2023 WSOP Main Event Champion Will be Crowned Today
The day has finally come on which a champion of the record-breaking 2023 World Series of Poker Main Event will be crowned inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. An initial field of 10,043 entries — the largest-ever by a significant margin — has been cut down to the final three and they will battle for the lion's share of the gargantuan $93,399,900 prize pool and title of World Champion.
For the first time since John Cynn in 2018, the title will go to a player from the United States, as all six contenders from Europe were dispatched on the first stage of the final table conclusion. Steven Jones sits atop the leaderboard with 238,000,000 to his name, whereas Daniel Weinman (199,000,000) and Adam Walton (165,500,000) return with deep stacks as well. The chip leader has 119 big blinds at his disposal while Walton as the shortest stack still holds almost 83 big blinds.
Seating Chart for the Final Day
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steven Jones | United States | 238,000,000 | 119 |
| 2 | Adam Walton | United States | 165,500,000 | 83 |
| 3 | Daniel Weinman | United States | 199,000,000 | 100 |
Walton was supported by a big and boisterous rail and often walked over to them for high-fives in what can only be described as an electric atmosphere.
"Just trying to enjoy the moment. I’m excited to go hang out with everybody and like, you know, whatever happens, happens. It’s hard to complain, having a great time."
Out of the three final players, Weinman may appear to be the odds-on favorite on paper with more than $3.7 million in live poker cashes ahead of this tournament. He enjoyed a very successful 2022 WSOP in which the poker pro earned his maiden gold bracelet in Event #30: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed, but he now has the chance to double that tally while also being guaranteed to more than double his reported lifetime cashes.
He may have the most experience of the trio, but admitted not to have a ton of info on the playing styles of his two opponents ahead of the final day.
"And honestly, the two of them were probably the people I played with the least throughout the whole tournament. I don’t think any of us played until we combined at ten. So even though we’ve kind of played shorthanded a little bit now, still don’t have a ton of info on either of them. So probably do a little bit of study tonight, but mostly just going to enjoy it and let it all sink in."
The first part of the 2023 WSOP Main Event final table lasted 116 hands and the field was reduced from nine hopefuls to just three contenders with Jan-Peter Jachtmann becoming the last casualty of the previous evening.
Loud “USA,USA,USA” chants can be expected again in the PokerGO Thunderdome inside the Horseshoe Events Center when the action resumes at 1 p.m. local time. Cards-up coverage and commentary will be available on a security delay of one hour and the PokerNews coverage goes live accordingly as of 2 p.m. local time.
There are 43:33 minutes remaining in Level 40 at blinds of 1,000,000-2,000,000 with a big blind ante of 2,000,000, which makes for an incredibly deep average of 100 big blinds to chase the $12,100,000 top prize. All three finalists have locked up a payday of $4,000,000 so far, but the pay jumps en route to determining a winner are steep.
Final Table Results and Remaining Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $12,100,000 | ||
| 2 | $6,500,000 | ||
| 3 | $4,000,000 | ||
| 4 | Jan-Peter Jachtmann | Germany | $3,000,000 |
| 5 | Ruslan Prydryk | Ukraine | $2,400,000 |
| 6 | Dean Hutchison | Scotland | $1,850,000 |
| 7 | Toby Lewis | England | $1,425,000 |
| 8 | Juan Maceiras | Spain | $1,125,000 |
| 9 | Daniel Holzner | Italy | $900,000 |
Stay tuned for the PokerNews hand-for-hand coverage in sync with the PokerGO live stream from the very first hand until a winner has been determined.
Click on the name for an in-depth profile of the final three players: