Stephen Chidwick Wins Poker Masters Purple Jacket

A total $11,065,000 in prize money was paid out during the ten events of the 2023 Poker Masters. British poker pro Stephen Chidwick was the only player to accumulate seven figures in cashes during the high-stakes tournament series held at the PokerGO Studio inside ARIA Resort & Casino Las Vegas. The 34-year-old poker pro from Deal, England recorded four final-table finishes, including one title, accruing a total of $1,109,000 and 688 PokerGO Tour points across those scores.

As a result, Chidwick finished on top of the festival’s points race leaderboard to secure the Poker Master Purple Jacket and the $50,000 championship bonus to bring his total haul to over $1.15 million for the series.

Chidwick now has nearly $53.1 million in recorded tournament earnings to his name, placing him third on poker’s all-time money list behind only Bryn Kenney ($65.3 million) and Justin Bonomo ($64.4 million). He is by far the leading tournament earner from his home country of England, with nearly a $31.3 million lead over second-ranked Sam Trickett ($21.8 million) on that leaderboard.

There were 60 players that recorded a score during this year’s Poker Masters, with 30 managing multiple cashes. Chidwick was one of just seven contenders that made the money four or more times during the festival.

Chidwick did not record a cash during the first five events of the series. His first in-the-money finish came in event no. 6, the final $10,000 buy-in tournament of the festival. He placed sixth from a field of 95 entries to earn $57,000 and 57 PGT points.

The final three events of the festival saw Chidwick shift into high gear, recording three consecutive podium finishes. He kicked off his big push down the stretch with a dominating performance in event no. 7, a $25,000 buy-in tournament. Chidwick topped a field of 50 entries in that event, taking the lead wire-to-wire at the final table to earn $400,000 and another 240 points. The very next day, Chidwick placed third in the penultimate event of the series, adding another $148,000 and 89 PGT points to his tally. That $25,000 buy-in drew 37 entries.

Heading into the $50,000 buy-in finale of the series, Chidwick sat in a tie for second place on the Poker Masters points leaderboard with Chino Rheem. The two were trailing only Vladas Tamasauskas, who won two titles during the early stages of the series to jump out in front. Both Rheem and Chidwick ended up navigating their way through the 42-entry field and down to the final table. Rheem went on to finish sixth in that event, ending with one win, five cashes, and $602,650 in earnings for the festival. He landed in third place in the final player of the series standings.

Chidwick officially locked up the Purple Jacket by making it down to heads-up in the final event. He ultimately finished as the runner-up, earning $504,000 and 302 PGT points for his efforts. Jonathan Jaffe was the champion of that event, securing $756,000 for the win. Jaffe finished fifth in the overall points race, just six points behind Alex Foxen, who finished third in the final event for his fifth cash of the series.

This was Chidwick’s second PokerGO Tour player of the series victory, having previously won the inaugural U.S. Poker Open. Chidwick also secured the honor of being the 2022 PGT Player of the Year, recording six qualified wins and 32 cashes that year.

Chidwick is a two-time Card Player Player of the Year award winner. His success during the Poker Masters has also propelled him into second place in the 2023 standings, within striking distance of a third POY win in that points race.

Here is a look at the top ten in the final Poker Masters points race standings:

Photo credits: PokerGO / Antonio Abrego.

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