Twenty-six players competed across six thrilling events, breaking multiple records, while newcomers emerged as champions and veterans rediscovered their winning form. Relive the highlights of our most competitive season yet.
As we opened 2025, expectations were sky-high. We set five aggressive prize pool guarantees, anticipated strong comebacks from players who struggled in 2024, and wondered which new faces would make their mark. We asked whether we’d see the emergence of a new power couple and whether anyone could ever bust Altaf in a Main Event.
Those expectations weren’t just met—they were exceeded. Four first-time champions emerged. Record attendance shattered our prize pool targets. Comebacks materialized, a new power couple rose through the ranks, and yes, someone finally busted Altaf in a Main Event.
Read on to relive everything that made 2025 unforgettable, including:
- New PPC records
- Four first-time champions
- Comeback seasons by three longtime players
- Six fresh faces joining the club
- New tournament formats that shook things up
Or skip ahead to see what’s coming in 2026 or jump to our “by the numbers” summary of the season →)
Breaking Every Record in the Book
The 2025 season shattered our expectations in every measurable way:
Prize Money and Attendance:
- $2,555 total prize money awarded – the most ever for a single season, despite having one fewer event than 2024
- $445 average prize pool – nearly 15% larger than last year
- 26 players competed in at least one event, with 20 walking away with prize money at least once
- 16.8 average players per event – a 30% increase from 2024
- 118 total entries (15% increase from 2024)
Individual Event Records:
- Largest prize pool ever: $720 at our Deepstack Championship in July (Event 4)
- Most total entries in an event: 24 at the Deepstack Championship (narrowly beating last year’s 23)
- Largest Main Event field ever: 20 players in October—our second-largest field for any event in PPC history
- Most knockouts in a single event: 10 by Luciano in Event 5 (Peggy’s nine-KO performance in the Main Event is a close second)
These aren’t just numbers—they represent a growing, thriving community of players who showed up game after game to compete, improve, and have fun together.
What was your favorite moment from the 2025 season? Leave a comment below and share your most memorable hand, your biggest surprise, or what you’re most looking forward to in 2026!
Six Events, Four First-Time Champions
Each tournament in 2025 had its own character, and four of them crowned breakthrough winners:
Event 1 – January: Unlimited Re-Entry ChampionshipÂ
Winner: Thuy (first PPC victory)
Thuy kicked off the season by validating one of our preseason storylines—riding her momentum from 2024 (including her Comeback Player of the Year award) straight to her first PPC victory. She dominated the final table by knocking out the last five players in a row, totaling 6 knockouts on the night and setting an aggressive tone that would define the entire season.
Event 2 – March: Spring SurvivorÂ
Winners: Kasra, Matt, Shealyn, and Rob
In our first-ever Survivor format, four players shared the spoils. The highlight? An epic 30-minute bubble battle where no one wanted to be the last player eliminated without prize money. Kasra, Matt, and Shealyn each got all-in as the underdog and at risk of busting, but each pulled off an unlikely upset to survive before Sharon lost a coin flip to become the last woman out. The strong performances from Kasra and Shealyn set the stage for the fulfillment of another preseason storyline—their comeback seasons were underway.
Event 3 – May: Tag Team ChampionshipÂ
Winners: Kasra and Tania (Tania’s first PPC victory)
Kasra and Tania teamed up to dominate the field, with Shealyn and Emma finishing second. The event hit on two preseason storylines: first, continuing Kasra and Shealyn’s comeback seasons as their teams finished 1st and 2nd; and second, marking the emergence of a new PPC power couple as Kasra and Tania began to surge past our reigning couple, Matt and Crystal.
Tania’s breakthrough proved no fluke—she followed up with a runner-up finish and a 3rd place across just five total events. Her willingness to adapt her game and implement strategy tips in real-time (literally reading articles at the table during one event) paid immediate dividends and earned her the 2025 Rising Star award.
