WSOP 2023: Daniel Weinman Creates History! Former Bracelet Winner Champions Biggest-Ever WSOP Main Event Field to Win $12.10 Million! 

After 14 relentless days of high-stakes action, the dust has finally settled, crowning Daniel Weinman (cover image), a native of Atlanta, Georgia, as the new World Champion of poker! Weinman triumphantly emerged as the victor of Event #76: $10,000 WSOP Main Event World Championship at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP), securing a mind-boggling cash prize of $12,100,000 and a prestigious spot in the annals of poker history. His stellar performance saw him outlasting a record-setting field of 10,043 entrants, collectively contributing to an immense prize pool of $93,399,900, earning him his second WSOP bracelet.

The American pro scooped up the remaining 602.5 million chips on the table, claiming victory at 3:20 PM (local time) after relegating Steven Jones to the runner-up position. Although falling short of the Main Event title can be heart-wrenching, Jones’ consolation prize, an impressive $6,500,000 second-place payout, will certainly soften the blow.

You can watch a clip of the final hand of the tournament below.

Daniel Weinman (@notontilt09) is your 2023 @WSOP Main Event Champion.

In the final hand, Weinman and Steven Jones both flop top pair, and when Jones moves in on the turn, Weinman calls.

Weinman walks away with $12,100,000 after conquering the largest Main Event field ever. pic.twitter.com/bxOOJaOcMH

— PokerGO (@PokerGO) July 17, 2023

Joining this ‘All-American’ top three lineup was Adam Walton, who secured the third spot with a rewarding $4,000,000.

Weinman’s stunning victory in this record-breaking Main Event was nothing less than miraculous. On Day 8, he was teetering on the edge of defeat, only to turn the tables after hitting a game-changing two-outer destined to become a legendary comeback story in poker lore.

Despite spending 16 years diligently competing in the World Series and cashing in the Main Event just once before, Weinman’s confidence was running low when he registered for the $10,000 buy-in Main Event after taking a breather midway through the series.

“I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament,” he admitted during the post-tournament interview.

The 35-year-old cinched the victory in just 164 hands at the final table, creating the record for the quickest Main Event final table in recent times. Day 10 turned out to be the most expeditious, concluding in under three hours after Walton’s elimination and a brief but intense heads-up battle between Weinman and Jones, a real estate investor from Arizona.

Weinman, surrounded by a stellar support group that included six-time bracelet winners Shaun Deeb, Josh Arieh, and Jason Mercier, was the picture of jubilation at the Horseshoe Event Center, reflecting on his win in the largest WSOP Main Event to date. This victory eclipsed the previous record set in 2006 when Jamie Gold won $12 Million!

“I’ve always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible,” Weinman shared. “And to win this Main Event, it doesn’t feel real. I mean, (there’s) so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well, but so many hands that (I got) incredibly lucky for the situations to arise.”

Weinman, an alumnus of Georgia Tech with a degree in engineering, now sits on over $15.80 Million in live tournament earnings following this career-defining triumph. This victory also earned him his second career bracelet, complementing his two World Poker Tour main event titles. His first bracelet win arrived last summer when he clinched Event #30: $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-handed for $255,359.

This Main Event victory represents the first American win since John Cynn‘s triumph in 2018, with recent champions hailing from Norway (Espen Jorstad, 2022), Germany (Koray Aldemir, 2021 and Hossein Ensan, 2019), and Argentina (Damian Salas, 2020).

You can watch the replay of the WSOP Main Event final day live stream below.

Team India’s Dream Run Ends on Day 7

The 2023 WSOP Main Event unfolded as a historical event on several fronts. While it set the global record as the largest-ever Main Event, it also marked an unprecedented achievement for India: the closest an Indian player has ever come to claiming the title. The honor of this deep run in the WSOP Main Event goes to Anirban Das, whose name has been etched in the annals of Indian poker history.

