Michael Moncek has been on quite a run at the World Series of Poker over the last two years, winning two bracelets and securing three six-figure scores since the start of the 2022 WSOP. The Illinois resident’s most recent win saw him defeat a field of 568 entries in the 2023 WSOP $5,000 no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha mixed event to secure his second gold bracelet and a career-high top prize of $534,499.
“It means a lot and now I have a decent shot at going for Player of the Year,” Moncek said in his pots-win interview on the PokerGO livestream of the final table. “Winning a bracelet in the first week, I’m excited about that.”
Moncek now has more than $1.4 million in lifetime tournament earnings, with nearly $1.2 million of that coming in WSOP events.
This victory was his first in-the-money finish of the year. He was awarded 1,680 Card Player Player of the Year points as the champion, enough to catapult him into 82nd place in the 2023 POY race standing standings presented by Global Poker.
This event took only two days to complete. With 568 entries, the prize pool swelled to $2,612,800. Just 48 remained by the end of day 1, with Fernando ‘JNandez’ Habegger in the chip lead. Habegger was recently in the news for social media posts he made discussing legal proceedings between him and Doug Polk. The pot-limit Omaha coach and content creator from Switzerland held the lead for large portions of the final day, but was in the middle of the pack when the final table was set. Michael Banducci lead when the field combined onto a single table, while Moncek sat in third chip position.
Ferenc Deak ran top set into the flopped straight of Christian Harder in PLO to finish eighth for $53,377.
Three-time bracelet winner Kristen Foxen was the next to fall, getting the last of her stack in preflop against two opponents in PLO. Banducci made eights up to scoop the pot and eliminate Foxen in seventh place. The $69,683 she was awarded for this latest deep run saw her lifetime earnings grow to over $6.5 million.
Moncek score his first knockout of the final table when he won a preflop race in NLH with pocket jacks against the K-Q of Tyler Brown (6th – $92,362). Harder soon followed when his Q-9 suited was unable to outrun the A-8 of Alex Livingston. Harder took home $124,266 as the fifth-place finisher. The 2017 PokerStars Championship Bahamas main event winner now has more than $5 million in recorded tournament cashes to his name after this strong showing.
A classic race spelled the end of Banducci’s run. His A-K suited was up against pocket eights for Habegger. Banducci didn’t connect with the board and was knocked out in fourth place, earning $169,674 as the fourth-place finisher. The bracelet winner now has more than $1.5 million in career earnings.
A battle of the blinds saw Livingston sent home in third place. The bracelet winner from Canada called all-in from the big blind with A-4 suited facing a small-blind shove from a surging Moncek, who held Q-7 suited. Moncek flopped a queen and faded Livingston’s backdoor flush draw and overcard to win the pot. Livingston cashed for $235,062. The 2019 WSOP main event third-place finisher now has nearly $7 million in total tournament scores under his belt.
With that, Moncek took a healthy chip lead into heads-up play with Habegger. The gap was narrowed thanks to an early double-up for Habegger, who picked up pocket jacks against A-10 suited for Moncek. Habegger gave up some of that ground before scoring another double, this time in PLO.
The final hand of the event came in a round of four-card action. Moncek raised from the button with K
J
10
4 and Habegger three-bet shoved from the big blind for just over five big blinds with A9
33. Moncek called and the board ran out KJ510K to give Moncek kigns full and the pot. Habegger earned $330,344 as the runner-up, the largest score of his career.
Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:
| Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points |
| 1 | Michael Moncek | $534,499 | 1680 |
| 2 | Fernando Habegger | $330,344 | 1400 |
| 3 | Alexander Livingston | $235,062 | 1120 |
| 4 | Michael Banducci | $169,674 | 840 |
| 5 | Christian Harder | $124,266 | 700 |
| 6 | Tyler Brown | $92,362 | 560 |
| 7 | Kristen Foxen | $69,683 | 420 |
| 8 | Ferenc Deak | $53,377 | 280 |
Visit the Card Player 2023 World Series of Poker page for schedules, news, interviews, and the latest event results.
Winner photo credit: WSOP / Spenser Sembrat.
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