Championship Day 1A: Last Level to Register

$1,200 PPO Championship
$200,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure
Level 9:  800/1,600 with a 1,600 ante
Day 1A Entries:  59

Ken Fishman

Day 1A reached the ninth level of the day and time is running out if you want to join this flight. This will be the smallest of the three, so a good chance to build a bag.

Some late friends joining the field include Ken Fishman, Clyde Maliauka, Drew Dodge, and Brian Ray.

Clyde Maliauka (left) and Drew Dodge (right)
Brian Ray

Championship Day 1A: Justin Fawcett Leads

$1,200 PPO Championship
$200,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure
Level 7:  500/1,000 with a 1,000 ante
Day 1A Entries:  55

Justin Fawcett

Action is back underway in Flight A of the PPO Championship with 55 entries and Justin Fawcett. The recent WSOP bracelet winner is up to 135,600 and we have to think a lot of that came from former leader Joey Chalbaud since his seat is empty.

Khanh Truong and Rosert Aseter are the only other players over 100K with the former holding 101,300 and the latter with 100,200.

Players will work their way through three more levels before the third break and we close registration at 5:45 pm.

Khanh Truong

Championship Day 1A: Second Break

$1,200 PPO Championship
$200,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure
Level 6:  400/800 with a 800 ante
Day 1A Entries:  55

The second break is coming up with 55 entries in the mix and a nice group on a Thursday afternoon. We also have a great turnout in the 2 pm satellite with the two-seat guarantee already beaten, and registration is available until 4:15 pm.

We have another satellite $150 satellite running at 6 pm with another two seats up for grabs.

Championship Day 1A: Defending Champ Joins

$1,200 PPO Championship
$200,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure
Level 5:  300/600 with a 600 ante
Day 1A Entries:  47

Rafael Reis

Our defending champ is in the house.

Last year, WSOP bracelet winner Rafael Reis bagged the chip lead in Flight A of the PPO Championship and rode that all the way to an outright win a few days later. He banked $70,810 for beating the 322-entry field and is back today to try to do it again.

Rafael Reis, 2025 Pinktober Poker Open Champion

Championship Day 1A: Joey Chalbaund Leads Early

$1,200 PPO Championship
$200,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure
Level 4:  300/500 with a 500 ante
Day 1A Entries:  44

Joey Chalbaud

Players returned to action after the first break and we have 44 entries in the game so far. It’s a steady pace as they climb toward the $200,000 guarantee.

Joey Chalbaud leads early, up from his starting 30K to 97,300. Sitting next to him is David Piccolo, who has the second-biggest stack at 82,400 and both are off to a great start.

David Piccolo

Championship Day 1A: Early Friends

$1,200 PPO Championship
$200,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure
Level 3:  200/400 with a 400 ante
Day 1A Entries:  33

David Piccolo

We have 33 early friends in the Championship and a nice way to roll into a Thursday afternoon. They will get their first break at the top of the hour and continue the casual grind till bags later this evening.

Some early familiar faces include David Piccolo, Huicun “George” Qiao, Kevin Blewitt, Gabe Fuller, Luis Medina, and Jason Klapman.

Huicun Qiao
Kevin Blewitt
Gabe Fuller
Luis Medina
Jason Klapman

Roberto Melo Wins PPO Event 10 Outright for $11,760 and His Third of the Series

2026 Pinktober Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 10
$600 Six-Max No-Limit Hold’em
$20,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  64
Prize Pool:  $33,250
October 14, 2026

Roberto Melo, 2026 PPO Event 10 champion

The PPO $600 Six-Max No-Limit Hold’em tournament drew 64 entries for a prize pool worth $33,250 and Roberto Melo took the top spot outright for $11,760.

We’ve run ten tournaments so far this series, and this was his third trophy- crazy results. Congrats Roberto!

PlaceFirst NameLast NameCityStatePrize Amount
1RobertoMeloLakelandFL$11,760
2CheriIvanTampaFL$7,270
3JohnBaroneHilton Head IslandSC$4,570
4HarryJohnson IVLargoFL$3,070
5JustinFawcettGainesvilleFL$2,200
6JackNajjarOrlandoFL$1,770
7AaronVaughanNorth VancouverBC$1,420
8DrewDodgeSpring HillFL$1,290

Christopher Heeney Wins PPO Omaha 8 Title in Three-Way Deal for $3,618!

2026 Pinktober Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 9
$400 Limit Omaha 8
Entries:  33
Prize Pool:  $10,890
October 14, 2026

Christopher Heeney, 2026 PPO Event 9 champion

The last four-card tournament on the PPO schedule was the $400 Limit Omaha 8 tournament and it drew 33 entries for a prize pool worth $10,890. After a three-way deal, Christopher Heeney took the top spot for $3,618 plus the PPO trophy.

Congrats Christopher!

PlaceFirst NameLast NameCityStatePrize Amount
1ChristopherHeeneyTitusvilleFL$3,168 *
2BrianUlchWinter HavenFL$3,168 *
3LarrySt JeanOrmond BeachFL$2,514 *
4DavidGaninGainesvilleNJ$1,220
5ColinGordonBrightonCO$820

Championship Day 1A: Kicking off the Big Game

$1,200 PPO Championship
$200,000 Guaranteed  |  Structure
Level 1:  100/200 with a 200 ante

The preliminary trophy events wrapped up and now we roll out the 2026 Pinktober Poker Open Championship with Flight A at 11 am. The big game has a $1,200 buy-in with a $200,000 guaranteed prize pool and three starting flights.

Players sit down with 30K in their stacks and all levels last 40 minutes. Late registration and unlimited re-entries are available until the start of Level 10 at 5:45 pm.

Play will continue until 12.5% of the field remains and they will bag their chips for a Day 2 return on Sunday at 11 am.

  • $200,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool
  • Players begin with 30,000 in chips
  • Levels last 40 minutes
  • Late registration/re-entry available until start of Level 10 (5:45pm)
  • Day 1 will end when 12.5% of field remains
  • Championship Structure Sheet