The PokerGO Tour (PGT) Championship $1 million freeroll kicked off Tuesday, and part of the focus from the poker community was on a player whose behavior irritated viewers and even some in the field.
Dream Seat qualifier Jeff Lennon didn’t reach the final table, which will take place at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas on Wednesday, but he certainly made a name for himself during the live-stream as he appeared to be intoxicated, using vulgar language at times and complimenting a female opponent’s appearance.
Aside from the shenanigans, six players bagged chips and are still alive in the quest for the $500,000 first place prize. Everyone back for Day 2 will go home with at least $40,000, and the seventh place finisher — Samuel Laskowitz — received nothing. Daniel Smiljkovic will enter the final table with a sizable chip advantage.
PGT Championship Final Table Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Smiljkovic | 2,580,000 |
| 2 | Daniel Weinman | 1,430,000 |
| 3 | Leon Sturm | 1,065,000 |
| 4 | Artur Martirosyan | 755,000 |
| 5 | Leon Sturm | 580,000 |
| 6 | Darren Elias | 180,000 |
Foxen Unhappy with Dream Seat Winners
Alex Foxen, one of 54 players who competed in the freeroll, made it be known on X that he didn’t care much for the “dream seat” concept, which gave some non-top pros a shot to play. The two-time GPI Player of the Year, considered to be arguably the best high-stakes tournament grinder in the world, typed up a series of critical tweets.
“Believe it or not, people enjoy watching high level poker. We don’t need to race to the bottom to try to get views, especially in an event that is supposed to have significant prestige” Foxen continued before praising the PokerGO Tour for “giving back to players” with the season-ending freeroll.
Foxen took issue with the PGT Championship allowing in “dream seat” winners and a few other non-high rollers. Instead, he’d prefer the “Championship” to be a competition between the best players in the world, not “clowns” like Lennon.
Lennon’s antics came under fire from viewers in the YouTube chat who didn’t appreciate some of the comments he directed at actress Arden Cho, the only female on the stream who also happens to be an amateur poker player. One conversation between the two competitors was heavily criticized in the live-stream chat.
“Your boyfriend’s a poker player, isn’t he?” Lennon asked Cho.
“I don’t have a boyfriend, and I don’t date poker players,” Cho responded.
“Are you into girls? What’s going on here? Something’s off,” Lennon questioned.
“Something’s off?” asked Cho.
“Something is definitely off because you’re super hot. You’re super hot and you don’t have a boyfriend,” the intoxicated player stated.
“I have a lot of poker-playing friends,” said Cho.
“Poker players are f*****g nerds,” Lennon proclaimed.
Lennon didn’t keep silent much during the few hours he appeared on the stream before PokerGO eventually featured a different table. He later busted in 22nd place.
Negreanu Out Early, Smiljkovic Leads
Daniel Negreanu, fresh off his first win of 2024, reached the PGT Championship with 134 big blinds to start (each player began the freeroll with a stack size based on their 2023 PGT finish). However, he never spun up a stack and was eliminated on the first hand once the live-stream began filming with A♠Q♠ when he ran into the Q♥Q♦ Erik Seidel had in the hole.
Seidel, however, also failed to reach the money and went home empty-handed. Phil Hellmuth, Foxen, and Stephen Chidwick were also among those unable to find a bag. Isaac Haxton was the last player to bust before the Day 1 session concluded Tuesday night.
Smiljkovic, with 2,580,000 chips, has a sizable lead over Daniel Weinman, who is in second place with 1,430,000 chips. Leon Sturm is third with 1,065,000, followed by Artur Martirosyan 755,000-chip stack. Cho (580,000) and Darren Elias (180,000) round out what should be a competitive final table.
The blinds will remain at 10,000/15,000 with a 15,000 big blind ante when the live-stream begins at 1 p.m. PT. PokerNews will bring you a winner recap on Wednesday after a champion has been crowned.
*Feature image courtesy of PokerGO.