Event 4 – July: Deepstack ChampionshipÂ
Winner: Peggy (first PPC victory)
With 24 entries creating a $720 prize pool, this was our largest event ever. Peggy emerged victorious in the first of what would become two dominant wins. The Deepstack Championship and Main Event—our two largest and most skill-intensive tournaments of the year—proved she could excel in the deepest-stacked, most competitive fields. She jumped from worst-to-first in the standings after this victory and never looked back, ultimately claiming the 2025 Player of the Year award.
Event 5 – September: Win-the-Button ChampionshipÂ
Winner: Luciano (first PPC victory)
Our regular season finale featured the exciting “Win-the-Button” format, which incentivized aggressive play by making players fight for poker’s most valuable seat. The format worked exactly as designed—Luciano put on one of the most impressive individual performances in PPC history.
His dark horse victory came as a surprise, but his record 10 knockouts proved it was no fluke. Leveraging the Win-the-Button format’s aggressive dynamics, he systematically eliminated player after player. He followed up with another final table at the Main Event, establishing himself as a dangerous competitor and earning the 2025 Pinnacle Bounty Hunter award for his elimination prowess.
Event 6 – October: Main Event Championship Freeroll
Winner: Peggy (second victory)
The culmination of our season answered our final remaining preseason question: whether Altaf would ever bust in a Main Event. He made an uncharacteristically early exit, and Peggy went on to dominate, knocking out nearly half the 20-player field to win the championship. She became the first player to win both Player of the Year and the Main Event in the same year.
The Comeback Stories
Several players had defining rebound seasons after disappointing 2024 campaigns:
Kasra’s Complete Turnaround After a difficult 2024 season (three appearances, all minimum points), Kasra’s results completely turned around in 2025. A more favorable schedule allowed him to attend more games, and consistent play let the variance even out—his skill, which he’d always possessed, reflected in the results once again (as it had in 2023). Two wins, five final tables in six games, and a 3rd place POY finish earned him the 2025 Comeback Player of the Year award and validated our preseason expectations of his return to form.
Shealyn’s Strong Finish After finishing #17 in the 2024 standings with just 5 points across four games, Shealyn bounced back impressively in 2025. She climbed to #10 with 15.5 points in just three games—making the money in our survivor event and finishing runner-up in the Tag Team Championship. Her comeback likely would have been even bigger if UCLA commitments hadn’t kept her away from a few events and if she hadn’t missed the Main Event after moving to Northern California following graduation. Now settled up north, she’ll likely transition from regular competitor to guest star, making occasional appearances in one or two games per year.
Quang’s Re-Emergence After nearly two years without a win, Quang came tantalizingly close in Event 5, ultimately finishing 2nd after coming within two bad beats of claiming the title. His 11-spot jump in the standings signals his return to championship form and sets up an exciting 2026 campaign.
Fresh Faces Join the Club
Six new players joined the Pinnacle Poker Club in 2025, bringing fresh energy and competition to our tables. Hari played 4 games, made two final tables, and immediately established himself as a serious contender. Sunil played 3 games and finished 3rd in his first PPC Main Event. Emma played 2 games and finished 2nd in her very first event (alongside her teammate Shealyn in the Tag Team Championship). Ravina (3 games), Keriann (2 games), and Lakshmi (1 game) all played their first games with us as well.
The influx of talented new players raised the competition level across the board and contributed to the record-breaking attendance numbers. We’re excited to see how these players impact the 2026 season.
New Formats Keep Things Interesting
Two new tournament formats proved to be huge hits in 2025:
Survivor (Event 2)Â The Spring Survivor delivered exactly what we hoped for: strategic gameplay where survival mattered more than aggression. The 30-minute bubble battle remains one of the most exciting sequences in PPC history, with players navigating the fine line letting others bust and picking up enough chips to stay alive.
Win-the-Button (Event 5) This format added a fascinating dynamic where button position—poker’s most valuable seat—had to be won through aggressive play. Players enjoyed the additional strategic layer, and it created more action-packed poker than traditional formats, directly contributing to Luciano’s record-breaking knockout spree.
