WSOP 2023: Ian Matakis Wins Player of the Year, Final Four Bracelets Awarded

Although the WSOP Main Event came to a conclusion on Tuesday, there were still four more WSOP gold bracelets to be given away on the final day of the 2023 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris casinos in Las Vegas. In addition, the hotly contested Player of the Year race officially crowned a winner, helping to bring to a close to a record-setting year for the most prestigious tournament series in poker.

Final $10k Championship Bracelet Goes to Nielsen

Just five players returned to crown a winner in Event #93: $10,000 Short Deck Championship, and it took nearly seven hours for start-of-the-day chip leader Martin Nielsen to collect every chip in play, earning his first WSOP gold bracelet and $270,160 to take back to the Faroe Islands, a tiny island chain with a population of just 54,000.

Hall of Famer John Juanda, who entered the day as the short stack, was quickly bounced in fifth, and from there a lengthy four-handed battle would ensue. Over four hours would tick by before Eric Wasserson got it in with against the of Ivan Ermin. Wasserson hit a nine on the turn to take the lead, but Ermin rivered a king-high straight to knock out the dangerous pro in fourth.

Ermin would actually be next to go, jamming for his last 1 million and being looked up by the of Nielsen. Ermin flopped large with the 8h] for a pair and a flush draw, and while the was a safe turn, fate had other plans in store with the river, giving Nielsen Broadway and a commanding lead going into heads-up action. There would be little time wasted in reaching the final showdown, with Hong Wei Yu getting his last 1.5 million in with , looking to crack the of Nielsen. Despite Yu turning a monster draw after the flop and turn, the river locked up the win and the bracelet for Nielsen.

Keating Prevails Over Talented $5k 8-Max Field

Sixty players returned from a starting field of 813 for the final day of Event #94: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em (8-Handed), and even with a more turbo structure than similar $5k events this summer, it still took eleven hours for Alex Keating, incognitio without his trademark full beard, to earn his first WSOP gold bracelet and a whopping $701,688, eclipsing his previous best score of $423,890 for a third-place finish in the 2016 WPT L.A. Poker Classic.

To reach the final table of eight, many big names had to fall by the wayside, including Pat Lyons (15th – $32,264), Day 1 chip leader David Peters (20th – $26,210), Phil Laak (35th – $18,217), and Mark Seif (48th – $13,595).

A final table filled with short stacks quickly dispatched Jason Hickey and Christian Harder in short order, before Josh Reichard, who has had many agonizingly deep runs in this year’s series, again found heartbreak at the doorstep of victory. Nozomu Shimizu ripped in his last eighteen big blinds with nines, and Reichard, who had Shimizu barely covered, woke up with queens and called. A nine on the flop and no queen on the rest of the board left Reichard with dust, which he promptly lost on the next hand to end a fantastic 2023 WSOP for the Wisconsin pro with another six-figure payday.

Short-stacked Alexandros Kolonias and Marcello Delgrosso were next to go, and Shimizu’s run came to a close immediately after, setting Keating up against Guoliang Wei for the bracelet. A half-hour into heads-up, Wei three-bet jammed with ace-three, only to run into Keating’s Big Slick, and while Wei hit a three on the flop to take the lead, a king on the river sent Keating his first WSOP gold bracelet.

Miller Makes Quick Work of August in $3k H.O.R.S.E.

Ryan Miller and Leonard August returned for an extra day of action in Event #91: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. that may not have been needed after all, as Miller needed just forty minutes to finish off August and earn his second WSOP gold bracelet of the summer, along with $208,460. Miller came in and ground down August by winning multiple hold’em hands with no contest. August eventually was forced all-in with the mighty , and Miller’s flopped top pair and held on to give the $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better champ his second piece of WSOP gold this summer.

Dzivielevski Denied by Berger in Final Event of 2023 WSOP

Just one new event took place today, as Event #95: $1,000 Super Turbo No-Limit Hold’em brought 1,482 entrants looking to earn the final WSOP bracelet of the summer. In the end, it took half a day for the field to shrink to one, and Paul Berger earned his first WSOP gold bracelet and $212,645 after defeating three-time WSOP bracelet winner Yuri Dzivielevski in a brief heads-up battle.

Of note, when asked by PokerNews if he had any parting words for the throngs of players that attended the 2023 WSOP, Berger had a very fitting and succinct answer.

“Better luck next year.”

Minnesota’s Matakis Wraps Up POY

It’ll be a summer to remember for young phenom Ian Matakis, as he held off a late charge by 2018 POY Shaun Deeb and Chris Brewer to earn the 2023 WSOP Player of the Year title, which comes with a free entry into the 2024 WSOP, a unique trophy, and a banner to be hung at the Paris/Horseshoe for years to come.

Matakis had 22 cashes in this year’s series, the most for a POY since Chris “Jesus” Ferguson had 23 back in 2017. He earned his first WSOP gold bracelet in Online Event #2: $500 No-Limit Hold’em Bankroll Builder for $120,686, and notched three more six-figure scores over the summer, including a 3rd place finish for $205,696 in Event #82: $3,000 Six-Handed Pot Limit Omaha that nearly locked up the race. Matakis celebrated his victory with a humble congratulatory tweet:

2023 WSOP player of the year! What an honor to join such a prestigious group of people, had a blast battling and meeting many new friends along the way. Time to go home and spend some time with friends, family, and girlfriend. Thanks to everyone who rooted for me this summer!

— Ian Matakis (@IMatakis) July 18, 2023

Your newly minted WSOP Main Event champion reflects on his hard-fought victory:

WSOP Main event champion!

It’s a title I’ll carry with pride for the rest of my life.

The outpouring of support from friends, family, and the entire poker community has been so overwhelming.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

— Daniel Winmain (@notontilt09) July 19, 2023

In case you were curious how “The Chainsaw” did this summer:

The @WSOP has ended, so here are our hero’s final stats:

15 cashes in 37 entries at WSOP specific events for a loss of $8,725.

He finished down $26,105 in all tournaments in Vegas this summer. @AllenKessler pic.twitter.com/lMXMAJ841S

— ChainsawTracker (@ChainsawTracker) July 19, 2023

Cody Daniels needs his (now super lucky) rock back now:

The rock made it all the way! I’m in freaking tears right now! Made it to the pinnacle of poker! Congrats Daniel Weinman for winning the big one! Please somebody tell him to contact me when he can and not to lose my rock! How can I get ahold of him?! pic.twitter.com/tUw7wp4rRg

— Cody Daniels (@CodyDaniels88) July 17, 2023

One last “Aces versus Kings” for old times sake:

.@PhilLaak out. ? KK vs AA. All in pre. GG.

— Jennifer Tilly (@JenniferTilly) July 18, 2023

Best summer ever indeed, WSOP:

And that's a wrap. Thank YOU to all the players, dealers, staff, and media. Best Summer ever. pic.twitter.com/0xE48Oonyx

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) July 19, 2023

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