Many skilled poker players had a busy Saturday as the 2023 Poker Masters series continued. Event No.2 crowned its winner, and Event No.3’s final table was set. Here is how the two events unfolded.
Darren Elias Wins Event No.2: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em
The 2023 Poker Masters $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em event attracted 97 entrants who created a less than $1 million prize pool. The field was smaller than the 117 entries in Event No.1. Still, its champion won a lesser prize than the previous tournament’s winner.
Even so, each participant was determined to win the tournament. Chris Brewer got busted in the 15th position and burst the money bubble. Some of the poker players who cashed included Dan Shak, Ryan Riess, Yang Lu, and Sam Soverel.
Bin Wen sent Michael Rocci in the eighth position and set a seventh-handed final table, being the stack leader. Tables turned fast for Weng after a few minutes.
Antonio De La Cruz ended Alex Foxen’s run in seventh place. Darren Elias battled out a vital hand with Weng that changed the game’s odds. The latter limped in, prompting the former to pop.
His move forced Weng to go all-in. Elias called, and the dealer turned up the cards. So, Weng had pocket eights, and Elias held A♥ J♥.
The 10-6-7 flop revealed two hearts as Weng’s pair extended his stack lead. A black eight landed on the turn, and a gutter ball straight draw earned him a set, while Elias got a flush draw and a straight.
3♥ landed on the river, and Elias got a flush draw and later moved all-in after the dealer counted the chips. The player’s stack grew to 4.87 million chips, and Weng got scraps.
The latter didn’t give up fast as he busted De La Cruz, Erik Seidel (Poker Hall of Famer), and Vladas Tamasauskas (Event No. 1’s winner). Unfortunately, Eric Baldwin’s four-flush sent Weng packing in third place with $116,400.
Baldwin and Elias clashed in a fierce battle for thirty minutes. Baldwin made a steal attempt before moving all-in, and Elias used Big Chick and suited A♥ Q♥ to wake up.
The former tried his luck at straight and flush draws. However, Elias dominated the hand and sent Baldwin packing in second place with $155,200.
What Were the Tournament’s Top Prizes?
- Darren Elias from the U.S.-$223,100
- Eric Baldwin from the U.S.-$155,200
- Bin Weng from the U.S-$116,400
- Antonio De La Cruz from the U.S-$97,000
- Erik Seidel from the U.S.-$77,600
- Vladas Tamasauskas from Lithuania-$58,200
- Alex Foxen from the U.S.-$48,500
Michael Rocco Excels at Event No.3: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Event No.3 took place on Saturday at PokerGO Studios. It featured 86 players and a $860,000 prize pool. Players who cashed despite missing the top spot at the leaderboard included Riess, Filipp Khavin, and Andrew Lichtenberger.
The Leaderboard Positions
- Michael Rocco-2,740,000 chips
- Ren Lin-2,065,000 chips
- Daniel Rezaei-1,870,000 chips
- Alex Foxen-1,555,000 chips
- Chance Kornuth-1,525,000 chips
- Vladas Tamasauskas-1,110,000 chips
