Ian Matakis Wins 2023 World Series of Poker Player of the Year AwardMinnesota Resident Records 22 Cashes, Including Winning His First Bracelet, To Secure The POY Title |
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Ian Matakis has been a fixture on the tournament scene for about half of a decade, with his first recorded live tournament score coming in early 2018. This year marked a true breakout for the 25-year-old poker player from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He cashed in 22 events during the 2023 World Series of Poker, with six top-nine finishes and a win in the WSOP Online $500 no-limit hold’em ‘Bankroll Builder’ event for his first gold bracelet. Nine of Matakis’ 22 total cashes this summer came in WSOP Online events.
Matakis’ impressive run saw him accumulate $881,682 in total earnings and 5,203 WSOP Player of the Year points, enough to see the rising star secure this year’s POY honors.
2023 WSOP player of the year! What an honor to join such a prestigious group of people, had a blast battling and meeting many new friends along the way. Time to go home and spend some time with friends, family, and girlfriend. Thanks to everyone who rooted for me this summer!
— Ian Matakis (@IMatakis) July 18, 2023
Next year, Matakis will have a POY banner hung in the Horseshoe Grand Ballroom and will receive free entry into the WSOP main event.
The average payday secured by Matakis across his 22 scores was $40,076. The single largest score was the $205,696 he earned as the third-place finisher in the $3,000 pot-limit Omaha six-max event that played out on one of the secondary featured tables while the WSOP main event was busy setting the final table.
Matakis was incredibly consistent given that most of the tournaments he played were smaller buy-in, large-field events. The average field size for his in-the-money finishes during the series was just over 1,913 entries. His average buy-in in the events he cashed in ended up being $3,924, but that average would drop to $1,730 if one were to exclude his one super high roller cash of $199,275 earned for his ninth-place showing in the $50,000 pot-limit Omaha event.
2018 WSOP POY Shaun Deeb finished second in the standings, marking his fifth straight year of finishing inside the top six. Deeb’s streak spans from 2018-2023, with 2020 excluded, as no POY race was held that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chris Brewer and Josh Arieh, who both won two bracelets this summer, finished in third and fourth place in the final POY standings. Mike Holtz, who finished 14th in the final rankings, set a new record this year with 25 in-the-money finishes secured in a single series. The WSOP.com regular known to many as ‘BrockLesnar’ just edged out Deeb for the most cashes, with Deeb’s 24 also breaking the previous record held by Chris Ferguson and Daniel Negreanu.
Here is a look at the top ten in the 2023 WSOP POY standings:
| Place | Player | WSOP POY Points |
| 1 | Ian Matakis | 5,203 |
| 2 | Shaun Deeb | 4,276 |
| 3 | Chris Brewer | 4,127 |
| 4 | Josh Arieh | 3,938 |
| 5 | Jesse Lonis | 3,865 |
| 6 | Michael Rodrigues | 3,513 |
| 7 | Chad Eveslage | 3,447 |
| 8 | Ben Yu | 3,128 |
| 9 | Phil Hellmuth | 3,072 |
| 10 | Yuval Bronshtein | 3,056 |
Matakis’ in-the-money finishes at the 2023 WSOP (reverse chronologically):
| Date | Event | Place | Payout |
| Jul 18, ’23 | $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Eight Max 2023 World Series of Poker |
115 | $8,059 |
| Jul 16, ’23 | $500 No-Limit Hold’em 2023 World Series of Poker Online (NV/NJ) |
41 | $3,202 |
| Jul 15, ’23 | $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout 2023 World Series of Poker Online (NV/NJ) |
66 | $3,874 |
| Jul 14, ’23 | $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Six Max 2023 World Series of Poker |
3 | $205,696 |
| Jul 06, ’23 | $400 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo 2023 World Series of Poker Online (NV/NJ) |
27 | $3,244 |
| Jul 02, ’23 | $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 2023 World Series of Poker |
9 | $199,275 |
| Jul 01, ’23 | $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six Max 2023 World Series of Poker |
7 | $114,210 |
| Jun 28, ’23 | $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Millionaire Maker 2023 World Series of Poker |
15 | $68,523 |
| Jun 27, ’23 | $888 No-Limit Hold’em 2023 World Series of Poker Online (NV/NJ) |
20 | $6,850 |
| Jun 22, ’23 | $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 2023 World Series of Poker Online (NV/NJ) |
29 | $2,912 |
| Jun 21, ’23 | $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Bounty Super Turbo Freezeout 2023 World Series of Poker |
128 | $2,213 |
| Jun 21, ’23 | $500 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout 2023 World Series of Poker |
199 | $1,821 |
| Jun 18, ’23 | $500 Pot-Limit Omaha Eight Max 2023 World Series of Poker Online (NV/NJ) |
17 | $3,332 |
| Jun 17, ’23 | $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em 2023 World Series of Poker |
78 | $6,805 |
| Jun 14, ’23 | $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Six Max 2023 World Series of Poker |
15 | $30,429 |
| Jun 10, ’23 | $1,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Eight Max 2023 World Series of Poker |
282 | $1,602 |
| Jun 08, ’23 | $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Six Max 2023 World Series of Poker |
9 | $47,788 |
| Jun 06, ’23 | $600 No-Limit Hold’em Ultra Deepstack 2023 World Series of Poker Online (NV/NJ) |
5 | $38,814 |
| Jun 06, ’23 | $600 Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack Eight Max 2023 World Series of Poker |
93 | $2,051 |
| Jun 06, ’23 | $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout Eight Max 2023 World Series of Poker |
99 | $8,011 |
| Jun 04, ’23 | $500 No-Limit Hold’em 2023 World Series of Poker Online (NV/NJ) |
1 | $120,686 |
| Jun 01, ’23 | $333 No-Limit Hold’em 2023 World Series of Poker Online (NV/NJ) |
30 | $2,285 |
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