All in for half a big blind, the smallest stack at the final table, and down almost two to one in chips during heads-up. Kara came back from all three.
Kara nearly went home early on Saturday night, and more than once. At one point in the middle of the night, she was all in for half of a big blind. When the final table formed, she had the smallest stack of the seven players left, by a lot. And when it came down to the last two, she was behind by almost two to one.
She survived every one of those moments, then won almost every hand of heads-up to become our 2026 Main Event Champion. It’s her second title of the season and her third PPC title overall, which ties the club record.
Awards First, Then Cards in the Air
Before the first hand, we handed out the 2026 season awards: Altaf (Player of the Year), Roman (Rookie of the Year), James (Comeback Player of the Year), Luciano (Rising Star), and Quang (Pinnacle Poker Shark).
Then ten players sat down with stacks they had spent all year building. Altaf had the biggest stack in the room at 63,000, and James was next at 55,000. The only cash on the table was a $20 bounty on each of the four 2026 champions in the field: Altaf, James, Kara, and Tania (Luciano couldn’t make it).
Two Hours and 44 Minutes Before Anyone Busted
Deep stacks made for a patient start. By Level 8, the average stack was down to 11 big blinds, and still nobody had been knocked out.
Sam had the most eventful early night. He kept making the second-best hand, including a flush that ran into a bigger flush, until the last hand before the first break, when his pocket jacks held up against A-K for the biggest pot of the night to that point. After another long dry spell, he won back-to-back pots in Level 7, but a few minutes later he ran into pocket aces.
Then, about half an hour later, with the blinds at 3,000 and 6,000, Sam was all in from the big blind for his last 1,000 chips. Four players stayed in to see the cards. Sam needed diamonds, but they didn’t come, and Quang won the pot. That made Sam the night’s first knockout, 2 hours and 44 minutes after the first hand was dealt. It’s our longest wait for a first knockout ever.
Tania Takes Over the Grey Table
Once the first player busted, the next two followed within ten minutes. At the Grey table, Tania knocked out Christina and, a minute later, Altaf, collecting Altaf’s $20 champion bounty. (Altaf, the reigning Player of the Year and a two-time Main Event champion, finished 8th. Christina, our 2024 Player of the Year, finished 9th.)
That sent Tania to the final table with the chip lead. By then, the average stack was about 6½ big blinds, and the chip counts showed how uneven things had become:
| Player | Chips | Big blinds |
|---|---|---|
| Tania | 121,000 | 12.1 |
| Chris | 80,000 | 8.0 |
| Quang | 69,000 | 6.9 |
| Kasra | 64,000 | 6.4 |
| Thuy | 62,000 | 6.2 |
| James | 50,000 | 5.0 |
| Kara | 18,000 | 1.8 |
Approximate chip counts at the start of the final table, in Level 10 (blinds of 5,000 and 10,000).
Kara’s Climb Back Starts
Kara had started the night with 44,000, but by the middle levels, she had dwindled so far that she’d had to survive an all-in for half a big blind just to make it to the final table. Even then, her 18,000 was less than two big blinds with the blinds at 5,000 and 10,000, and nobody else at the table had fewer than 50,000.
Her first double-up came against Kasra. Kara moved all in with K♦️ 9♦️, and Kasra called with J♠️ 10♣️. The board came 6♦️ 5♦️ 3♠️ 6♥️ Q♠️, giving both players the board’s pair of sixes and its queen, and Kara’s king won the pot.
Four Players In, and Kasra Takes It All
Kasra got those chips back right away. Down to 16,000 chips (exactly one big blind by then), he moved all in, and Quang, Kara, and Chris all called. The flop came K♠️ 10♠️ 3♠️, the turn brought the 8♠️, and the three callers checked it the rest of the way. Kasra turned over Q♠️ 10♦️: a flush, beaten only by the ace of spades, which nobody had. Quang showed A♦️ 2♦️, Kara 8♦️ 6♥️, and Chris A♥️ 9♣️, and Kasra quadrupled his stack.
A Jack on the River
About ten minutes later, Kara was all in again with A♠️ 3♠️, and this time Quang called with 9♥️ 8♠️. The flop and turn came J♥️ 10♥️ 10♠️ 8♣️, giving Quang two pair (tens and eights) and a chance at a straight. Kara needed help.
She got it from the J♠️ on the river. With two pairs on the board, jacks and tens, Quang’s pair of eights no longer counted, so both players’ best hands came down to those two pairs plus their highest other card. Kara’s ace beat Quang’s nine, and she doubled up again.
Quang’s Long Goodbye
Quang played his own survival game in the final table’s first half hour. In Level 11, three players saw a flop, Quang moved all in, James called, and Tania folded. James’s K-J paired the king on the flop and made two pair on the river (K-5-3-2-J), beating Quang’s A-2, but James had fewer chips, so Quang survived with what was left. Ten minutes later, he was all in from the big blind against two players and won that pot, surviving yet again. His next all-in, a couple of minutes later, came up short against Chris, and Quang finished 7th, capping a season that had just earned him the Pinnacle Poker Shark award.
