Ian “IanMa” Matakis can now call himself a WSOP bracelet champion after winning Online Event #2: $500 No-Limit Hold’em Bankroll Builder at the 2023 World Series of Poker.

“I’ve always wanted to win a bracelet,” Matakis told PokerNews. “I basically played this tournament on my phone the whole day until the end of the 5k (No-Limit Hold’em Freezout.) I bagged about 50 bigs for the start of Day 2 on that one. When play ended, my buddy drove me home, and I was able to play the final table on my laptop.”

$500 No-Limit Hold’em Bankroll Builder Final Table Results

Including rebuys, the tournament had 1,253 total entries resulting in a prize pool of $873,900. Some 240 places were paid, with all players in the money banking at least $1,311.

Numerous notable players entered but failed to make the money, including Matt “berkey11_S4Y” Berkey, Vanessa “ContainsNuts” Kade, and Cody “1eggadaymike” Bell, who won Online Event #1: $333 No-Limit Hold’em Triple Treys Summer Tip Off three days prior to today’s tournament.

Notable players finishing in the money included Joey “OnSpectrum” Weissman (8th, $15,031,) John “RiverRace” Racener (20th, $3,670,) Davide “drogonzizi” Suriano (27th, $3,146,) and Phil “HeyGuys” Galfond (34th, $2,622.)

Another pro that cashed was Chance “BingShui” Kornuth, who found himself registered for two online tournaments at the same time. Kornuth was seen sitting out in one tournament so that he could open and play in the other. Despite having to miss hands, Kornuth cashed in both events (finishing 129th for $1,486 in this one.)

Eliminations came quickly at the final table. Weissman’s ace-queen ran into Baruch “QQlove” Forst‘s pocket aces to exit in eighth.

Justin “MadTitan” Turner went out in seventh after his top pair fell to the flopped trips of “worldsgrtest.” “Deeznutz” then fell in sixth to a rivered straight by Matakis.

Paul “plenkeit2” Lenkeit exited in fifth when his king-queen lost to king-deuce.

Matakis then played two big hands against “Worldsgrtest,” first doubling up with pocket aces before eliminating them in fourth via pocket tens over pocket sevens.

Thomas “Pkrwarrior23” Rosa finished third when their pocket nines fell to a flopped pair of aces from Forst.

Matakis and Forst then played heads-up for about twenty minutes before the hand that ended the tournament.

Matakis held king-jack while Forst had ace-eight. After limping, Matakis bet on the ace-jack-four flop.

“It was a limped pot so that flop is usually better for me. That’s why I bet out.” The turn came a king. “On the turn, I hit two pair and block his two pair, and so I kept betting.” Matakis bet and Forst raised all in with top pair. “When he jammed, it was a snap call.” The river came a meaningless two, and Matakis became a WSOP bracelet winner.

“I’ll be playing Day 2 of the 5k tomorrow,” said Matakis, “but after that, this year, I was planning on taking it day by day.”

PokerNews‘ coverage of WSOP online bracelet events continues with Online Event #4: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Ultra Deepstack on June 6 at 3:30 p.m. local time.

Sunday is a day of rest for millions of people globally, but there was no time for resting on June 4 at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. It was a super busy day with six live and two online events, and four gold bracelets awarded!

Chanracy Khun won the $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship after defeating heads-up guru Doug Polk in the final match-up. Khun walked away with his first WSOP bracelet plus $507,020 in prize money.

The second bracelet awarded on June 4 went to Nick Schulman, who came out on top in the $1,500 Seven Card Stud event. Schulman banked $110,800 and the fourth WSOP bracelet of his long and illustrious career.

The other two bracelets went to champions of the pair of online events.

Ian “IanMa” Matakis triumphed in the $500 No-Limit Hold’em Bankroll Builder, and saw his bankroll swell by $120,686.

Ryan “dna2rna” Hughes took down the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack for $145,059, denying Shaun “fortnite” Deeb what would have been his sixth bracelet. Hughes is now a three-time WSOP champion.

Eveslage Looking for Back-to-Back Dealer’s Choice Titles

Chad Eveslage won his second WSOP bracelet in Event #5: $1,500 Dealer’ Choice (6-Handed) a few days ago, and now he is in the driving seat in Event #10: $10,000 Dealer’s Choice Championship.

Eveslage bagged a tournament-leading stack of 1,371,000 chips at the end of 17 levels of play. During that time, the record-setting 130-strong field was whittled to a more manageable 13, with those 13 mixed game specialists returning to their seats from 2:00 p.m. local time on June 5.

Nine of the 13 returnees have won at least one bracelet. They include Marco Johnson (925,000), Ari Engel (767,000), Day 1 chip leader John Hennigan (519,000), and Mike Gorodinsky (496,000).