We also reprised our Tag Team Championship with a new structure that combined individual performance in the first hour with team play for the remainder of the tournament, creating a fun blend of personal play and partnership strategy.
Looking Ahead to 2026
If 2025 taught us anything, it’s that the Pinnacle Poker Club is growing more competitive and more fun with each passing season. Here’s what’s coming in 2026:
Exciting New Formats 2026 will introduce Pineapple—our first venture beyond Hold’em—and a Kentucky Derby-themed event. We’ll also bring back four popular formats from previous years based on player feedback. The mix of innovation and tradition will keep every event fresh while maintaining the fun that we’ve built in our first three seasons.
Tentative 2026 Schedule:
- January 17 – Third Annual Season Opener: Unlimited Re-Entry Championship
- March 21 or 28 – Tag Team Championship OR Spring Survivor (Vote for your preference below!)
- May 9 – Kentucky Derby-Themed Freezeout
- July 11, 18, or 25 – Third Annual Summer Deepstack Championship
- September 5 – Pineapple Championship (our first non-Hold’em game!)
- November 7 or 14 – Main Event Championship Freeroll
- December (TBD) – Possible Final Table Tournament of Champions (freeroll featuring all event winners, including Main Event champion)
Enhanced Player Experience We’re making upgrades to improve your tournament experience, including an outdoor heater for comfortable play year-round and a third automatic shuffler to speed up gameplay and reduce downtime now that we often have three tables in play.
More Strategy Content Our strategy article series had a visible impact this year, with players across the field adopting more aggressive, winning styles throughout the season. We’ll continue expanding our educational content with new articles, starting with some tips on simple post-flop strategies to help everyone stay competitive as the field continues to strengthen. Have a question about how to play? Leave a comment below or email Chris and we will answer it in an upcoming article.
Final Thoughts
The 2025 season delivered everything we could have hoped for and more. What made it special wasn’t just the competition or the record prize pools—it was the camaraderie, the memorable hands, the improbable comebacks, and the Saturday nights spent around the felt with friends. From Thuy’s dominant season opener to Luciano’s record knockout spree to Peggy’s two big wins, 2025 gave us moments we’ll remember for years.
Whether you played in all six events or are considering joining us for the first time in 2026, you’re part of something that keeps getting better. The Pinnacle Poker Club continues to grow, the competition keeps getting tougher, and the fun never stops.
We’d love to hear from you! What would make the 2026 season even better? Any format requests, schedule preferences, or other suggestions? Drop a comment below—your feedback helps shape our future events.
Registration for our January 17 season opener will be announced soon. Based on this year’s momentum, you won’t want to wait to secure your spot. We’ll see you at the tables!
By The Numbers: 2025 Season Statistics
Tournaments:
- 6 events
- $2,555 total prize money awarded
- $445 average prize pool (14.9% increase from 2024)
- 26 players
- 16.8 average players per event (30% increase from 2024)
- 118 total entries (15% increase from 2024)
- 20 players (77%) cashed at least once
Record-Breaking Moments:
- Largest single prize pool: $720 (Event 4)
- Most entries in an event: 24 (Event 4)
- Largest Main Event field: 20 players
- Most knockouts in single event: 10 (Luciano, Event 5)
- First POY + Main Event winner in same season (Peggy)
2025 Award Winners:
- Player of the Year: Peggy
- Comeback Player of the Year: Kasra
- Pinnacle Bounty Hunter: Luciano
- Rising Star: Tania
2025 Player of the Year Top 5:
- Peggy
- Luciano
- Kasra
- Christina
- Tania
First-Time Winners:
- Thuy (Event 1)
- Peggy (Events 4 & 6)
- Tania (Event 3, with Kasra)
- Luciano (Event 5)
Want to be part of the action in 2026? Keep an eye out for registration announcements coming soon. And in the meantime, check out our strategy articles to prepare your game for next season!