The poker scene has been full of action, big news and controversies in the past week.
Online poker site QQPK has banned 724 accounts after an investigation revealed these accounts used bots and other automated software.
GGPoker also banned the use of third-party software on its platform to enhance poker security.
In other news, the live tournament scene saw Adrian Mateos, Joey Weissman, and Nicholas Palma win big events of the year, the 2026 Poker Masters.
At the same time, poker pro Bryn Kenney filed an official case against GGPoker’s owning company regarding their business contracts.
QQPK Poker Bot Investigation Raises New Security Concerns
QQPK logo (image courtesy of QQPK)
The biggest news this past week was that online poker site QQPK confirmed hundreds of accounts were using bots and other real-time assistance software on their platform.
The scandal began with the investigations of members of the 2+2 Poker Forum.
The forum members analysed well over 26 million hands played across 27,936 tournaments from July 2 to October 2, 2026.
In their investigation they identified 2,587 accounts that may have been using bots because they were consistently making similar preflop decisions and showed the same betting patterns.
The study also raised concerns regarding the performance of the bots in the situation when the players go all-in.
The QQPK official statement indicated they banned 724 accounts for using prohibited automated software and subsequently banned them from playing on the site.
Furthermore, QQPK froze the funds in these accounts and blocked access to them.
The forum members also questioned the fairness of the site’s random number generator.
The analysis also looked at trends in a large database of hand histories, which included all-in results and betting patterns.
The public document available does not contain strong evidence that can be independently verified to support the cheating claim.
GGPoker Bans Third-Party Poker Software After Security Scandal
GGPoker logo
GGPoker has banned the use of third-party software tools on its platform.
This follows a recent event in which hackers used third-party software to access and view players' hole cards.
With the implementation of these new rules, players cannot use popular poker software tools like PokerTracker 4, Hold'em Manager 3, Hand2Note, and Jurojin.
GGPoker is set to offer further adjustments for its clients.
These include upgraded security measures, enhanced monitoring procedures regarding unusual winning streaks, and end support for older operating systems in 2027.
According to GGPoker, these changes aim to protect players from account-related issues and limit cheating.
These changes will affect players who previously used this software.
Adrian Mateos Wins Ninth PGT Title for $229,500
Adrian wins Event 5, the $10,500 no-limit hold'em tournament (image courtesy of PGT)
Adrian Mateos took home his ninth PGT title at the 2026 Poker Masters after winning Event 5, the $10,500 no-limit hold'em tournament.
The Spanish poker pro beat Nick Schulman, heads-up to win his ninth PGT title and a cash prize of $229,500.
Schulman walked away with $148,750 for his second-place finish.
Mateos had a rocky start to the series, which saw him bubble three events and then finish as runner-up in another.
This win puts him at the top of the Poker Masters Purple Jacket rankings.
Mateos held 
against Schulman’s 
.
The players got their chips in on the turn, with Schulman needing to hit a card to stay alive in the tournament.
The board ran out 
.
Schulman paired his nine on the river, but it was not good enough against Mateos’ pocket Aces.
Mateos became the champion and won $229,500 for his first prize.
The outcome of the match improved his standing in both the PokerGO Tour and Player of the Year races.
Joey Weissman Wins Poker Masters Event for $218,400
Joey Weissman wins event 3 of the 2026 Poker Masters (image courtesy of PGT)
Joey Weissman won event 3 of the 2026 Poker Masters and took home the title and a $218,400 cash prize.
The victory was a few days after Weissman won his second World Series of Poker bracelet at the ongoing WSOP Online series.
The $10,500 buy-in event attracted 78 entries and created a $780,000 prize pool.
Weissman faced Daniyal Gheba in the heads-up duel and won, earning his fifth PokerGO Tour championship title.
Gheba won $140,400 for finishing second, while Shannon Shorr had to settle for third place, which netted him $101,400.
Weissman managed to pair 
against Gheba's 
.
The board fell 
.
Even though both players have a queen as their high hole card, Weissman's kicker gives him a high card hand that beats Gheba's.
Weissman earned $218,400 as the winner.
Bryn Kenney Sues GGPoker's Parent Company Over Business Deal
Poker pro Bryn Kenney (Image courtesy of Google)
Bryn Kenney, the winningest player in the history of poker tournaments, has filed a lawsuit against NSUS Group, the parent company of GGPoker.
The lawsuit is regarding a deal that supposedly promised Kenney a 5% stake in the company as well as the commissions from the players he recruited for it.
Kenney has claimed that the company made false claims and that this dispute has caused him millions in losses.
Kenney has mentioned that he helped GGPoker become the brand that it is today by recruiting poker players, promoting the brand and working on its high-stakes tournaments.
The leaders of NSUS Group have made a counterclaim against some of the claims made by Bryn Kenney.
The issue remains unresolved, with the next hearing scheduled for November 12, 2026.
This case can possibly become one of the biggest legal battles in the industry involving one of the biggest stars of poker and the largest online poker platform.
