Jans Arends is a Dutch professional poker player who specializes in multi-table tournaments. Arends is often referred to by his "Graftekkel" nickname, which is the alias he often uses while grinding online poker sites.
Arends, like many poker players, cut his poker chops playing cash games, doing so in 2009. He switched to tournament poker within a year, and took down the PokerStars Sunday Million for $200,000 in 2011. The prize money won from his Sunday Million gifted Arends more freedom regarding the online and live tournaments he could afford to play, and it is safe to say he has never looked back since that career-defining victory.
Although Arends is better known as an online MTT grinder, thanks to winning several million dollars from online poker's biggest events, the Dutch star has racked up more than $2.5 million in live earnings since his first in-the-money finish in January 2015.
Arends enjoyed some success in his native Netherlands and Spain during the early stages of his live poker career. Back-to-back fourth-place finishes in the €10,300 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller events of the Master Classics of Poker (MCOP) in 2016 and 2017 saw Arends bank a combined €132,587.
Arends' First Six-Figure Live Score
The Dutchman's first six-figure haul was a result of another fourth-place finish, this time in the €25,000 No-Limit Hold'em event at the 2019 PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague festival. Arends bested that haul in May 2020 by taking down a $10,300 Super High Roller Bowl Online tournament for $216,000 at PartyPoker.
In September 2022, Arends captured his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in a $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Double Chance event held online at GGPoker. Arends banked $129,745 that day.
Career-Best Hauls in Vietnam
A trip to Vietnam in March 2023 proved to be one of the best ideas Arends has ever had because he returned him more than $1.3 million richer. Arends finished as runner-up to Nacho Barbero in a $15,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em 7-Handed, which was part of the Triton Super High Roller Series Vietnam festival. Second place came with $406,000.
A couple of days later, Arends won a $30,000 buy-in 7-Handed event for a new career-best haul of $921,178.
Fast forward to the 2023 WSOP in Las Vegas, and Arends finished third in the $50,000 High Roller (8-Handed) and walked away with $694,19 for his efforts.
Arends continued his strong 2023 WSOP with a $2,576,729 top prize and his second career WSOP bracelet in Event 29: $100,000 High Roller.