Play resumes at 2:00 p.m. local time on June 5, so join us then to see if Eveslage clinches another Dealer’s Choice title.

Two Million Dollar Bounties Pulled Out in Event #3

Day 2 of Event #3: $1,000 Mystery Millions started with 1,006 returning players but ended with only 30 of them in the mix for the title, bracelet, and the $1 million top prize.

Two players became instant millionaires thanks to the WSOP adding a second mystery bounty to the pot that tipped the scales at $1 million. Shant Marashlian pulled out the first $1 million mystery bounty, with Patrick Liang capturing the other seven-figure prize.

Klint Tevaearai and Eric Baldwin pulled a $500,000 and $250,000 bounty, respectively.

Guang Chen (64,000,000) is the chip leader going into Day 3. Chen leads from Steven Thompson (52,300,000) and Jaime Madrigal (45,200,000).

The likes of Chris Hunichen (30,200,000), AP Garza (24,300,000), and Dan Shak (14,300,000) are also in the mix.

Event #3: Mystery Millions Top 10 Chip Counts

Play resumes at 12:00 p.m. local time on June 5, and PokerNews will be providing live and exclusive coverage throughout proceedings.

Phil Hellmuth reaches Day 2 of the $600 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack

Some 6,085 players bought into Event #11: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack but only 318 of them had chips requiring bagging and tagging at the end of a frantic day.

A certain Phil Hellmuth (665,000) navigated his way through to Day 2, and his quest to reel in his 17th WSOP bracelet continues.

Joining Hellmuth are the likes of Kevin Daily (1,915,000), Michael Souza (1,500,000), Frederik Brink (1,150,000), David Jackson (705,000), Erik Cajelais (680,000), Farzad Bonyadi (640,000), and Owais Ahmed (485,000).

Event #11: No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack Top 10 Chip Counts

The cards are back in the air from 10:00 a.m. on June 5, so join us then for all of the updates from this event.

Ukraine’s Artem Metalidi made the most of his one and only bullet in Event #12: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout, turning his 50,000 starting stack into 796,000, the most of any of the 148 advancing players.

Metalidi finished in eighth place in the 2018 WSOP Main Event, and will be hopeful of going seven places deeper in this star-studded event

Some 735 players bought in, resulting in a $3,381,000 prize pool and a $649,550 top prize. Still in contention for that impressive first-place prize are such luminaries as Ben Heath (480,000), Josh Arieh (436,000), Jim Collopy (342,000), Cherish Andrews (240,000), and Lawrence Brandt (200,000).

Event #12: $5,000 NLHE Freezeout Top 10 Chip Counts

This event resumes at 1:00 p.m. local time on June 5, and PokerNews will provide updates through the scheduled ten 60-minute levels.

What Lies in Store For Day 7 of the WSOP?

June 5 is another busy day at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, with a bunch of bracelet-awarding events taking place.

Event #3: $1,000 Mystery Millions and Event #10: $10,000 Dealer’s Choice Championship should crown their respective champions, while Event #11: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack and Event #12: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout continue.

Two more events kick off, too: Event #13: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack and Event #14: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship.

As always, PokerNews is the place for your 2023 World Series of Poker live updates.

Event #9: $1,500 Seven Card Stud has come an end with Nick Schulman emerging victorious after besting a star-studded final table and defeating Andrew Hasdal heads up for his fourth World Series of Poker bracelet and $110,800 first-place prize.

Schulman is no stranger to poker success, having amassed over $15 million in career-tournament earnings dating back to 2005 when he burst into the poker scene after winning the World Poker Tour World Poker Finals at the age of 21 for over $2 million in prize money.

Schulman’s victory highlights his versatility in poker, having won two Deuce-to-Seven Lowball bracelets and a Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better back in 2019 before adding his fourth tonight.

Event #9: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Final Table Results

Winner’s Reaction

Following his victory, Schulman admitted that his cash-game days are mostly over for now as he would prefer to focus on his four-year-old daughter, but he still plans on playing tournaments.

“Four [bracelets] means a lot. It’s not lost on me that I’ve accomplished some things, and I’m still here. It means a lot,” Schulman said.

“I love Stud,” Schulman said when asked how he feels about the game. “It’s probably my favorite game, and I’ve always kind of thought it was my best game. I grew up playing it.”

Schulman, who navigated the final table with a cigar in hand, said it was an homage to the old school.

“I just decided to throw it back for the Stud,” Schulman said. “An homage…you know — let’s play fast and have some fun.”

Looking forward, Schulman said he plans to put in more volume this WSOP.

