Ventura, Smith, and Meng Win Latest Bracelets At 2023 World Series of Poker

The 2023 World Series of Poker is now just a few days away from wrapping up, with 103 bracelet events in the books already. There has been more than $302.5 million in prize money awarded in the 87 live and 16 online events completed to date, with that number set to grow in a big way once the main event wraps on Monday, July 17. Below is a look at the results from three recent live events that reached their conclusion in recent days.

2023 WSOP $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty No-Limit Hold’em

A total of 1,417 entries were made in this year’s $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame no-limit hold’em bounty event. This event first introduced in 2021, making this the third running. The unusual buy-in price point stems from the founding date of Poker’s Hall of Fame, which was established in 1979. Hall of Fame members who participated each sported a bounty that corresponded to the year they were inducted. For example, 2023 inductee Brian Rast would have been worth $2,023 to eliminate.

Diego Ventura emerged victorious in the end, taking home $402,054 and the first bracelet ever secured by a player from his home nation of Peru. He now has over $2.7 million in career earnigns.

The top 213 finishers shared in the $2,495,776 main prize pool of this event. Notables that ran deep included 17-time bracelet winner Phile Hellmuth (19th), John Riordan (18th), two-time bracelet winner Martin Zamani (15th), 2021 World Poker Tour Venetian main event winner Qing Liu (10th), 2014 WSOP main event champion Martin Jacobson (7th), and 2022 WSOP Monster Stack third-place finisher Francis Anderson (4th).

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:

2023 WSOP $2,500 Omaha Eight-or-Better / Stud Eight-or-Better

The $2,500 Omaha eight-or-better and stud eight-or-better mixed event had drawn 460 entries by the time that registration closed, building a prize pool of $1,023,500 that was ultimately paid out among the top 69 finishers.

The last pot was scooped by Canada’s Bradley Smith. For the win the Toronto, Ontario resident $221,733 and his first gold bracelet. This was only his second time making a WSOP final table, having previously finished third in a $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event back in 2018.

Big names that ran deep included four-time bracelet winner Brad Ruben (28th), two-time bracelet winner Nathan Gamble (26th), ten-time WSOP Circuit ring winner Jeffrey Trudeau (20th), two-time bracelet winner Sean Troha (19th), two-time bracelet winner Ari Engel (16th), two-time bracelet winner Yuval Bronshtein (8th), and bracelet winner Nicholas Pupillo (3rd).

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:

2023 WSOP $1,000 Flip & Go No-Limit Hold’em

The ‘Flip & Go’ tournament format was originated by GGPoker, who first brought it to the live WSOP felt in 2021. The tournament begins with an initial ‘flip’ in which a full table of players are essentially all-in blind as soon as the action begins. The players are then dealt a hand of pineapple. They discard one of their three starting cards after seeing a flop and then the rest of the hand is run out to determine which single player at the table would make the money and move on to the second phase of the event: a fast-paced no-limit hold’em tournament.

The 2023 running saw 1,022 entries create a $911,360 prize pool. A total of 128 players made phase 2, and were then quickly narrowed down to just two tables. The final day with two-time bracelet winner Pete Chen in the lead. It took less than five hours to play from 18 contenders down to a champion, with Dong Meng standing alone when the dust settled.

Meng outlasted the likes of two-time bracelet winner Jesse Lonis (15th), Jack Salter (14th), Eric Wasserson (7th), bracelet winner and WPT champion David Williams (6th), Pete Chen (5th), two-time WPT Champion and bracelet winner Kevin Eyster (4th), and high-stakes cash game regular ‘Westside’ Wesley Fei (2nd).

Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:

Visit the Card Player 2023 World Series of Poker page for schedules, news, interviews, and the latest event results. WSOP coverage sponsored by Global Poker.

Photo credit: WSOP / Matthew Berglund, WSOP / Matthew Berglund, and WSOP / Spenser Sembrat.

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