PokerGO Cup 2023: Sean Winter Makes An Incredible Comeback on the FT to Champion Event #1: $10K NLHE ($216,000)

Sean Winter (cover image) couldn’t have asked for a better start to 2023! Over three weeks ago, the Jacksonville, Florida native had finished runner-up to Jason Koon in the 2022 PokerGO Tour Championship Winner-Takes-All event. Now, he has some retribution!

On Thursday, January 12, seven top pros returned to play the final table of Event #1: $10,000 NL Hold’em of the 2023 PokerGO Cup. Winter was the shortest stack with just 7 BBs among the seven finalists. However, the 32-year-old was undeterred as he spun up his stack, flipped his way into the chip lead, and never looked back. In the end, he topped Alex Foxen in heads-up play to win the first event of the 2023 PokerGO Cup series, along with a $216,000 payday. His victory has also put him on top of the 2023 PokerGO Cup leaderboard. Though it is still early days, Winter is, at present, the frontrunner to become this year’s PokerGO Cup champion.

Coming back to series, the 2023 PokerGO Cup is the third edition of this beloved series and is being hosted at the Aria Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas. Event #1: $10,000 NL Hold’em registered 90 entries, collecting a $900,000 prize pool. Nick Petrangelo money bubbled the tournament in 13th place.

Six-time WSOP bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu was the first player to finish in the money, placing 12th for $18,000.

Dorian Pavon (9th for $36,000), Cary Katz (10th for $27,000), and Martin Stausholm (11th for $27,000) were the other notables to finish in the money.

Following the elimination of Justin Young (8th for $36,000), the seven-handed final table was set up.

Anthony Hu was the first player to hit the rail in seventh place and was eliminated by Foxen. Orpen Kisacikoglu was eliminated in sixth place when his pocket jacks into Winter’s aces.

Five-handed play lasted for a while, and the stacks were swinging. It eventually ended with Adrian Mateos‘ exit in fifth place.

David Peters began the day as the chip leader, but it wasn’t his day. Nothing seemed to go right for Peters, resulting in a fourth-place finish.

Joseph Cheong finished in third place after fighting hard all day and consistently being one of the shorter stacks at the final table.

The heads-up play between Winter (7,900,000) and Alex Foxen (3,350,000) began with the former enjoying a comfortable lead. Though Foxen fought, the heads-up ended shortly, with Winter coming out on top.

On the final hand, Winter opened to 375,000 on the button, and Foxen called from the big blind. The flop showed . Both players checked to see the turn. Foxen fired a bet of 450,000, and Winter called to see the river. Foxen checked with 1,380,000 remaining in his stack. Winter moved all in, and Foxen called.

Sean Winter

Alex Foxen

Winter’s turned trip kings spelled the end of Foxen’s dream run, relegating the latter to a runner-up finish.

You can watch the replay of the final table action below.

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Sean Winter – $216,000
2. Alex Foxen – $153,000
3. Joseph Cheong – $108,000
4. David Peters – $90,000
5. Adrian Mateos – $72,000
6. Orpen Kisacikoglu – $54,000
7. Anthony Hu – $45,000

Content & Images Courtesy: PokerGO