Adrian Mateos won Event #5 of the 2026 Poker Masters for $229,500, defeating Nick Schulman heads-up in the $10,500 No-Limit Hold'em tournament. The event drew 85 entries and generated an $850,000 prize pool, with 13 places paid.
Heads-Up Ends in Two Hands
Mateos entered the final day as the chip leader among seven remaining players. He had more than four times as many chips as Schulman when heads-up play began.
Schulman won the opening hand, but the next one decided the title. On a K-J-7-3 board with two hearts, Schulman called all-in holding T♥9♥ against Mateos' pocket aces. He needed a heart, queen or eight on the river, but a nine completed the board to give Mateos the win.
Schulman earned $148,750 as runner-up.
Mateos also eliminated Jeremy Becker in third place. In a blind-versus-blind hand, Mateos raised from the small blind with T♥4♥, then bet the flop and turn on a T-8-3-T-5 runout before shoving the river. Becker called with K8 and collected $106,250 for third.
Robert French finished fourth, Martin Zamani fifth, Keith Lehr sixth and Matthew Wantman seventh. Joe McKeehen bubbled in 14th place, one spot short of the money.
Mateos Takes the Series Points Lead
The victory earned Mateos 230 PGT points. Added to the 151 points from his runner-up finish in Event #2, that put him atop the series standings with 381 points after Event #5, ahead of Nick Palma (339) and Myles Mullaly (274).
The 2026 Poker Masters features 10 events at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas, with buy-ins ranging from $10,500 to $51,000. The series runs through October 23, and the overall series points leader will receive the Poker Masters Purple Jacket and a $25,000 PGT Passport.
