2023 WSOP Final Roundup: All 95 Live Events in the Books

Written by Jennifer Newell

Last updated on September 1st, 2023

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The 2023 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas is over. There were 95 tournaments held at Paris Las Vegas and Horseshoe Las Vegas from May 30 through mid-July. We’ll recap the online bracelet events and Main Event separately so as to dedicate this final wrap-up to all of the regular live events – except the Main Event – from the 2023 WSOP schedule. We’ve recapped each week as the action played out this summer, showing the results of each tournament: -Week 1 recap -Week 2 recap -Week 3 recap -Week 4 recap -Week 5 recap -Week 6 recap We start the final recap with the first tournament on the schedule after the Main Event (Event 76), and continue through to the end of the summer WSOP.

Event 77: All Sevens for Daniels

It was the Lucky Sevens tournament with sevens all over the buy-in and payouts, but the all-important number was one – one winner named Shawn Daniels. When the seven-handed tournament played down to the final table, play continued but the final five had to return for one more day of play. And in the end, Daniels collected his first WSOP gold bracelet. After breaking down in heavy emotion, Daniels noted that the victory was “pretty unreal.” https://twitter.com/WSOP/status/1678895566821130241?s=20

Event 78: Skaggs Snags Bracelet

This tournament combined two player favorites – PLO and bounties. More than 1,200 entries created a $1.6M prize pool, and it was a tough field. Thomas Skaggs had to fight every step of the way to win the tournament for his first WSOP bracelet. The Omaha specialist and cash game player said he has a strong mindset for the game. Skaggs made it work for the win, just hours before having to catch a plane out of Las Vegas.

Event 79: Bernabeu Scores for Spain

More than 2K entries in this $2,500 NLHE event turned into a prize pool of $4.6M. As the field thinned, several well-known players headed toward the final table, though Seth Davies was the most recognized of the final nine. The crowd watching the final table was Spanish-heavy, though, with two Spaniards fighting for the gold. In the end, Ramon Fernandez finished seventh and Samuel Bernabeu won his first bracelet and did it with Spanish chants taking him all the way to the end. After some time away from the game, Bernabeu returned this summer, something that turned out to be a positive decision.

Event 80: Arieh Does It Again

It was time for another elite field to play for a high roller bracelet, and that meant Josh Arieh was in it to try to win his second bracelet of this series…and the seventh of his career. Once he made the final table, he moved right on past names like Scott Seiver, Johannes Becker, John Hennigan, Mike Matusow, and Joao Vieira. Arieh then defeated Dan Heimiller heads-up. Arieh attributed his recent successes to getting his life in order. “My life is so amazing outside of poker,” he said. “I got my shit straight and my relationships with my daughters and with Rachel – everything is just great. It’s definitely helped my career.” https://twitter.com/rachelblucky/status/1679649163427090432?s=20

Event 81: Roh Rules Ultra Stack

Give players an ultra-large stack of chips, and they will put up $600 to play the tournament. The new addition to the WSOP lineup brought in more than 7,200 entries and a prize pool of $3,675,570. And when it wrapped on Day 3, Joseph Roh was in the winner’s circle with more than $400K. The part-time poker player told PokerNews, “This is something I’ve really wanted to do for a while. I don’t play that many tournaments.”

Event 82: Parry Picks Up Gold

More PLO made it onto the schedule for Event 82, this one with a $3K price point. More than 1K entries came to play, creating a $2.7M prize pool. Cash game player Matthew Parry was the last player standing in the end. Even so, Parry said he had been working on his tournament game. “It just feels amazing to finally close one out,” he said, saying that winning the bracelet was surreal.

Event 83: Ha Finds Short Deck Success

Thai Ha loved Short Deck poker, so it was natural that he would play this tournament. He and a few hundred other players took to the tables, but Ha emerged victorious to claim his first bracelet and the first one for Vietnam in the 2023 WSOP. “It feels great,” Ha said after the win. “I feel like Short Deck is my strongest game.”

Event 84: Kulev Crushes High Roller

Alex Kulev is a well-known poker player in Bulgaria, and he is one of the few from his country to represent in the world of high rollers. He and more than 100 other players took to the $50K buy-in NLHE High Roller to try to win a bracelet after leaving the Main Event in the dust. He worked hard to outlast his competitors, especially those comprising the Euro-heavy final table. But he did it for a payout of more than $2M. Kulev collected his first piece of WSOP gold and noted, “I’m just very grateful and very excited to be here. It has always been a dream of mine to win a bracelet, and doing it in this event against this type of field is the best that it can be.” https://twitter.com/WSOP/status/1680002707804012551?s=20

Event 85: First for Faraz

The annual WSOP NLHE Shootout is a favorite for many who specialize in SNGs. Players win a table to make it into the money, win another table to make the final table, and then play for the win. That final table was tough, complete with Adam Friedman, Yuri Dzivielevski, and Olga Iermolcheva. But Faraz Jaka, owner of Jaka Coaching and person recovering from horrid back pain before the WSOP, finally removed himself from the list of best players without a bracelet. Jaka worked hard to be able to physically play some events, and to win his first bracelet was the ultimate reward. He commented on how he felt, “Pretty great and just taking it all in. I was so zoned in that I’m still kind of decompressing.” https://twitter.com/FarazJaka/status/1680426066203267072?s=20

Event 86: Victory for Ventura

The Poker Hall of Fame Bounty tournament grew in 2023 to more than 1,400 entries. Diego Ventura was one of them. He didn’t come from nowhere. In fact, he was the all-time tournament money earner in his home country of Peru. But no player from Peru had ever won a WSOP bracelet…until this event. Ventura commented on that after his victory. “I think I always wanted to kind of open that door for other Peruvians to get inspired by that,” he told PokerNews.

