The opening event of the 2024 PokerGO Cup saw 111 entrants create a bumper kick-off to the prestigious collection of high roller tournaments in Las Vegas. David Peters saw off a final table featuring stars of the felt such as Shawn Daniels, Fabian Quoss and Cody Daniels as the American Peters won the top prize of $141,525 inside the PokerGO Studio.
Superstars Make the Money
Ove the course of a very busy first day of action, 111 entrants were reduced to seven finalists as 16 players got paid. It was Peters who busted the ‘bubble’ player Anthony Hu, who missed out on profit by one place. Hu called off his stack of 250,000 chips with 
pre-flop after Peters had shoved with 
and a runout of 
skittled Hu’s chances as his two overs – and Broadway gutshot from the flop – failed to come in.
That elimination gave Peters a big stack and put everyone remaining in the cardroom into profit. Farah Galfond (16th for $8,325) min-cashed in the $5,100-entry event, before the 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel joined her on the rail in 15th place for $11,100 when his 
couldn’t hold against Dutchman Joris Riujs’ 
with all the chips in the middle of the table before the flop.
Bust-outs for popular professionals Andrew ‘Chewy’ Lichtenberger (13th for $11,100), Stoyan Madanzhiev (10th for $16,650) and Jeremy Becker (8th for $22,200) sent the final seven to the last table in the tournament. At that point, Jonathan Little – who sold his action to the event on PokerStake via the official PokerGO Cup staking page – busted in seventh place for $22,200. Little went big with 
, moving all-in pre-flop from the small blind, but ran into Mark Ioli’s 
in the big blind and he called, a board of 
fell to give Ioli a full house by the river and the final six were confirmed.
Daniels and Smith Depart
When players returned to the purple felt on the second and final day of the event, Cody Daniels got off to the worst start possible. The brave player – who is dealing with a terminal diagnosis – moved all-in pre-flop for 1.27 million chips with and was looking good for a massive double-up when Ioli called with 
. That was still on the cards when the flop of 
and turn of 
landed. But the river had a sting in its tail, a 
coming to doom Daniels to defeat and send him home with a sixth-place cash of $27,750.
Not long after Daniels deoarted, he was joined on the rail by Dusti Smith. All-in with 
, she was called by Shawn Daniels with 
and the leading hand held, a jack-high board no use to Smith as she left the table in fifth place for $36,075. That pot was an important one for Smith as she lost her last chips, but was all-in for just 555,000 and Daniels used it to jump to 2.63 million, still some way behind the leader Ioli with 6.4m chips.
German player Fabian Quoss was the next one to go, busting in fourth for $49,950. David Peters was the aggressor in the hand, and after a board of 
had landed, all the chips went into the middle as Quoss check-raised all-in and Peters made the call. Quoss held a king-high flush draw with 
and was way behind Peters’ 
. The river was the and that condemned Quoss to the rail, as Peters moved, like a shark in shallow water, into the top two.
Peters Rules Supreme
With three-handed poker beginning, Shawn Daniels was the short stack. He made a winning start to proceedings, getting a shove through, but soon after was called. All-in with , Daniels was behind his caller David Peters with 
and the board of 
sent play heads-up as Daniels left in third for $63,825.
With just two players left, Peters had 5.4 million chips, with Ioli on 8,475,000 in the lead. Peters is a fierce competitor and in one crucial hand, doubled into the lead. On a flop of 
, Ioli shoved with 
and Peters snap-called with . Holding trips and a blocker, Peters had the advantage as a turn of 
and river landed to catapult him into a commanding position.
Soon after, Peters shoved with and Ioli called with the dominated 
. The board of 
7c] saw Peters hold with ease and he took home the top prize of $141,525, with Ioli claiming the $88,800 runner-up prize. Peters’ win not only bagged him the trophy, but put him into 11th place on the 2024 PokerGO Tour leaderboard. The Top 40 players will take place in the million-dollar freeroll at the end of the 2024 season.
| 2024 PokerGO Cup Event #1 $5,100 Final Table Results: | |||
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | David Peters | United States | $141,525 |
| 2nd | Mark Ioli | United States | $88,800 |
| 3rd | Shawn Daniels | United States | $63,825 |
| 4th | Fabian Quoss | Germany | $49,950 |
| 5th | Dusti Smith | United States | $36,075 |
| 6th | Cody Daniels | United States | $27,750 |
| 7th | Jonathan Little | United States | $22,200 |
