What a way to celebrate another “trip around the sun!”
The latest $10,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament is in the books for the 2023 Poker Masters, and birthday boy Andrew Lichtenberger emerged as the champion. Lichtenberger took down Brian Kim in the showdown of the 85-entry field, taking home a nice present of $204,000 for his efforts. The conclusion of Event #5 doesn’t signify the end of the 2023 Poker Masters, however – the price of poker is just going to go up!
Lichtenberger Lights Candles Early
Six men returned to the felt Wednesday night to figure out who would take the latest event on the Poker Masters schedule. Leading the way was Daniel Lazrus, who was the only player over the three million chip mark with his 3.035 million stack. Niko Koop (2.575 million) and Kim (2.145 million) were the prime challengers to Lazrus, while Lichtenberger lurked in fourth place (1.7 million). Both Koray Aldemir (600K) and Brock Wilson (575K) would need some early-level magic if they were going to stick around for any length of time.
Kim was the big mover once the cards hit the air, forcing Koop to fold on one of the first hands of play to see Kim seize the chip lead. That didn’t last very long, however, as Lichtenberger would utilize a four-bet all-in move that neither Lazrus nor Kim could call. Soon after that trio clashed, Lazrus would take out Aldemir in sixth place to reestablish himself on top of the leaderboard.
After Wilson’s Hail Mary with an A♣ 7♣ against the pocket tens of Kim and the Big Slick of Lazrus came up short on a Q-7-2-8-2 board (ending his tourney in fifth place), Lichtenberger would make the move that stuck. On a board of 10-5-4-3-8, Lichtenberger called turn and river bets from Kim before showing a Q-10 to beat Kim’s 10-9. That hand thrust Lichtenberger into the lead, one that he would not relinquish in eliminating Lazrus in third and Kim in heads-up play to seize the title.
1. Andrew Lichtenberger (USA), $204,000 (204 points)
2. Brian Kim (USA), $144,500 (144)
3. Daniel Lazrus (USA), $102,000 (102)
4. Niko Koop (Germany), $85,000 (85)
5. Brock Wilson (USA), $68,000 (68)
6. Koray Aldemir (Germany), $51,000 (51)
Tamasauskas Holds Purple Jacket Lead, Lichtenberger Puts Name in Mix
Using his early series success, Event #1 champion Vladas Tamasauskas currently sits atop the leaderboard in the race for the Purple Jacket signifying the overall champion of the 2023 Poker Masters. Tamasauskas would follow that win in the first tournament strong, he cashed in the next event and won Event #3. Those two wins push him to over $500K in earnings and have allowed the Lithuanian to garner 506 points towards the overall title.
One player who has done quite a bit without picking up a victory yet is Ren Lin. Lin, who is also in contention for the different Player of the Year races in the tournament poker world, has earned nearly $300K in prize money while picking up 299 points in the Poker Masters race. Lichtenberger, with his victory in Event #5, has now cashed three times and has a total of 266 points on the tote board.
Here’s the breakdown of the Top Ten in the race for the 2023 Poker Masters overall title:
1. Vladas Tamasauskas, 506 points
2. Ren Lin, 299
3. Andrew Lichtenberger, 266
4. Darren Elias, 259
5. David ‘Chino’ Rheem, 218
6. Brock Wilson, 194
7. Aram Zobian, 171
8. Eric Baldwin, 155
(tie) Jonathan Little 155
10. Alex Foxen, 153
The final $10,000 tournament on the schedule will play out today with a final table featuring Orpen Kisacikoglu, Justin Bonomo, and Rheem as the headliners. After today, the price of poker goes up as three $25,000 tournaments lead up to the $50,000 Main Event set to start next Monday. By that point, there will be a clearer look at the contenders for the Purple Jacket and the 2023 Poker Masters Main Event title itself.
(Photo courtesy of PokerGO)