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Adrian Mateos won Event #5 of the 2026 Poker Masters, beating Nick Schulman heads-up in the $10,500 no-limit hold’em tournament at PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. Mateos collected $229,500 and moved into first place in the Purple Jacket standings with 381 points.

The tournament drew 85 entries, the biggest field of the series to that point, and created an $850,000 prize pool. Thirteen players were paid, while Joe McKeehen finished 14th to bubble the money.

Mateos started the seven-player final day with the chip lead. He eliminated Jeremy Becker in third place, then began heads-up with Schulman holding more than a 4:1 advantage. The match lasted two hands, ending when Mateos’ pocket aces beat Schulman’s ten-nine of hearts.

Schulman earned $148,750 for second, while Becker took $106,250 in third. Robert French finished fourth for $76,500 after Schulman called his all-in with queen-nine and made a river nine against French’s ace-king. Martin Zamani, Keith Lehr and Matthew Wantman rounded out the final seven.

The win delivered 230 PGT points, which combined with the 151 Mateos earned for finishing second in Event #2. Mateos had finished runner-up to Nick Palma in that earlier tournament, as we reported, before bubbling Events #3 and #4.

That run of near misses continued after the title. Mateos later bubbled Event #6, meaning he had finished on the money bubble in four of the first six Poker Masters events, while placing first and second in the other two. In Event #6, Justin Vaysman’s pocket sevens held against Mateos’ ace-queen and Robert Chorlian’s ace-six in a double knockout.

Mateos said he tries to focus on the process and decisions he can control rather than short-term results. He said he had been playing for 11 or 12 hours on most days during the series and believed his 14 or 15 years as a professional had helped him develop the mindset to manage the swings.

The Event #5 result pushed Mateos’ recorded live tournament earnings beyond $70.5 million. He had earned $380,700 in the Poker Masters after five events.

The 10-event Poker Masters has buy-ins from $10,500 to $51,000. The overall Poker Masters winner receives the Purple Jacket and a $25,000 PGT Passport, with the series continuing through Oct. 23.