“I’d love to win two [bracelets],” Schulman said. “Who doesn’t wanna, you know, just rattle off bracelets and win Player of The Year and all that? I just wanna stay focused.”

Final Day Action

The day began as an unofficial final table of nine and saw Bruce Levitt, who came in as one of the short stacks, get eliminated within the first level of the day to reach the official final table of eight.

Tab Thiptinnakon and Tim Frazin were both knocked out early on, despite Frazin finding two double-ups on the final table before his elimination.

Schulman began building some momentum after eliminating DJ Buckley and then doubling up through the then chip-leader John Monnette six-handed.

Shaun Deeb fell short of earning his sixth WSOP bracelet after getting all in with two pair and losing to Monnette’s wheel on seventh street.

From that point on, Schulman continued to add to his stack and ended up eliminating both Monnette and Hojeong Lee in fourth and third place, respectively.

Schulman began his heads-up battle against Hasdal with a nearly two-to-one chip advantage but would end up in a grueling battle that saw Hasdal double up through Schulman several times. At one point, Hasdal battled his way into a more than two-to-one chip lead over Schulman, but Schulman pulled back to nearly even after winning a large pot that saw Hasdal fold on seventh street.

Hasdal’s stack continued to trend downward and he got all in again versus Schulman as a big underdog, however, Hasdal made a runner-runner full house against Schulman on sixth and seventh street respectively to stay alive once more.

Not to be denied, Schulman battled back and managed to whittle Hasdal down with ever-escalating antes and limits forcing the action. Despite his valiant effort, Hasdal met his end after getting all in with a flush and straight draw against Schulman’s two pair that ended up becoming a full house on seventh street to secure Schulman’s victory.

That concludes PokerNews’ coverage of Event #9: $1,500 Seven Card Stud. But be sure to stick with PokerNews for continued coverage of the 2023 World Series of Poker.

Check out PokerNews’ schedule for links to live coverage of other WSOP bracelet events from the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.

Chanracy Khun has topped the 64-player field in Event #8: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship for his first ever WSOP gold bracelet and the $507,020 first-place prize that goes along with it. Khun earned his victory fair and square after facing off against one of the greatest heads-up players, Doug Polk, in the finals.

When asked how he felt after capturing his first WSOP title and largest career poker victory, Khun was merely at a loss for words. “I feel really good. I’m relieved. And it’s tough to find any words, but it’s a mix of emotions. But at the end of the day, I’m really, really glad it’s over.” Chan admitted that he made some mistakes in the latter portions of the match due to the pressure of the situation and the loud rail, but still managed to prevail.

It was a surreal moment for the Canadian by defeating one of the best there is to play this format, but he can now call himself a heads-up champion which many others cannot. “When you play heads up, you’re always going to play a different strategy against different opponents. I knew he was really, really good, so I just try to do my best. And so yeah, I was just luckier than him today. So any other day, the match would have been different. And yeah, today was my lucky day.”

Polk definitely came into the match as the odds-on favorite and had the larger and more boisterous of the two rails. However, the heads-up specialist and YouTube entertainer will have to wait another day to claim another WSOP gold bracelet and that might not come until next year when this event rolls around again. Polk has often claimed that he has “retired” from professional poker, but maybe a deep run like this will ignite the fire in him to stick around a little longer this summer.

Final Results

Semi-final Action

The fans barely had enough time to get settled in on the rail for both matches before an unnecessarily large pot broke out on the outer feature table. Still in the first level with 400 big blinds in play, Khun and Winter engaged in a three-bet pot. Winter opted to raise the flop and continue his story with another big bet on the turn. After the river brought four cards to a straight on the board, Winter sized up one more big bet before Khun ripped all in. Winter contemplated for a brief moment and opted to call it off. Khun tabled an eight-high straight while Winter was left with a seven-high straight. It was a shock to many as Khun quickly advanced to the final and was awaiting the winner of the other matchup.

That matchup between Polk and Brewer also had its fair share of drama, although it took a little longer for it to unfold. As the two players jostled for the chip lead in the early stages, the matchup never really swayed one way or the other. When the stacks were nearly identical, a preflop raising war broke out, with Brewer having the last say when he five-bet shoved all in. Polk snap-called and saw the bad news when his pocket queens were dominated by the pocket kings of Brewer.

“Queen for the queen!” one railbird chanted as anticipation grew with each card that was turned over. An eight-high flop changed nothing, and the turn was also a brick that left Polk drawing to just two outs. However, it was a queen on the river that brought the rail to its feet, and the heads-up specialist did a double-lap around the Thunderdome to give everyone a high-five. Brewer was down to just a few big blinds, and despite a double-up, he was soon flipped to the rail a couple of hands later.

