Sean Winter Wins First Event Of 2023 PokerGO Cup

Sean Winter entered the final table of the first event of the PokerGO Cup as the short stack, holding just seven big blinds when cards got into the air. The 32-year-old high roller rallied back at a stacked final table that was loaded with some of the top players in poker to win the top prize of $216,000, and in the process increased his career tournament earnings to an impressive $23.3 million.

Winter is no stranger to success at the PokerGO Studio at Aria in Las Vegas. The Jacksonville, Florida native won back-to-back events in March of 2022 to win the U.S. Poker Championship, and then followed it up in October with the Purple Jacket at the Poker Masters.

This opening event of the PokerGO Cup series played out over two days and featured a $10,000 buy-in. The event drew a field of 90 entrants, with the final 13 players made the money, splitting up the $900,000 prize pool.

Among the notables to cash were Dylan Linde (13th), Daniel Negreanu (12th), Cary Katz (11th), Justin Young (8th), Orpen Kisacikloglu (6th), Adrian Mateos (5th), David Peters (4th), Joseph Cheong (3rd), and Alex Foxen (2nd).

Anthony Hu was the first to fall at the final table in seventh place when his A-Q couldn’t catch the pocket kings that were held by Foxen when a third king on the flop sealed Hu’s fate.

Kisacikoglu claimed sixth place a short time later after he made his last stand with pocket jacks. Winter woke up with pocket aces however, leaving Kisacikoglu with a $54,000 consolation prize.

Five-handed play then lasted for a long time before Adrian Mateos got all in with K9 on a K98 flop, and Winter had him covered holding J8. Winter hit his flush on the turn and Mateos was sent packing with $72,000 to add to his career earnings of nearly $31 million.

A short time later high roller crusher David Peters was out in fourth place, despite starting the final table with the chip lead. Peters’ rough day came to close when his pocket nines ran into the pocket tens of Foxen, and he was awarded $90,000.

Joseph Cheong had hung tough at the final table as one of the shorter stacks for most of the day before he made his last stand with K-J. Winter had him covered holding A-4, and despite a jack on the flop, there was an ace on the turn to send Cheong out in third place, good for $108,000.

That gave Winter 7.9 million for the final match against Foxen’s 3.35 million. Winter increased that lead even more before Foxen could score a double up, but the second time Foxen got all-in would be the last hand of the tournament.

On the final hand, Winter raised to 375,000 on the button, and Foxen called on the big blind before the flop was dealt K104. Both players then checked to the K on the turn. Foxen bet 450,000, and Winter called.

The river delivered the Q, Foxen checked, and Winter moved all in. Foxen called all in for 1.38 million with 108 in the hole. Winter held K3 to win the hand, and the tournament.

Foxen took home $153,000 for his deep run in the tournament. The New York native now has $27.5 million in career tournament earnings and is once again back in the hunt early on for Player of the Year honors. He has finished inside the top 10 for five consecutive years.

Final Table Results

The PokerGO Cup continues Friday with the final table of event no. 2, $10,000 no-limit hold’em. Find the entire series schedule here.

*Photos courtesy of PokerGO / Antonio Abrego

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