2023 WSOP Week 3 Roundup: Old Guard Roars Back

Written by Jennifer Newell

Last updated on June 19th, 2023

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The first week of the 2023 World Series of Poker saw a number of poker players claim the first bracelets of the year, the most notable of which was Chad Eveslage. Coming off of a stellar year with the World Poker Tour, including winning its Player of the Year in 2022, Eveslage claimed his second career WSOP victory.

In the second week, Eveslage led things off by winning another event, just a few days off his first of this year’s series. And most impressive was that both WSOP bracelets in that week were in the Dealers Choice category. Other big winners that week included a mix of newer players and veterans of the industry. Rafael Reis was one of the newer faces, but poker boom favorites like Nick Schulman and Isaac Haxton took their spots in the winner’s circle as well.

The third week was some of the same, but it served as proof that the old guard was back. Players who captured bracelets in the 2000s and 2010s achieved bracelet fame all over again.

Event 18: Gladiator Simon

The Gladiators of Poker was the largest tournament of the year thus far with its 23,088 entries and $3.6M prize pool. From that massive field emerged Jason Simon of St. Louis, Missouri. He earned his first WSOP gold and a place in the history books.

The mixed game player in cash games said that his penchant for Hold’em tournaments was exactly what he needed for this win. But he also credited his friends and family on the rail. “It was awesome,” he said. “Having your friends here with you, cheering for you in the all-ins, it definitely helps.”

 

Meet the “Russell Crowe of poker” – St. Louis’ Jason Simon ⚔️🏰💪🏽

More from today’s #WSOP events on https://t.co/eD3emYuD7i pic.twitter.com/XKGhdjfQXc

— Poker Org (@pokerorg) June 16, 2023

Event 19: Bulgarian Bracelet

A solid field in this freezeout event brought a very diverse final table to the stage, one with seven countries represented among the final nine players. In the end, Bulgarian Valentino Konakchiev defeated Argentinian Andres Korn to claim his first bracelet.

“I’ve been dreaming about it since I’ve been watching poker when I was 15 on TV,” he told PokerNews. “I can’t believe it actually happened.”

 

Event 20: Badugi Bracelet

In the first-ever Badugi WSOP bracelet event, more than 500 entries created a solid prize pool and led to another diverse final table of six. Michael Rodrigues of Portugal came out on top. With emotion on his face and friends at his side, he happily accepted his first WSOP bracelet.

 

Event 21: PLO Profitable for Nahm

Another first-time bracelet winner emerged victorious in this large Pot Limit Omaha field during the third week of the WSOP. Stephen Nahm couldn’t believe that he won at first, ultimately celebrated his first WSOP gold with friends.

Not wanting much of the spotlight, Nahm simply told reporters, “Every poker player, obviously, comes here… You dream of this shit, right? I kinda made my dream come true a little bit; I’m not gonna lie.”

 

Event 22: Arieh at It Again

The 2022 WSOP Player of the Year has been back at it again, and in the third week of this year’s series, he captured his fifth career bracelet. He did it in a championship-level event with friends like Shaun Deeb on the rail and his fiancée at his side.

At the final table, Arieh said that he had felt a “huge rush of clarity and calmness” instead of stress. When the tournament became a three-handed game, he said, “One of us will go on a rush, and it can very easily be me. And that’s just what happened.”

 

That's bracelet number FIVE for @JoshuaArieh: pic.twitter.com/GiEpP7FyEK

— Jeff Platt (@jeffplatt) June 12, 2023

Event 23: Sturm Storms High Roller

Leon Sturm is known online for being a poker crusher. But his claim to fame couldn’t compete with the masses of people cheering for 75-year-old Bill Klein at this final table. Not only is Klein a likeable man in poker, he donates his winnings to charitable causes. He did win nearly $1M but it was for the second-place finish, as Sturm stormed to victory.

Sturm said that the $1.5M win felt amazing. “The bracelet is something special,” he told PokerNews. “It means more than just a trophy, I guess. … The competition was really tough, so that makes it better.”

 

Event 24: ODB Claims Razz Gold

In a game people love to hate, David “ODB” Baker became its latest champion. His tough Razz final table included names like Dzmitry Urbanovich and Jeff Lisandro, and the “original” David Baker had to beat a formidable opponent in Justin Liberto heads-up to win. But he did it to capture his third career bracelet.

Baker was grateful just to play but, of course, to win as well. “If you polled poker players to find out who loved poker the most,” he commented, “my name would be on the top ten list. I live for this.”