Heads-Up Final

That set up the marquee matchup between Polk and Khun that would take place 30 minutes later inside the Main Stage. It was a rowdy rail on both sides of the fence with side bets and many beverages being consumed. Things started off slowly, with neither player gaining much of an edge on the other. As the chip lead swung back and forth for the first couple of hours, the atmosphere got more and more tense.

Polk was the first to take a significant lead as the night wore on when he won multiple pots in a row, including making the nut full house where he got paid off on two streets. However, the lead didn’t last for long as Polk kept his foot on the gas. Polk opted to run a bluff for all of the chips on the river, but Khun managed to sniff it out and made the right call in order to double up.

“I just went with my gut feeling,” said Khun of the hand. “I thought he was bluffing that hand for sure. If I had more time banks, it would have been easier. But for that hand in particular, I was quite confident that my hand might be good a lot of times. So yeah, I just went with the way I felt. It ended up being the right one.”

As Polk was dwindled down to less than 10 big blinds, it was just a matter of time before all of the chips would go into the middle again. Khun set the trap by limping on the button, and Polk shoved all in from the big blind. Khun snapped him off with a dominating king-high as everyone on the rail rose to their feet. Polk was unable to connect with the board, and Khun was able to hold on for the victory.

Chan will be heading back to Montreal, Canada to see his family in the next couple of days but will make the trip back to Las Vegas later this summer in time for the Main Event. “I’m just really thankful that I just get to play and my wife, well, my wife just stayed with the kids, and I really miss them. And hopefully, I’ll get to see them soon and just be with them.”

That wraps up the coverage for this event, but the PokerNews live reporting team will be with you throughout the summer to bring you all of the live updates for every WSOP bracelet event.

Patrick Liang and Shant Marashlian are each $1,000,000 richer after they pulled the two top prizes in the $1,000 Mystery Millions event at the 2023 World Series of Poker.

This is the second year that the WSOP has held a Mystery Bounty tournament with a $1,000,000 top prize. This year’s edition drew 18,188 entries for a prize pool of $4,587,950. Matt Glantz was the big winner in 2022.

Marashlian was the first to pull a $1,000,000 prize, and one would expect that the random draw of a life-changing sum of money would change the winner’s demeanor, but Marashlian was cool as ice in his post-pull interview with PokerNews.

”I’m Thinking About Taxes Already”

“I’m just kind of calm. I’ve been telling everybody I’m in the zone. I’m trying to play, so I’m kind of focusing on a lot of things,” Marashlian said. The win adds a considerable amount to his career earnings of just over $200,000.

Marashlian isn’t taking much time to think about the million dollars. At least not yet. In fact, there’s some thought already of the burden that comes with winning.

“I don’t know if I’m being cynical, but I’m thinking about taxes already.”

But even before that, there is more work to be done for Marashlian.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with the money just yet because there’s a lot of poker to play.”

Liang Goes Back-to-Back

A few moments after he found a $25,000 prize, Liang returned to the stage for another pull from the mystery bounty chest in the center of the Paris ballroom. His peel of the envelope showed a “$1,” and then six more zeros to give Liang the second and final $1,000,000 bounty of the $1,000 Mystery Millions event at the 2023 World Series of Poker.

Liang’s first order of business was to give $1,000 to everyone at his table.

“I think I’ve been very blessed to share. So, like, you know, I believe that what you do comes around,” he said in an interview with PokerNews after the dust settled from his fist-pumping win.

Most of Liang’s $300,000 in lifetime earnings came in Asia where he has built an impressive string of tournament results. His two previous cashes at the WSOP were in 2022 with small finishes in the $600 Deepstack and the $400 Colossus. The big prize is a boon of rungood for Liang after a couple of years of bad luck.

“I was very unlucky like two years back with many things I had. I had a brain tumor two years ago, so I was blind for a couple months. So, I mean, life was very tough for a while.”

The $1,000,000 bounty prizes may have been what players turned out for, but it can still be a tough moment to digest with more poker to play.

“Well, I’m still in the tournament right now, and I’ll be honest with you, I’m not really thinking straight. I’m still, like, shaking in all my friends there messaging.”

His friends and followers may not be able to believe it right now, but Liang had shared a feeling that something special was in the works.

“I told some people that something special was going to happen, but I didn’t know what, so I didn’t want to say what, but I talked to a lot of people said: I’m coming this year. Something’s going to happen.”

Liang was right, and while there is still more work to do, he already has his plans set for the rest of the summer.

“Go to dinner with my friends and celebrate maybe, and just keep playing poker. This is just the beginning of the series.”

Big Bounty Winners So Far

The Mystery Millions event will return on Monday for the Day 3 finale. Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team for live updates and the latest news from the 2023 WSOP at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.