Kronwitter Wins Second PGT PLO Title in

Jonas Kronwitter has become a two-time champion at the PGT PLO Series 2026 in Las Vegas, winning the $15,700 Pot-Limit Omaha event just two days after his first victory of the series. The Austrian defeated Finnish high-stakes regular Joni Jouhkimainen heads-up, with the two players agreeing to an ICM deal before the final hand was played.

Event #7 Draws 65 Entries

The seventh four-card event of the series carried a $15,700 buy-in and attracted 65 entries, generating a total prize pool of $975,000. The top 10 finishers were paid.

Seven players returned for the final day, with Jouhkimainen holding a commanding chip lead. The final table moved quickly: Jouhkimainen flopped a nut flush to eliminate Nick Palma in seventh place, and he went on to account for three more eliminations as the field narrowed.

Kronwitter, however, engineered a comeback once play reached three-handed. He doubled through the then-chip leader and later eliminated Jeremy Druckman in third place to set up the heads-up match.

Heads-Up ICM Deal

Kronwitter entered heads-up play with a lead of nearly 3:1 over Jouhkimainen. The two quickly agreed to an ICM deal, which awarded Jouhkimainen $215,062 while Kronwitter, as the official winner, collected $267,563. The result also moved Kronwitter to the top of the overall PGT PLO Series standings.

Kronwitter now holds two PGT titles, both earned during this series. Two days earlier, he won Event #5, a $10,000 PLO tournament, for $201,000.

Event #7: $15,700 Pot-Limit Omaha Results

• 1. Jonas Kronwitter (Austria) — $267,563*
• 2. Joni Jouhkimainen (Finland) — $215,062*
• 3. Jeremy Druckman (USA) — $131,625
• 4. Matthew Wantman (USA) — $97,500
• 5. Lautaro Guerra (Spain) — $73,125
• 6. Nino Pansier (Netherlands) — $53,625
• 7. Nick Palma (USA) — $39,000
• 8. Jiyang Gan (USA) — $39,000
• 9. Brevin Andreadis (USA) — $29,250
• 10. Ted Lawson (USA) — $29,250

*heads-up deal

What an ICM Deal Means

An ICM (Independent Chip Model) deal is a common arrangement in tournament poker when play reaches the late stages, particularly heads-up. Rather than playing down to a single winner for the full difference between first and second place, the remaining players agree to split the prize money according to the chip-value equity of their stacks.

In a typical arrangement, players lock up a guaranteed sum based on ICM calculations and may leave a smaller amount aside to be played for. The player who ultimately wins the tournament is still recorded as the official champion and receives the trophy and title, even though the payout has been adjusted.

ICM deals are especially common in high-roller and high-buy-in events, where the gap between first and second place can be substantial and players prefer to reduce variance. The exact terms are negotiated between the players, and the tournament director supervises the process to ensure the numbers are correct.

Pot-Limit Omaha Format Notes

Pot-Limit Omaha differs from No-Limit Hold'em in two key ways. Players receive four hole cards instead of two, and the maximum bet is capped at the size of the pot rather than the size of the player's stack. These structural differences tend to produce more multiway pots, more drawing situations, and larger average pot sizes, which is one reason PLO has become a fixture in high-stakes tournament series.

In PLO, players must use exactly two of their four hole cards to form their final five-card hand. This rule is a frequent source of confusion for players transitioning from Hold'em and is central to hand-reading at the table.

Series Context

The PGT PLO Series is a dedicated Pot-Limit Omaha tournament series held in Las Vegas, featuring a schedule of four-card events at varying buy-in levels. The series awards points toward an overall standings race, and Kronwitter's two wins in three days have put him in the lead.

With the series still in progress, the standings remain subject to change as further events are played. Kronwitter's back-to-back results represent one of the stronger stretches of the series so far.