Adrian Mateos Wins Poker Masters Purple Jacket; Winter Takes $620K
Holaaaa, Madrid. On Friday 23 October 2026, Adrian Mateos won the Poker Masters Purple Jacket after the only man who could catch him ran pocket fives into ace-king.
The Purple Jacket goes to the player who stacks up the most points over ten events, and by the last day Adrian Mateos had a lead he could not defend. He had missed the money in each of the last three events, by his own account, so his fate sat in other people's hands. The only one who could still catch him was Jeremy Ausmus, who needed a top two finish in the $51,000 finale at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas.
With four players left, Ausmus got his chips in blind versus blind with pocket fives against Sean Winter's ace-king. The flop kept the fives in front. An ace on the turn flipped it, and another ace on the river ended the race. Ausmus went out in fourth for $170,500, and the jacket was Mateos's. Apparentlu, the best seat for a sweat is a long way from the felt.
Now the number. Across ten tournaments, Mateos bubbled five times, finishing just outside the money, and he called the run completely unbelievable. Half the series, he was the man who goes home with nothing. WATATATATAFAK.
When he did cash, he cashed big. He won Event #5 for $229,500 on Saturday 17 October, took second in Event #2 and finished fourth in Event #7 for $87,000. Five heartbreaks and three deep runs still added up to a jacket, and a $25,000 PGT Passport came with it.
The tournament itself belonged to Winter. He started the last day third in chips among seven survivors, hit the chip leader on the money bubble, then beat Sam Laskowitz heads-up in a field of 31 entries. First place paid $620,000, Laskowitz took $387,500, and Winter said a break in the middle of the series had helped him find his best game again. KACHINGUUU.
How many bubbles would youluwu sit through before buying into the next one? Mateos did five, and the long nose of the Spirit surely twitched at every one.
The jacket is purple, the bubbles are behind him, and the book of luck has five of them on the left page and one jacket on the right.
Which would youluwu rather take home: the $620K title or the jacket?
No right answer. Just your gut, and the Spirit watching.
