Michael Addamo Wins The Poker Masters Purple Jacket

The high roller regulars once again descended upon the PokerGO studio in Las Vegas this September, this time with their eyes on the customary Purple Jacket that is awarded to the player of the series each year at the Poker Masters.

Two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Michael Addamo came into the final two tournaments of the 12-event series with zero cashes under his belt, and as a result was a huge longshot to win the jacket. In fact, he had only played one of the first 10 tournaments on the schedule, showing up just in time for the largest buy-in events offered this year.

The 27-year-old poker pro from Australia emerged victorious in the $50,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event on Saturday, Sept. 18 to earn $680,000. Just one day later, he came out on top in the $100,000 buy-in main event to add another $1,160,000 to his totals.

Addamo was the only player to win two titles at this year’s Poker Masters. His victories in the highest-stakes events were plenty enough to be crowned the 2021 Poker Masters champion. As a result, he secured the Purple Jacket and $50,000 in added prize money to bring his two-day total to $1,890,000.

When PokerGO reporters asked him where this run of success ranks in the hot streaks of his young career, the high roller crusher replied, “This is definitely up there. I don’t think I’ve won two tournaments in quick succession of this size before, so this is probably the biggest one.”

The series featured seven $10,000 buy-in high roller events during the first week of action, with five no-limit hold’em events, a pot-limit Omaha tournament, and an eight-game mix event.

The first tournament of the series saw Shannon Shorr navigate his way through a field of 82 entries to earn $205,000 and his third title of the year. The following day, Sean Perry defeated the largest field of the series, topping 86 total entries in another no-limit hold’em event. Perry secured $206,400 and his fifth title of 2021. Perry went on to make two more cashes during the series, earning $280,000 and finishing ninth in the player of the series race in the end.

Alaskan poker pro Adam Hendrix captured the first PLO title on the schedule, beating out a field of 69 entries to lock up the $186,300 top prize and his first PokerGO Tour victory. Brock Wilson took down the third $10,000 no-limit hold’em event on the schedule, moving into the lead in the points race with a fourth-place finish in the kickoff event. Wilson ultimately finished fifth in the standings, with three cashes for $414,300 in total earnings.

Earlier this year Daniel Negreanu was crowned the first-ever PokerGO Cup champion after ending a title drought that extended back to late 2013. Negreanu didn’t have to wait nearly as long in between victories this time around, as he won event no. 5 at the Poker Masters just 61 days after winning the $50,000 buy-in event at the PokerGO Cup. Negreanu outlasted a field of 66 entries in the $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament, earning his second title of the year and $178,200.

He cashed three times during the series for $433,400 in total, placing him fourth in the player of the series race’s final standings. The Poker Hall of Fame member increased his lifetime tournament earnings to just shy of $42.9 , good for third on poker’s all-time money list.

The lone mixed-game event on the schedule saw Maxx Coleman top a field of 30 entries to earn $120,000. The next day, 2019 Card Player Player of the Year award winner Stephen Chidwick overcame 68 players to win the final $10,000 no-limit hold’em high roller event on the schedule, earning $183,600 for his first title of the year. The score increased the British poker pro’s career tournament earnings to more than $36.6 million, which is good for seventh all-time.

The final five events on the Poker Masters schedule all featured buy-ins of $25,000 or higher. A field of 57 entries built a prize pool of $1,425,000 in the $25,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament, with the largest share of that money going to eventual champion Chris Brewer. The former collegiate long-distance runner blazed past the competition to secure the $427,500 top prize. This was Brewer’s largest-ever tournament score, topping the $420,670 he took home as the winner of a $50,000 high roller at the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open in August.

Californian entrepreneur Miles Rampel had never entered a major live poker tournament prior to buying into the $25,000 pot-limit Omaha event at this series. According to PokerGO reporters, his friends on the rail claimed he had never played a tournament with a buy-in over $100. Despite being a total newcomer to the high roller scene, Rampel managed to outlast a field of 43 entries, securing his first big title and the top prize of $365,500.

While each one of the final tables at the Poker Masters were littered with the best players in the world, Mikita Badziakouski topped arguably the most accomplished final table of the series. The final five players in the last $25,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event of the schedule combined for $131 million in tournament earnings, with three players having more than $30 million in cashes under their belts coming into this event.

Badziakouski rode some good play and good luck to the title, adding $342,000 to his running total. He cashed for $545,000 throughout the series, increasing his lifetime total earnings to $31,685,075. The Belarusian pro now sits just outside the top ten on the all-time money list in 12th place.

AP Louis Garza held the lead in the Player of the Series race before Addamo dominated the final weekend. Garza cashed four times, making three consecutive final tables on back-to-back-to-back days to temporarily surge atop the standings. Garza started off with a small cash in the second event of the series, then managed a pair of third-place finishes in event no. 7 and 8. He closed out his run with a runner-up showing in the $25,000 buy-in PLO event, increasing his earnings for the series to $550,200. Garza and Brewer were the only players to cash four times in the series.

Alex Foxen was able to shake off his recent social media distractions to make three final tables and add $722,000 to his career totals of $19.4 million. Much like Addamo, Foxen saved his best performances for the bigger buy-ins on the schedule, finishing seventh in the $25,000 event, fourth in the $50,000 event, and third in the $100,000 event.

Although he was unable to get into the winner’s circle, Nick Petrangelo put together the second-most impressive series with three final tables and nearly $1 million in combined cashes. The Massachusetts native finished sixth in the $10,000 no-limit hold’em event and then second to Negreanu the next day. His runner-up finish in the $100,000 main event was worth $754,000 and is the fourth biggest score of his career. Petrangelo’s $19.2 million in tournament earnings puts him no. 32 all time, just a hair behind Foxen.

As previously mentioned, Addamo took down both the $50,000 and $100,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em events to close out the series and the points race in dominant fashion. In both cases, he entered the final day with the lead and was able to lean on his opponents to make quick work of the final table.

He knocked out every opponent on his way to the title in event no. 11 and scored all but one elimination at the final table of event no. 12. The two final tables combined hardly took more than 3 hours collectively to play out.

The nearly $1.9 million he secured with the two victories increased his lifetime live earnings to more than $10 million. Addamo is now third on Australia’s all-time money list, just behind fellow high roller Kahle Burns and 2005 WSOP main event champion Joe Hachem. He’s also had quite the year online, with four Super MILLION$ titles won, as well as a runner-up finish in early September.

Addamo credited his work away from the table for his success in these tough and prestigious high rollers.

“It’s extremely important,” Addamo told PokerGO reporters when asked about studying off the felt. “I’ve put in so many hours studying the game, and I still feel like every time I get humbled and that there’s still so many things to learn. But it’s incredibly important and you can see who has been putting in the work and who hasn’t.”

The 808 PokerGO Tour points he earned during this series were enough to see him climb into 22nd place on that leaderboard despite no prior cashes.

Poker Masters Series Leaderboard

*Photo courtesy of PokerGO