Chad Eveslage came into the 2025 PokerGO Tour (PGT) $1,000,000 Championship Freeroll with a point to prove. Best known as one of poker’s top mixed-game specialists, the four-time WSOP bracelet winner delivered a powerful statement by conquering a stacked no-limit Texas Hold’em field and walking away with the $500,000 top prize.
Earlier in March, Eveslage captured the $100,000 Super High Roller Bowl Mixed Games inside the PokerGO Studio. This time, however, he showed that his elite-level decision-making translates just as well to hold’em, overcoming some of the toughest competition on the tour.
“It feels great,” Eveslage said after the victory. “I don’t always feel super confident in my no-limit game, so battling against all these great players and winning feels amazing. Ten out of ten.”
The exclusive freeroll featured the top 40 players from the PGT leaderboard along with 14 Dream Seat qualifiers. The Day 2 final table was loaded with star power, including Poker Hall of Famer Daniel Negreanu, accomplished pros Michael Wang and John Riordan, Dream Seat winner Aaron Kupin, and online legend Andrew “LuckyChewy” Lichtenberger.
Lichtenberger controlled much of the tournament and entered the final stages as the clear frontrunner. However, Eveslage surged at the perfect moment, and a brief heads-up match was all it took for him to secure the title.
The final day began with seven players and only six paid spots, and the bubble burst quickly when Eric Blair lost a coin flip, his ace-queen falling to Kupin’s pocket nines.
Negreanu, playing his first tournament of the year, started the day strong. He chipped up early after flopping a full house against start-of-day chip leader Michael Wang. As expected, Negreanu brought energy and entertainment to the broadcast, mixing poker insight with wide-ranging discussions that covered everything from nutrition to extraterrestrials.
“This is like social media, except better,” Negreanu said during a break. “We’re playing poker, learning things, and putting on a show at the same time.”
He also revisited a notable hand from Day 1, where he chose to call a river bet with a set of eights rather than raise, only to find out Wang held a higher set.
“There’s no theory that says you shouldn’t raise there,” Negreanu explained. “But exploitatively, there’s a deeper reason. That’s a conversation for another time.”
Negreanu’s run ended in fourth place when his ace-six failed to improve against Eveslage’s pocket jacks. Those same jacks would later become the tournament-winning hand, as Eveslage picked them up again against Lichtenberger to close out the event.
Starting the day as the second-shortest stack, Eveslage credited both favorable spots and steady execution for his success.
“The first goal was just to make the money,” he said. “After that, everything clicked. I was on the right side of a few coolers, and things went my way.”
For Eveslage, the win carried special meaning. While he has become synonymous with mixed games, no-limit hold’em remains close to his roots.
“I started out playing no-limit tournaments,” he said. “I moved into mixed games later, but I’ve probably played more no-limit overall. I still love it, and this win reminded me why.”
