Who Can You Back to Win in the 2024 PokerGO Cup?
The 2024 PokerGO Cup begins today and with eight tournaments running from January 25 to February 3, all the action is being broadcast from Las Vegas, Nevada. With many PokerGO favorites such as Brock Wilson, Sam Soverel, Daniel Negreanu and both Alex and Kristen Foxen all expected to attend, who will leave with the overall leaderboard victory, worth an extra $25,000 in the form of a PGT Passport.
When Does the Action Kick Off?
Taking place on PokerGO.com, the eight events comprise tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $5,100 in Event #1 to $10,100 in Events #2 through #5, $15,100 in Events #6 and #7 and ending with the $25,200-entry Main Event, which kicks off on Friday, Feburary 8th. All the action is a go in Event #1 tonight (January 25th) with the 2024 PokerGO Cup being held at the PokerGO Studio at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
Each event on the 2024 PokerGO Cup schedule permits two re-entries, with anyone who registers before the first card hits the deck getting a discount on the tournament fee. There will be a PGT shot clock throughout, with 20 seconds pre-flop and 30 seconds post-flop the standard times to make a decision. Each player starts each event with eight time extensions if they register before the first break or six for registering later, each of which are worth 30 seconds.
Levels go up in time throughout, with 30 minutes in Event #1 extended to 40 minutes for Events #2 through #7. The Main Event, Event #8, sees 45 minute levels from start to finish. Whoever wins the leaderboard will take home the PokerGO Cup itself as champion and will also receive the $25,000 PGT Passport bonus. This could easily have a lot more implied value, with PGT Leaderboard points at the end of 2023 putting the top 40 players into the million-dollar freeroll, which was won just a fortnight ago by Daniel Smiljkovic for $500,000.
Here’s the all-important 2024 PokerGO Cup schedule in full:
| 2024 PokerGO Cup Full Tournament Schedule: | ||||
| Date | Event # | Event Details | Starting Stack | Blind Levels |
| Thu, Jan 25 | 1 | $5,100 No-Limit Hold’em | 125,000 | 30 minutes |
| Fri, Jan 26 | 2 | $10,100 No-Limit Hold’em | 125,000 | 40 minutes |
| Sat, Jan 27 | 3 | $10,100 No-Limit Hold’em | 125,000 | 40 minutes |
| Mon, Jan 29 | 4 | $10,100 No-Limit Hold’em | 125,000 | 40 minutes |
| Tue, Jan 30 | 5 | $10,100 No-Limit Hold’em | 125,000 | 40 minutes |
| Wed, Jan 31 | 6 | $15,100 No-Limit Hold’em | 125,000 | 40 minutes |
| Thu, Feb 1 | 7 | $15,100 No-Limit Hold’em | 125,000 | 40 minutes |
| Fri, Feb 2 | 8 | $25,200 No-Limit Hold’em | 150,000 | 45 minutes |
Previous Winners and Recent Champions Aim for Glory
In the past, the PokerGO Cup has been quite the lucrative tournament series for some of the best players ever to play poker. Last year, it was PokerGO owner Cary Katz himself who scooped the championship, while in 2022, everyone’s favorite poker crooner Jeremy Ausmus hit all the right notes on his way to becoming champion. In 2021, Daniel Negreanu proved top dog as the series returned post-COVID to much acclaim, with Kid Poker crown the winner.
This year, the battle for ultimate victory in leaderboard terms is likely to have a massive bearing on the current overall PGT leaderboard, with the PokerGO Cup the second qualifying series for PGT Points after David Coleman dominated the PGT Kick Off festival. Coleman will be a hot favorite to score points again, having cashed in four out of the five PGT Kick Off events, winning two of them outright.
Others to feature heavily in final tables include both Alex and Kristen Foxen. Between them, poker’s most powerful couple have reach eight final tables, with two big wins coming in the form of Kristen’s PGT Kick Off Event #5 win for $165,000 and Alex’s Lucky Hearts Open High Roller win worth over $426,000. Expect to see local crushers such as Samuel Laskowitz and Stephen Chidwick at the felt too, with both men featuring in this week’s Global Poker Award nominations.
Each PokerGO Cup event takes two days to play down to a winner. Day 1s will run to the final six players and Day 2’s final table will be streamed on PokerGO right down to a winner.
Who Can You Stake in the PokerGO Cup Action?
As we said at the top, you don’t need to fly to Las Vegas or sit down opposite the best in the world to play the PokerGO Cup – you can back the players with your own money. Some absolute superstars of the game are selling action, and their package can all be found on our dedicated Staking Page for the 2024 PokerGO Cup.
Aram Zobian is a big name in the high roller scene and can be bought at a markup of between 1.05 to 1.10 for a number of events, currently selling to Events #2, #3 and #4. Zobian is a live tournament killer and has cashed for $4.1 million in his lifetime, with his sixth-place finish in the 2018 WSOP Main Event winning him $1.8 million. Brock Wilson is a big draw too, and while the American is only selling to Events #2 and #3 at present (also at markup of between 1.05 and 1.10) he’s sure to consider later events and is already selling fast.
David ‘Chino’ Rheem has blazed a trail of success since confessing to us that he is living a life of redemption following a period where he struggled with addiction. He’s won millions in the last year alone and is selling to multiple events. His recent victories have cemented his place among the elite, especially within the PokerGO Studio.
Hayley Hanna is selling to the opening event only at present, but at no markup. Also selling without markup is the consistent poker tournament player, coach and author, Jonathan Little. The long-time professional has won millions in a stellar career. Victoria Livschitz is selling at no markup and has cashed in recent tournaments of the type to feature in the PokerGO Cup, as has the aforementioned Little. Finally, selling to the opening event – again without markup – is poker author and professional Maria Konnikova.
Who’ll come out on top? Put your money down and you can enjoy the sweat from the comfort of your own home while watching each final table play out on PokerGO.