James Takes the Biggest Pot of the Night (So Far)
Five minutes later, with the blinds at 12,000 and 24,000, James called a raise to 50,000. Both players checked the flop, and when James moved all in on the turn, Chris folded. It was the biggest pot of the night up to that point, with six players left.
Pocket Aces, Two Knockouts
Six minutes later, Thuy picked up pocket aces at the perfect moment. Tania moved all in before the flop, Kasra ended up all in on the flop, and Thuy had them both covered. Neither Moayedi could catch up, and Thuy knocked out two players on one hand: Tania in 6th (with Tania’s $20 champion bounty going to Thuy) and Kasra in 5th.
Four Left, and Everyone Kept Surviving
With four players left and the blinds climbing fast, almost every hand was an all-in. In Level 13 (blinds of 20,000 and 40,000), Kara moved all in and James called. She had A-5, he had A-3, and the board came Q-8-4-K-T. Both players’ best hand was their ace plus the board’s king, queen, 10, and 8, so they split a pot of about 200,000 chips.
Three minutes later, Kara moved all in again, this time with A♥️ 8♥️, and James called with K♣️ Q♣️. The flop came 7-4-2, the ace on the turn gave Kara a pair, and the king on the river gave James a pair of kings, still short of Kara’s aces. Kara doubled up, and James was left with about 15,000 chips, less than half of a big blind.
James hung on anyway. The blinds forced him all in twice, first from the big blind, then from the small blind the very next hand, and he won both times.
Thuy’s night ended a couple of minutes later, with the blinds up to 30,000 and 60,000. She was in the small blind with only 45,000 chips, less than a full big blind, so she put her last 15,000 in with 9♥️ 7♠️. Chris, in the big blind, already had her covered with 10♠️ 4♠️. The flop came T-5-4, giving Chris two pair, tens and fours. Thuy needed help on both the turn and the river, and the king and the 3 didn’t give it. She finished 4th, with two knockouts and a champion bounty to show for her night.
Four minutes after that, Chris moved all in from the button with 9-2, and James called for the rest of his chips with 10-4. The flop came A-8-2, giving Chris a pair of twos, and neither the ace on the turn nor the jack on the river helped James. He had survived two all-ins from the blinds, but not this one. James finished 3rd, and his champion bounty went to Chris.
Heads-Up: Nearly Every Hand
That left Kara and Chris, with Chris holding about 285,000 chips to Kara’s 170,000. Heads-up lasted 11 minutes, and Kara won nearly every hand of it. Chris won exactly two pots, both when Kara folded before the flop. Both times, Chris had a strong hand (A-Q and pocket twos), making it even clearer that Kara made all the right moves. Every other hand, Kara either moved all in and forced a fold, or turned over the better hand at the end.
The last hand came just after the blinds went up to 50,000 and 100,000. Chris was all in from the small blind (for less than a full blind) with 3♥️ 8♦️, and Kara called with 5♥️ 4♠️. The flop of K-T-3 gave Chris a pair of threes, but the turn was a 4, giving Kara a bigger pair. The river was another 4, giving Kara three of a kind and the title.
As for the champion bounties, four players went home with $20 each: Tania (Altaf’s), Thuy (Tania’s), Chris (James’s), and Kara, who kept her own.
Final Standings
| Place | Player | Starting chips | Knocked out by | Bounty won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kara 🏆 | 44,000 | — | $20 |
| 2 | Chris | 42,000 | Kara | $20 |
| 3 | James | 55,000 | Chris | — |
| 4 | Thuy | 46,000 | Chris | $20 |
| 5 | Kasra | 46,000 | Thuy | — |
| 6 | Tania | 48,000 | Thuy | $20 |
| 7 | Quang | 46,000 | Chris | — |
| 8 | Altaf | 63,000 | Tania | — |
| 9 | Christina | 41,000 | Tania | — |
| 10 | Sam | 29,000 | Quang | — |
A freeroll: no buy-in and no Player of the Year points. The only cash was a $20 bounty on each 2026 event champion in the field (Altaf, James, Kara, and Tania); Kara kept her own.
The full results, knockouts, and stats are at stats.pinnacle.poker.
What’s Next
Our season wrap is coming soon, with the stories behind each of the 2026 awards and a look back at the whole year. After that, in early December, we’ll share the full plan for Season 5, including what you told us in our survey. If you haven’t filled it out yet, there’s still time, and it takes about three minutes: pinnacle.poker/survey.
For now, save the date: Season 5 opens on Saturday, January 23, 2027 (still tentative until the schedule is final).
Congratulations, Kara, and thank you to all ten players for a great finish to the season. From half a big blind to the title: what a way to win it.