LAS VEGAS – Two Super Bowl champions, two UFC titleholders and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion walk into a poker room. That’s not a setup for a joke. That’s the Celebrity Poker Tour’s 2026 Season Premiere Championship, set for March 19 inside the PokerGO Studio at ARIA Casino & Resort, streaming live on YouTube at 6 p.m. local time.
Who’s Sitting Down
Super Bowl champions Skyy Moore and Antoine Winfield Jr. headline the athlete contingent, joined by UFC champions Henry Cejudo and Aljamain Sterling. Sterling is no stranger to this stage. He won the December 2025 WSOP Presents the Celebrity Poker Tour event in the Bahamas during WSOP Paradise, earning $10,000.
BJJ world champion Mackenzie Dern is also confirmed, returning after one of CPT’s more memorable table-side moments when she demonstrated a chokehold on influencer Haliey “Hawk Tuah” Welch during a previous event.
The broader field includes NFL players Will Levis, Brandon Marshall and Bud Depree, UFC fighter Colby Covington, Pawn Stars cast member Chumlee, reality TV personality Chase Chrisley, influencers Tana Mongeau and Telli Swift, and gambling content creator Frazier Kay. A late wave of additions brought in influencer India Love alongside NFL players Adrian Peterson, Austin Ekeler, Alexander Mattison, Scott Matlock and Ray Davis.
What CPT Actually Is
The Celebrity Poker Tour launched in 2023 with a clear philosophy: poker as entertainment, not just competition. CPT founder Blake Wynn has described the tour as a canvas for entertainment, one where the action at the felt is only part of the draw. Previous events have featured contortionist acts mid-game and Dern putting a chokehold demonstration on a fellow celebrity between hands.
The tour has drawn musicians including Waka Flocka Flame, Ray J, 24kGoldn, Maxo Kream and Bun B, alongside the athletes and influencers who fill most rosters. A handful of poker players have also made their mark. Maria Ho won both the March 2024 CPT Game Night I for $10,000 and the 2024 CPT Championship for $50,000. Princess Love, coached by Ho, won the February 2024 CPT Invitational II for $20,000.
Josh Norman was also among the 2025 CPT winners, taking down CPT Invitational VIII for $20,000. Other 2025 winners include influencers King and Suede Brooks and YouTube personality Ethan Klein.
