The 2025 PokerGO Cup starts on Tuesday February 11th and with ten days of action pitting some of poker’s finest against each other, guessing who will win could be difficult. With some of PokerStake’s most exciting players heading to Las Vegas and the PokerGO Studio, Sin City is the poker playground to watch over the next fortnight. Who will be banking profit for themselves and their PokerStake investors? We’ve broken down the bullets on offer and who represents the best value for victory.
The Reigning Champion Returns
“Being the PokerGO Cup champion was the highlight of my 2024.”
Jonathan Little is last year’s reigning PokerGO Cup champion, after his stunning victory in the eighth and final event of the series earned him overall victory and the legendary trophy. Taking home over $730,000 in winnings from the series, Little won not only Event #8 but the third event of the series.
“Being the PokerGO Cup champion was the highlight of my 2024,” Little told us. “I am going to do my best to make it the highlight of my 2025 too.”
In the final event of the 2024 series, the $25,000 ‘Main Event’, Little took the title to overtake David Peters at the top of the PokerGO Cup leaderboard, also outlasting fellow PokerStake player David Coleman, who came fourth for $346,900 in the same event. Little’s win in that event alone was worth an awesome $453,750. When we asked him what he plans to do to retain his title, he was quick and clear in his response.
“I plan to show up on time every day and play my absolute best,” he said. “Repeating [my win] would be a dream come true.”
No-one should rule out Little, because he always comes up with the goods in a career worth $8.8m in live tournament earnings alone. Selling to Events #2, #3, #5, #6 and #7, he is selling at markup of between 1.00 (zero markup) and 1.03, making him better value than ever before.
A World Series Legend Steps into the Ring
There is hardly anyone in poker more decorated than the 10-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, Erik Seidel. The 1988 WSOP Main Event runner-up, who won $280,000 in the year Johnny Chan’s famous ‘look to the sky’ earned The Orient Express $700,000 is selling to Events #1, #2, #3 and #4, with two bullets on offer to each event at a markup of between 1.06 and 1.10.
Here’s how Erik Seidel reacted to his most recent WSOP bracelet victory, which was worth a massive $1.7 million, in an interview with PokerNews back in December of 2023.
After not only beating Seth Gottlieb heads-up, but also outlasting players such as Orpen Kisacikoglu, Jason Koon and Alex Foxen in the final six, Seidel’s triumph reflects an extraordinary career where the New Yorker has taken on all comers at all stakes. That bracelet victory came in a $50,000-entry event, yet Seidel is just as comfortable at lower stakes too and knows how to play any field.
The former Mayfair Club player, who now resides in Las Vegas most of the year as opposed to his home city of New York, is still relentlessly passionate about the game of poker. Holding his own in three decades of action, Seidel is one of the best if not the best and is excellent value in each of the four events to which he is currently selling, which have buy-ins ranging from $5,300 to $10,500.
Who Else is Selling to the 2025 PokerGO Cup?
There are some terrific other players who are selling to events throughout the series exclusively on PokerStake. EPT champion and WSOP crusher Stephen Song is selling to Events #2 through #5, with a markup of either 1.05 and 1.10. Song’s recent performances have lived up the hype around him and we’ll have an in-depth look at Stephen’s chances in 2025 courtesy of the man himself when he speaks with us later this month.
Recent tournament winner Jess Vierling is pressing her edge, selling to the opening event only at present, with her first $5,300 bullet on sale at 1.08 and second bullet on sale at 1.04 markup. Aram Zobian, so reliable a player over some years now, is selling to four events during the series at a markup of between 1.07 and 1.15.
Cherish Andrews, who will be honored as the 2024 GPI Female Player of the Year at the Global Poker Awards on February 22, is also selling to seven out of the eight events, with buy-ins available at a markup of between 1.05 and 1.15. Justin Saliba is selling to just one event, the final event of the series, costing $26,000. Saliba’s sole buy-in is available at a 1.06 markup and should be invested in too.
Finally, the four-time World Poker Tour Main Event winner Darren Elias is selling at a markup of between 1.03 and 1.10 to a flurry of events. Elias, one of the world’s highest profile and most successful tournament players ever, has earned $13.2 million in a stellar career and currently sits in 104th place on The Hendon Mob All-Time Money List. Just one big score in Las Vegas could put him into the top 100 once more and Elias is a player who always knows what to do if he makes the final table. Ultra-reliable, he’s one to watch at the PokerGO Cup for sure.
Whoever you back at the 2025 PokerGO Cup, we can’t wait to bring you the action during the series in Las Vegas.
