Jans Arends denied super high roller regular and PokerGO prez Cary Catz his first World Series of Poker bracelet in the second-largest buy-in event of the summer, the $100,000 high roller event. The most expensive event, the $250,000 high roller, begins tomorrow.
Arends won $2,576,729 and his first bracelet live in the eight-handed event that attracted 93 entrants who built a prize pool of $8,997,750. It’s his second cash at live WSOP events, his first coming earlier this month in the $50,000 high roller, where he finished third for $694,019.
He won his first WSOP bracelet online last September in a $1,000 event.
Better known online as “Graftekkel,” he is a multi-table tournament crusher who got his start playing the smallest stakes online in the Netherlands. According to his bio on CNC Poker, a coaching site he’s part of, Arends “began his poker career playing cash games in 2009. Then, by 2010, he had switched to MTTs starting at the lowest buy-in levels, looking to build a bankroll to move up the stakes. His first significant result was achieved in 2011 when he won the Sunday Million for $200,000, and he hasn’t looked back since.”
He charges $600 per each 90 minute lesson, by the way.
But he’s not just an online superstar. Arends is having a sort of break-out year on the live tournament trail. In March, he won the $30,000 event at the Triton Super High Rollers series in Vietnam for $921,178, and came one spot short of winning the $15,000 event (still good for $406,000).
High rollers roll in
Arends topped another field of the unique snowflakes of the poker world who are able and willing to play in the biggest buy-in tourneys. That includes PokerGO president Cary Katz, who also has won maybe more “high roller” events than anyone else.
Hell, just at POkerGO Tour events this year. In events with buy-ins $10,000 or more, he’s made five final tables. Go back into December, and add five more final tables to that total — plus two victories.
But he doesn’t have a WSOP bracelet despite cashing 60 times.
Those who owned at least one bracelet coming into the final table were Jeremy Ausmus (five), Adrian Mateos (four), Chance Kornath (three), and Justin Bonomo (three). Here’s how they wound up:
The top eight of the 2023 WSOP $100,000 high roller
- Jans Arends — $2,576,729
- Cary Katz — $1,592,539
- Adrian Mateos — $1,142,147
- Chance Kornuth — $833,854
- Jeremy Ausmus — $619,919
- Biao Ding — $469,464
- Justin Bonomo — $362,279
- Ren Lin — $284,979
The top 14 cashed at least $171,034, and included Koray Aldelmir, David Peters, and Kristen Foxen, the only woman in the field, who finished tenth for $187,069. Foxen, listed under her maiden name Bicknell on WSOP’s site, holds three bracelets and is also a two-time GPI Female Player of the Year.
Poker Hall of Famers Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu showed up to play, but were knocked out in 54th and 44th. Ivey was the runner-up in this event last year, but was denied a his eleventh bracelet by Aleksejs Ponakovs.
