Stephen Chidwick is the 2023 PokerGO Poker Masters Champion thanks to a red hot final run of results that netted him over $1 million.
Chidwick made the headlines this week after taking top spot in Event #8 of the 2023 Poker Masters. The Englishman made light work of the final table, eliminating all but one of his opponents on route to winning $400,000.
That victory not only moved Chidwick to fifth place on the Player of the Series leaderboard, it lit a fire that saw him burn bright in both Event #9 and Event #10. Although he didn’t manage to claim another trophy, Chidwick’s deep runs earned him enough points to win PokerGO’s coveted purple jacket.
Vladas Tamasauskas Almost Wins Poker Masters Purple Jacket
It looked like Vladas Tamasauskas would become Player of the Series with two events left to play. The Lithuanian stormed to an early lead by winning two events in quick succession and cashing in another to bank $506,400 and 506 points.
Chino Rheem was the biggest threat to Tamasauskas for a while as he’d cashed consistently throughout the Poker Masters series. However, when the buy-ins jumped from $10,000 to $25,000 and $50,000, Chidwick’s experience in high stakes events shone through.
Event #9 saw 37 players pay $25,000 to compete for another Poker Masters title. Previous winners Chino Rheem and Andrew Lichtenberger made the final table but fell in sixth and fourth, respectively. Chidwick also went close, finishing third behind Daniel Rezaei and winner Justin Bonomo ($333,000).
It was a similar story in Event #10. The $50,000 tournament attracted 42 entrants and, once again, Chidwick almost got it done. This time he fell in second place to Jonathan Jaffe. Chidwick needed to mount a comeback against Jaffe and got his chips in good with A
9
against A 3
. However, the final board ran out K 10 7 8
3 to send the pot, winner’s trophy, and $756,000 to Jaffe.
Stephen Chidwick shows why he’s one of poker’s masters
Despite the unfortunate turn of events heads-up, Chidwick still earned enough points to overtake Vladas Tamasauskas and become the 2023 Poker Masters Champion. That accolade not only means he takes home the purple jacket but an extra $50,000 to go along with the $1,109,000 he won for cashing in four events.
| Position | Name | Wins | Cashes | Winnings | Points |
| 1 | Stephen Chidwick | 1 | 4 | $1,109,000 | 688 |
| 2 | Vladas Tamasauskas | 2 | 3 | $506,400 | 506 |
| 3 | Chino Rheem | 1 | 5 | $602,650 | 487 |
| 4 | Alex Foxen | 0 | 5 | $663,500 | 460 |
| 5 | Jonathan Jaffe | 1 | 1 | $756,000 | 454 |
The Englishman will almost certainly stay in Las Vegas for the Super High Roller Bowl. The $300,000 event gets underway on September 28 at the PokerGO Studio and, with plenty of players in town, it looks set to be another spectacle.
As for the Poker Masters, it was another successful year. The series as a whole attracted 742 buy-ins and paid out a total of $11,065,000 in prize money. Not only that but Event #1 now stands as the biggest tournament in Poker Masters history with 114 entries.
