Full House Cooler Decides $10,500 Poker Masters Event as Zavorotnijs Prevails
Vitalijs Zavorotnijs won the $10,500 NLH event at the 2026 Poker Masters with a full house cooler over Clemen Deng, taking $224,000 from an $800,000 pool built by 80 entries. Nicholas Palma’s third-place finish leads the Purple Jacket race. Zavorotnijs credited community collaboration among Latvian players.
SCCG Take — The cooler outcome highlights poker variance at high stakes while Palma’s positioning signals tight competition in the series, relevant for event operators tracking player engagement.
A brutal full house cooler in heads-up play brought Event #4 of the 2026 Poker Masters to an abrupt close. Vitalijs Zavorotnijs defeated Clemen Deng to claim the title and $224,000 first-place prize after both players made full houses on a Q-J-4 board. Zavorotnijs held queen-four to Deng’s jack-four, and his covering stack ended the match.
The $10,500 NLH tournament drew 80 entries and generated an $800,000 prize pool. It marked Zavorotnijs’ second PokerGO Tour title and ninth career win, adding to his 2019 WPT Barcelona Main Event victory. Deng earned $144,000 for second. Nicholas Palma placed third for $104,000, enough to place him atop the Purple Jacket leaderboard with his performances through the first four tournaments of the series.
Final Table Eliminations
Play on the final day at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas lasted roughly two hours. Andrew Lichtenberger went out in fifth for $56,000 after his queen-jack ran into Deng’s pocket aces. Jamie Dwan finished fourth for $76,000 when his ace-six lost to Deng’s seven-three on a rivered pair.
Palma’s elimination in third came when Zavorotnijs flopped a full house with pocket sevens. Deng entered heads-up with five prior PGT titles to Zavorotnijs’ one, but neither gained clear control before the cooler decided it.
Zavorotnijs Credits Cards and Community Support
According to reporting by PokerNews, Zavorotnijs was modest about the result. “It’s good to be at the final table at all. Even better to win,” he said. “The cards went my way. I think I played pretty good, got lucky at some point and won it. It’s usually what happens when you win the tournament.”
He pointed to a tight-knit group of Latvian and Lithuanian players who collaborate on their games. “We have quite a big group of Latvians and Lithuanians. We’re all trying to work together. We’re friends and hang out together, especially in the summers here,” he said. “I think our group made us much better than we could have been without it.”
Zavorotnijs also praised the venue itself. “I love playing here. I think it’s one of the best-organized venues that I have been to,” he said. The Poker Masters series continues at the same location.
Reporting: PokerNews
Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.
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