PokerGO Tour leaderboard with 531 points following a standout showing in the PGT Kickoff Series, held January 26 to 31 at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. The six-event festival awarded double PGT points to start the season, attracting tough fields in $5,100 and $10,100 no-limit hold'em tournaments. Lichtenberger notched one win and several deep runs, cashing three times for $265,500 to position himself as the early Player of the Year favorite.
The series blended repeat winners with fresh champions, highlighting familiar high-stakes pros in action. Michael Berk followed closely in second with 525 points from a single victory worth $262,650, while Andrew Moreno took third at 518 points after earning $238,425 across two cashes and one title.
Series Overview and Results
The Kickoff Series featured a mix of buy-ins and formats, drawing competitive crowds and generating substantial prize pools. Below is a complete table of the events, including key details on winners and top prizes.
| Event | Buy-In | Winner | Top Prize | Notable Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | $5,100 | Andrew Lichtenberger | $162,000 | Defeated Jeremy Eyer heads-up; Ethan "Rampage" Yau fifth after aces cracked by Lichtenberger; Lichtenberger's eighth PGT title. |
| #2 | $5,100 | Brian Battistone | $173,600 | First PGT title; final table included Dan Smith, Nick Schulman, Maksim Pisarenko. |
| #3 | $5,100 | Andrew Moreno | $162,300 | Third PGT title; defeated Jim Collopy heads-up; largest field of the series. |
| #4 | $5,100 | Taylor Paur | $174,000 | First PGT win; defeated Yau heads-up; Moreno third; final table also featured Jeremy Becker, Paul Roy, Scott Eskenazi, Justin Zaki. |
| #5 | $10,100 | Michael Berk | $262,650 | First PGT title; defeated Daniel Maor heads-up; largest prize pool; final table included Brock Wilson, Clemen Deng, Neil Warren, Lichtenberger, Kristen Foxen. |
| #6 | $10,100 | Ariel Mantel | $171,600 | First PGT title; single-day turbo; rallied to defeat Deng heads-up; Dan Smith third, Lichtenberger fourth. |
Lichtenberger's consistency shone through with his Event #1 victory and final tables in #5 and #6, helping him rack up the most points. Other highlights included Berk's career-best score in the higher-stakes Event #5 and Mantel's late comeback in the turbo finale.
Updated PGT Leaderboard
The early top 10 on the PGT leaderboard reflects the series' impact, with points doubled for added weight.
| Rank | Player | PGT Points | PGT Earnings | Cashes | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Lichtenberger | 531 | $265,500 | 3 | 1 |
| 2 | Michael Berk | 525 | $262,650 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Andrew Moreno | 518 | $238,425 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | Dan Smith | 427 | $213,175 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | Clemen Deng | 423 | $211,850 | 3 | 0 |
| 6 | Daniel Maor | 386 | $192,750 | 3 | 0 |
| 7 | Ariel Mantel | 379 | $189,725 | 2 | 1 |
| 8 | Taylor Paur | 348 | $174,000 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Brian Battistone | 347 | $173,600 | 1 | 1 |
| 10 | Ethan Yau | 291 | $145,625 | 2 | 0 |