Das, a 37-year-old first-time WSOP participant sponsored by PokerBaazi’s National Poker Series, made an impressive run, culminating in a 16th-place finish. He pocketed a remarkable $430,200 (~₹3.53 Crores), setting several records for Indian poker:

• Deepest run by an Indian in the WSOP Main Event
• Biggest score by an Indian in the 2023 WSOP
• Second-biggest score by an Indian at the WSOP after Abhinav Iyer‘s 2019 bracelet win

Das’ performance on Day 7 mirrored a roller-coaster ride. Each time he was on the verge of elimination, he miraculously rebounded. Despite appearing to be a strong contender for Day 8, his journey concluded with the final hand of Day 7.

Nikita Luther, an iconic figure in Indian poker and a former bracelet winner, also made history, setting a new record for the deepest WSOP Main Event run by an Indian woman. Her Main Event campaign came to a heart-wrenching end on Day 6 in 96th place when her fell to Andrew Hulme‘s . Despite her disappointing exit, Luther secured a significant $78,900 payout, marking her second-largest WSOP earnings.

Aditya S was the only other Indian who battled his way to Day 6. Renowned for his impressive 14th-place finish in the 2019 WSOP Event #71: Salute to Warriors NLHE, Systla departed in 109th place, garnering $67,700, his highest WSOP cash-out to date.

The roster of Indian scores in the Main Event was completed by Anil Adiani (244th for $50,900), who exited on Day 5, Abhishek Paul (564th for $32,500), Nishant Sharma (1,026th for $17,500), and Dilip Ravindran (1,064th for $17,500) who were eliminated on Day 4.

The top 1,507 players cashed the Main Event, and the notables among them were Ryan Tosoc (25th for $345,000), Raj Vohra (36th for $229,000), John Racener (53rd for $188,400), Tony Dunst (66th for $130,300), Estelle Cohuet (68th for $130,300), Nate Silver (87th for $92,600), Sean Troha (104th for $67,700), and Andrew Neeme (164th for $58,500).

The nine-handed final table was formed after Jose Aguilera‘s elimination in 10th place ($700,000) on Day 8.

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Adam Walton – 143,800,000
2. Steven Jones – 90,300,000
3. Daniel Weinman – 81,700,000
4. Jan-Peter Jachtmann – 74,600,000
5. Juan Maceiras – 68,000,000
6. Ruslan Prydryk – 50,700,000
7. Dean Hutchison -41,700,000
8. Daniel Holzner – 31,900,000
9. Toby Lewis – 19,800,000

Final Table Recap

After a break day on Saturday, the remaining nine players returned to the Thunderdome for Day 9.

First to depart was Italian apple tree farmer Daniel Holzner who had navigated a shorter stack for a long time leading up to the nine-handed final table. On the 43rd hand of the final table, Holzner’s failed to win the flip against Steven Jones’ , with the board running , ending Holzner’s run in ninth place.

Two hands later, Juan Maceiras open-jammed a stack of 17,500,000 from the middle position with , and Toby Lewis called in the big blind holding . The board brought , and Lewis’ flopped top pair was good enough to knock the Day 7 chip leader out in eighth place.

With eliminations happening quickly, it only took another seven hands before Toby Lewis was sent packing in seventh place. The hand in question saw Jones opening to 3,200,000 from the hijack, and Adam Walton called in the next seat. Lewis then 3-bet jammed his stack of 34,300,000 from the big blind. Walton got out of the way while Jones counted his chips before calling to put Lewis at risk.

Toby Lewis

Steven Jones

The showdown bricked for Lewis, bringing an end to his dream Main Event run.

Six-handed play continued for 32 hands before the subsequent elimination happened. On the final hand ahead of the second break (Hand #84), Dean Hutchison, who boasted one of the loudest rails in the Thunderdome, ran his into Jan-Peter Jachtmann’s superior . The board showed sealing Hutchison’s fate in sixth place.