Event 87: Smith Masters Mix

Players who liked Omaha Hi-Lo and Stud Hi-Lo had a great opportunity to play in Event 87 and win a bracelet in that specific mix. Hundreds of players did just that, and Canadian Bradley Smith proved to be the best in that field. Smith commented, “It’s always been my dream to win a bracelet.” Though he had to fight through a very long heads-up battle, he emerged victorious to claim his first WSOP gold.

Event 88: Shum Shines

The last of the low ($1,500) buy-in, big field events was the aptly-named Closer. With more than 3,500 entries, the prize pool swelled to more than $4.7M. And from the massive field came Pierre Shum, the Jamaican-born now-US resident who long had a love for poker. The software engineer said that this was his first poker victory evet. “I came in here today to try and win the tournament. The money wasn’t even in my mind.”

Event 89: Meng Masters Flip & Go

Players ponied up $1K each to take a shot at the luck-filled first round of Flip & Go tournaments. Doug Meng was one of 128 players from more than 1K entries who won their flips to go further in the event. He made the final table and swiftly took his run to victory. PokerNews talked to Meng after the win. “I’m just really excited,” he said. “I’m very grateful for this opportunity, and I know a lot of people couldn’t be here, so I feel very fortunate.”

Event 90: Reard Secures Second Gold

There were 550 entries in the final NLHE championship-level event at the 2023 WSOP, even with a $10K buy-in. The tournament brought in a lot of pros, like Eric Baldwin, Justin Liberto, and Stephen Chidwick, who all made the final table. But it was Frenchman Alexandre Reard who lasted longer than the rest, beating Chidwick heads-up for more than $1M and his second career gold bracelet. Reard won with the help of a loud French rail and the ability to focus amidst it all. “I did feel some pressure coming into the (final) day because I knew that, in France, everyone was expecting me to be at least in the top two.” He didn’t let them down. https://twitter.com/pokerorg/status/1681121616091295745?s=20

Event 91: Miller Makes It Two

The $3K buy-in HORSE event delivered several hundred players to the action, and it was a tough tournament. Not only did the final table feature some big poker names – Todd Brunson, Kevin Gerhart, Andrew Yeh, Barbara Enright, and Calvin Anderson – the final heads-up battle was so intense that it brought on a Day 4. Ryan Miller ultimately beat Leonard August. Miller claimed his second WSOP gold of the summer, having just won the $10K Stud-8 Championship bracelet less than two weeks before. “It feels surreal,” he admitted, “like it’s not possible. I was just hoping to cash in a couple of events, and I just happened to win two of them.” https://twitter.com/pokerorg/status/1681426068010332160?s=20

Event 92: Lee First in Freezeout

As the Main Event crowned its champion, Kang Hyun Lee was one of many players in the $1K Freezeout. The final table showed just how talented the field had been, with Vanessa Kade, Asher Conniff, Kevin Kalas, and Eric Mizrachi all at the final table. But Canadian Lee won. “It feels amazing!” Lee explained. “Just being a poker enthusiast my whole life, to finally get the most coveted award in the game, it just feels surreal.”

Event 93: Nielsen Nabs Win

The very last championship-level event of the 2023 WSOP was in the unique Short Deck variation. And it cost $10K to enter, which resulted in just 106 entries. While Chris Brewer and John Juanda were also in the running for this win, Marin Nielsen of the Faroe Islands won. “I thought I would be nervous,” he told a reporter after the win. “I don’t know. I am a full-time Short Deck cash player, but I mostly play online at GG."

Event 94: Keating Crushes Quickly

The second-last tournament of the series offered a $5K buy-in NLHE, and there were 813 entries in the mix. The tournament played for two days and finally found high-stakes player Alex Keating holding the bracelet. When asked how he felt about winning, Keating said, “Good, yeah, not bad, actually. I’m thinking about what I’m supposed to do right now.”

Event 95: Berger Binks Bracelet

The very last of the 2023 WSOP live bracelet events in Las Vegas was a super turbo-structured tournament that brought in 1,482 entries. The $1.3M prize pool awarded the top finishers but none more than Paul Berger, who won the gold and $212K. The Las Vegas-based player said that he would not keep his winnings, though. Berger told PokerNews, “The money is more important (than the bracelet) because I donate it, so the fact that I’ve got the biggest score of my life and it’ll go to a good cause is very cool.” https://twitter.com/Kevmath/status/1681574631432679424?s=20

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