 

Congrats on bracelet #3, @audavidb! Sick comeback! pic.twitter.com/fAVwMJtaXt

— Rachel Kay Winter (@RachKayPhoto) June 12, 2023

Event 25: Benba is Back

Ben Lamb won his first bracelet in 2011 by way of the $10K PLO Championship. This year, the longtime poker pro known as Benba returned to the WSOP in full form. And when he played the $10K PLO-8 Championship, he won it. He bested fellow old school players like Brad Ruben and Erik Seidel as well as newer players on the scene.

As Lamb told PokerNews after the victory, “I think I am playing pretty good poker. I haven’t been playing a lot, but when I have been playing, I have been more emotionally invested and focusing harder.”

 

Event 26: Mao Masters Deepstack

Renji Mao put himself on the map by winning his first WSOP bracelet in this NLHE Deepstack event. He also represented China with a win after beating a tough Asian-dominated final table. He faced a fellow Chinese player and two Taiwanese players, including JJ Liu, at that table, and beat them for the gold and a substantial $400K win.

Mao said that his last-minute homework regarding NLHE paid off. “I changed my strategy completely today to be on a more aggressive end,” he told PokerNews of his winning strategy.

 

Event 27: Deeb Does Six

Shaun Deeb had just celebrated friend Josh Arieh’s fifth bracelet days before. But motivated by a promise to claim a sixth bracelet before Arieh, Deeb went on a deep run in the Eight-Game WSOP event. Amidst a massive weight loss bet and props with friends, Deeb kept his focus and won the sixth bracelet of his poker career.

“I’m going to battle super hard,” he said of the Player of the Year race that has been heating up. “Just been an awesome couple of weeks of the series. It feels like it’s almost over, and we’re not even halfway through. I’m so pumped for the rest of the events.”

 

Only Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Johnny Moss, Layne Flack, and Jeffrey Lisandro have ever won six bracelets in less than ten years…

until @shaundeeb took down his 6th gold bracelet last night!

Click each photo and look back at the iconic run Shaun has gone on… pic.twitter.com/N9G66RGmV2

— PokerNews (@PokerNews) June 14, 2023

Event 28: Ector Earns One

Benjamin Ector became the latest poker player to win his first bracelet in 2023 when he took down a NLHE freezeout event during the third week of the series. He flew past players like Dietrich Fast and Matt Hunt, eliminating nearly every opponent at the final table to win the gold.

 

Event 29: Arends Scores a Second

Jans Arends won his first WSOP bracelet online in 2022, and the high-stakes poker player won his second in a $100K buy-in live bracelet event. He soared past players like Justin Bonomo, Jeremy Ausmus, Chance Kornuth, and Adrian Mateos to make it to heads-up versus Cary Katz. And he got aggressive to take down the tournament.

Arends mentioned his recent hot streak after the win. “I enjoy the game a lot,” he said, “especially when I’m running hot, and this year has been absolutely crazy. I’ve never run this hot in my life.”

 

Event 30: Monnette Makes It Five

Another player who emerged during the poker boom earned his fifth bracelet this year, and John Monnette battled back from half of a big bet to do it in the Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw event. The mixed game specialist needed more than two hours of heads-up play in the end, but he did win the gold.

“It means a lot,” Monnette told PokerNews. “That’s why we’re here in these tournaments, just battling. Nothing’s like it. Nothing brings the energy that the WSOP does.”

 

Thank you for all the support from everyone, it means a lot. Also huge respect to Chris Chung, he handled my comeback with complete class then asked to be in the winners photo, true legend right there, won’t be long before he gets his @wsop bracelet!

— John Monnette (@angryjmonnett) June 16, 2023

Event 31: Dulaney Fights for First

A Texas firefighter played this fast-paced NLHE-PLO mix, and from the field of 2,758 entries, Scott Dulaney won it to claim his first bracelet.

He explained that he uses “aggressive firefighting tactics” at the poker table. “I’ve always done that, and now it’s paying off,” he said, as he debated about the next Omaha tournament he would play.

 

Event 32: Worth the Wait for Ioli

Mark Ioli had been close to bracelets before, finishing second twice in online WSOP events. But this tournament was the one, outlasting numerous pro players to make it to the winner’s circle.

“It feels good to finally win,” he said after completing the task. “It’s one accolade in poker you want no matter what.” And his winner photo with the bracelet says it all.

 

The third time was the charm for Mark Ioli as he finally captured his first bracelet in Event #32: $3,000 NLH 6-Max event for $558,266.

Before the win, Mark had two second-place finishes in online bracelet events.

Congratulations, Mark! pic.twitter.com/SX2dRyG7MU

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) June 15, 2023