The Scotsman’s elimination ensured a pay jump for fellow short stack Ruslan Prydryk, who doubled once the action resumed. However, Prydryk saw his stack cut down through several hands without a showdown, and Weinman dealt the final blow. On the 106th hand, Prydryk open-jammed for 24,000,000 from the hijack with , and Weinman called in the cutoff, holding to put the Ukrainian at risk. The rundown revealed , and Weinman’s flopped two-pair dismissed Prydryk in fifth place.

Play continued for another 10 hands before the final elimination of the night took place. On the 116th hand, Jones opened to 4,000,000 in the cutoff, and Walton called on the button. Jan-Peter Jachtmann 3-bet jammed for 54,000,000 in the big blind, and Walton called with a bigger stack as Jones folded.

Jan-Peter Jachtmann

Adam Walton

The community cards read , and Jachtmann exited in fourth place, becoming the final elimination of Day 9.

Final Day Chip Counts

1. Steven Jones – 238,000,000
2. Daniel Weinman – 199,000,000
3. Adam Walton – 165,500,000

Final Day Recap

Day 10 dawned with a promise of an enduring battle as the three final players convened, each in contention with an average stack of a hundred big blinds. Despite the copious stacks, the trio promptly dove into the fray, trading chips without hesitation.

The first exit on the final day was marked by Adam Walton. Twenty-three hands into the final day’s play, Jones lofted an opening bet of 6,000,000 on the button, which Walton responded to with a call. Weinman then raised the stakes with a squeeze to 27,000,000 from the big blind, prompting Jones to fold. The action returned to Walton, who responded with an immediate all-in shove of a massive 209,500,000 – a substantial 84 big blinds – to which Weinman promptly accepted the challenge.

Adam Walton

Daniel Weinman

Walton’s audacious strategy had edged him towards elimination many times through the final table, but he managed to scrape together some equity with the flop and the turn. Nonetheless, the river bricked, marking the end of Walton’s run in the third position.

Walton’s departure granted Weinman an intimidating advantage, amassing a gargantuan chip lead of 443,000,000 against Steven Jones’ 159,500,000.

Following a brief break wherein several briefcases stuffed with $100,000 blocks of cash, under the vigilant protection of a Hitman impersonator wielding a shotgun, were unceremoniously deposited on the showcase table and arranged into a tidy pyramid valued at $12,100,000, the heads-up play kicked off. Weinman entered this stage with an imposing lead, still controlling over 200 big blinds.

The final duo opted for cautious play in the following level until a significant clash occurred. The heads-up session was a brief showdown, lasting merely 24 rounds.

On the last hand of the final table (Hand #164), Jones initiated a bet of 7,000,000 from the button, which Weinman answered. Following a flop, Weinman checked, and Jones continued with a bet of 6,000,000. Weinman retaliated with a check-raise to 18,500,000, which Jones called. Weinman then escalated the stakes by firing a bet of 38,000,000 on the turn, prompting Jones to contemplate for just over four minutes before going all-in with his stack of 146,000,000. Weinman instantly enquired about the total count before leaping up from his seat, taking just 25 seconds to make the life-changing call.

Steven Jones

Daniel Weinman

With the cards revealed, Weinman rushed to his supporters, nervously awaiting the final card. Both players had a top pair, but Weinman had the upper hand with a higher kicker, making him a strong contender to become the next WSOP Main Event champion.

The dealer prolonged the suspense before revealing the river, triggering an outburst of joy from Weinman, who was promptly engulfed in a group embrace by his ecstatic supporters after this emotionally charged victory.

Final Table Results (USD)

1. Daniel Weinman – $12,100,000
2. Steven Jones – $6,500,000
3. Adam Walton – $4,000,000
4. Jan-Peter Jachtmann – $3,000,000
5. Ruslan Prydryk – $2,400,000
6. Dean Hutchison – $1,850,000
7. Toby Lewis – $1,425,000
8. Juan Maceiras – $1,125,000
9. Daniel Holzner – $900,000

Content & Images Courtesy: WSOP

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