2023 WSOP Online Events Highlights & Race for Player of the Year
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The World Series of Poker 2023, which ran for nearly two months, has recently concluded with Daniel Weinman winning the Main Event title. This year’s event set a number of new records.
The event primarily unfolded on physical poker tables. However, 20 online bracelet events were also open to players in Nevada and New Jersey. Here’s a summary of noteworthy highlights of the online series.
Record Participation on the Digital Platform
An overwhelming number of players, totaling 32,078 entries, including rebuys, flocked to the digital platform seeking the glory of WSOP. The most popular tournament turned out to be Online Event #12: $500 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack, which recorded 2,961 entries.
Tom Hall triumphed overall, earning a $176,920 prize, in addition to his first bracelet. With this victory, Hall’s cumulative earnings from live and online tournaments surpassed the $8 million milestone.
Online Series Amasses Over $22 Million
The entry fees for the online bracelet events ranged between $333 and $5,300, with the majority of tournaments costing less than $1,000 to enter.
The total prize pool of $20,418,520 was created for these events of which $3,505,498 was sert for the first-place prizes.
Largest Prize Pool and Payouts
Online Event #13: $5,300 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller Championship recorded the most substantial prize pool at the online WSOP. Sam Soverel emerged victorious in this event, which ran online until the final table, winning his second bracelet along with the impressive first-place prize of $393,516.
The unique aspect of this tournament was the live conclusion at Horseshoe, Las Vegas, where the final nine contenders battled it out.
Jeremy Ausmus also made his mark in the online events by winning his sixth bracelet within the past two years. Ausmus clinched the title in Online Event #8: $3,200 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller, outshining a final table that included accomplished players such as Chance Kornuth and the 2021 WSOP Main Event champion, Koray Aldemir. Ausmus pocketed a sum of $360,036 from his victory.
Influx of New Bracelet Winners
While seasoned players like Soverel and Ausmus added to their bracelet tally from the online series, several new players seized the opportunity to claim their first-ever WSOP bracelet.
Among them, Ian Matakis, a front-runner for the WSOP Player of the Year title, won the Online Event #2: $500 No-Limit Hold’em Bankroll Builder and pocketed $120,686. Other first-time bracelet winners included Tom Hall, Cody Bell, Danny Wong, Gary Belyalovsky, Harley Brooks, Joe Serock, Stanislav Barshak, Robert Como, Zachary Grech, Blaze Gaspari, Vitor Dzivielevski, Tom Marchese, Julien Sitbon, and Christian Roberts.
Event | Entries | Winner | First Place Prize |
Online Event #1: $333 No-Limit Hold’em Triple Treys Summer Tip Off | 2,166 | Cody Bell | $87,666 |
Online Event #2: $500 No-Limit Hold’em Bankroll Builder | 1,942 | Ian Matakis | $120,686 |
Online Event #3: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack | 987 | Ryan Hughes | $145,059 |
Online Event #4: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Ultra Deepstack | 1,656 | Danny Wong | $130,648 |
Online Event #5: $400 No-Limit Hold’em 8-Max | 2,451 | Gary Belyalovsky | $121,854 |
Online Event #6: $500 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo | 1,879 | Harley Brooks | $134,527 |
Online Event #7: $500 PLO 8-Max | 1,122 | Joe Serock | $93,911 |
Online Event #8: $3,200 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller | 532 | Jeremy Ausmus | $360,036 |
Online Event #9: $1,000 PLO Championship | 674 | Stanislav Barshak | $128,842 |
Online Event #10: $400 No-Limit Ultra Deepstack | 2,901 | Ryan Eriquezzo | $145,375 |
Online Event #11: $888 No-Limit Hold’em Crazy 8’s | 1,679 | Robert Como | $227,001 |
Online Event #12: $500 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack | 2,961 | Tom Hall | $176,920 |
Online Event #13: $5,300 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller Championship | 408 | Sam Soverel | $393,516 |
Online Event #14: $400 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo | 1,767 | Zachary Grech | $107,504 |
Online Event #15: No-Limit Hold’em Championship | 1,365 | Blaze Gaspari | $224,816 |
Online Event #16: $600 Online Deepstack Championship | 2,157 | Vitor Dzivielevski | $185,316 |
Online Event #17: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Max Championship | 1,170 | Tom Marchese | $195,963 |
Online Event #18: $2,000 Freezeout Championship | 551 | Julien Sitbon | $176,348 |
Online Event #19: $500 NL Hold’em Summer Saver | 2,156 | Christian Roberts | $154,359 |
Online Event #20: $777 No-Limit Hold’em Lucky 7’s | 1,554 | Nipun Java | $195,151 |
Ian Matakis Dominates WSOP Player of the Year Race
Emerging from relative obscurity, Ian Matakis proved his mettle at the 2023 World Series of Poker, and was officially declared the Player of the Year. This accolade typically goes to well-known high-stakes players and mixed game specialists. However, Matakis was a welcome surprise, showcasing his prowess in No Limit and PLO events.
His sudden ascendance to the top of the leaderboard was nothing short of astounding. Matakis racked up 22 cashes during this series – 14 in live games and eight online.
The series kicked off for him with a victory in the $500 Bankroll Builder bracelet online, where he earned $120,686. From there, he made deep runs in several major events, with his total earnings for the series amounting to $881,052.
As a reward for his impressive performance, Matakis received a seat in next year’s $10,000 Main Event, a trophy, and a banner at the Paris/Horseshoe.
Shaun Deeb, often referred to as the unofficial WSOP Player of the Decade, was Matakis’ closest competitor in the race. The list of top ten contenders might undergo minor changes, but Matakis holds the crown as of now.
| 1 | Ian Matakis | 5,203.89 |
| 2 | Shaun Deeb | 4,276.12 |
| 3 | Christopher Brewer | 4,127.62 |
| 4 | Josh Arieh | 3,938.62 |
| 5 | Jesse Lonis | 3,865.70 |
| 6 | Michael Rodrigues Pires Santos | 3,513.21 |
| 7 | Chad Eveslage | 3,447.63 |
| 8 | Ben Yu | 3,128.08 |
| 9 | Phil Hellmuth | 3,072.14 |
| 10 | Yuval Bronshtein | 3,056.84 |
