Keith Lehr Rallies Past Vitalijs Zavorotnijs for Second PGT Title
Lehr earned $277,200 in Poker Masters Event #8 after overturning a nearly two-to-one heads-up chip deficit.
- Keith Lehr won Poker Masters Event #8 for $277,200 after a 56-entry field.
- The victory was Lehr’s second PokerGO Tour title and moved him to eighth in the Purple Jacket standings.
- Lehr overcame a nearly two-to-one heads-up deficit against Vitalijs Zavorotnijs.
- Zavorotnijs finished second for $176,400 and rose to third in the series standings.
Keith Lehr won Event #8 of the 2026 Poker Masters, taking $277,200 from a 56-entry $15,700 no-limit hold’em event at PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas. The 62-year-old beat Vitalijs Zavorotnijs heads-up for his second PokerGO Tour title and first tournament victory since 2024.
The win added 222 PokerGO Tour points to Lehr’s series total, putting him eighth in the Purple Jacket standings with 265 points. He had already cashed in Event #5, where he finished sixth for $42,500.
Zavorotnijs began the Day 2 final table with the chip lead, while Lehr was fourth of the five remaining players. Sam Soverel fell in fifth for $67,200 when his king-queen ran into Lehr’s ace-king, while Nicholas Seward earned $84,000 for fourth and Justin Vaysman collected $117,600 in third.
Lehr started heads-up with 2.995 million chips to Zavorotnijs’ 5.445 million, nearly a two-to-one deficit. He doubled into the lead when his pocket kings held against pocket fours.
The final hand ended in a dramatic cooler. Zavorotnijs turned a straight against Lehr’s top two pair, but a queen on the river gave Lehr a full house. Zavorotnijs received $176,400 as runner-up.
The result denied Zavorotnijs a second title of the series. His 365 points and $400,400 in series earnings moved him into third in the Purple Jacket race, behind leader Adrian Mateos on 451 points and Nicholas Palma on 407.
Lehr’s first PGT win also came at the Poker Masters, when he captured the 2018 $25,000 pot-limit Omaha Event #3 by defeating Jonathan Depa heads-up. His latest result lifted his recorded career tournament earnings above $6.3 million, with 117 recorded circuit cashes dating to 2002.
The $840,000 Event #8 prize pool paid its top eight finishers. The 2026 Poker Masters then continued with Event #9, a $26,000 no-limit hold’em tournament.
