Ryutaro Suzuki Becomes Japan's Mixed-Game Master in Event #36: $3,000 Nine Game Mix
A total of 361 players showed up to the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #36: $3,000 Nine Game Mix, generating a prize pool of $963,870 and first-place prize of $221,124. When the final hand was dealt around 1:30 a.m. local time inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, it was already past 5 p.m. in Japan, where a poker-mad nation witnessed a new homegrown star.
Ryutaro Suzuki, just 22 years old, became just the seventh World Series of Poker bracelet winner from Japan when he defeated Walter Chambers in a short heads-up match, bringing an end to a dominating final table performance. Suzuki won an online Circuit ring in 2021 for $140,050 but his previous best live WSOP cash was for a 69th place finish in the Eight Game Mix less than a week ago for just over $3,000.
Suzuki’s magical run to the bracelet was chronicled the entire way by a large contingent of Japanese media and supporters, showing the growth of the game and its potential in a nation of more than 125 million people. After his victory, Suzuki recognized the importance of this win for the Japanese poker community.
“Now the Japanese poker community is really growing up. There were a few bracelet holders, especially in mixed games. So it’s really so special for me and the poker community,” Suzuki said through translator Tamon Nakamura, himself a rising Japanese star and fourth-place finisher in this event.
Suzuki only took up mixed games a year ago and enjoyed the experience so much that he bookmarked this year’s WSOP as the year when he would try to put everything he learned to the test against the game’s most experienced and seasoned professionals. With his fearless aggression and sharp strategy, he overpowered one of the toughest fields at the WSOP, prevailing over several past bracelet winners until he joined their ranks.
“I’m not so long experienced in mixed games. But last year I experienced mixed games and it was really fun for me. So I target this year for mixed game events. I practice a lot. [Nakamura] also told me and I prayed a lot. Luckily I won. I’m not a master. I tried and had some luck,” Suzuki said.
2023 WSOP Event #36 Final Table Results
Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in USD) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Ryutaro Suzuki | Japan | $221,124 |
2 | Walter Chambers | United States | $136,667 |
3 | Jason Pedigo | United States | $92,860 |
4 | Tamon Nakamura | Japan | $64,320 |
5 | Ian Steinman | United States | $45,434 |
6 | Renan Bruschi | Brazil | $32,741 |
7 | Per Hildebrand | Sweden | $24,081 |
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Day 3 Action
Suzuki came into Day 3 in ninth place out of 22 returning players but won a massive pot with rolled up quads in Seven Card Stud to climb up the leaderboard. Day 1 chip leader Andres Korn fell in 21st place, while Jean Gaspard (20th), Chris Vitch (19th), Yueqi Zhu (16th), Philip Long (12th), Shawn Buchanan (11th), and Scott Clements (9th) missed the final table.
By the time of the final table, Suzuki had opened up a sizeable chip lead with 3,950,000. But it was his native countryman Nakamura who scored the first knockout on the first hand, making a straight in Seven Card Stud to eliminate bracelet winner Justin Liberto in eighth place.
Per Hildebrand, who began the final table in second place, fell sharply on the leaderboard before losing his last chips to Nakamura in a pot of Stud Hi-Lo. Then the final table entered a sort of stalemate as Ian Steinman, knocked down to just 30,000 at one point in the day, doubled up repeatedly and stayed alive. Renan Bruschi finally fell in sixth place when, down to just 65,000, he moved all in with king-three and lost to Jason Pedigo’s ace-queen in No-Limit Hold’em. Steinman finally had his run end in fifth place when he called all in on the turn holding top pair, but Nakamura had made a straight.
Chambers took the chip lead away from Suzuki for the first time at the final table when he made a jack-high straight in Omaha Hi-Lo. Nakamura, meanwhile, enjoyed a roller coaster-like experience at the final table. He doubled up twice, fell back down to 145,000, then quadrupled up and doubled up again. Suddenly he was back up to nearly 2,000,000.
Four-handed Action
Suzuki, Chambers, Nakamura, and Pedigo played four-handed for nearly three hours as Suzuki retook the chip lead from Chambers after showing the nut flush in Stud Hi-Lo. Suzuki began to significantly widen his lead when he made No. 3 on Pedigo in 2-7 Triple Draw, crossing 8,000,000, then won with two pair against Chambers in Stud to approach 10,000,000.
Nakamura’s luck finally ran out when he made a 9-8 in Razz, but Suzuki had an 8-7 to send his countryman out in fourth place. On the next hand, Pedigo was eliminated as Suzuki made a jack-ten. Suzuki had a nearly 10-1 chip lead over Chambers at the start of heads-up, 12,000,000 to 2,400,000, and the match wouldn’t last long.
Chambers potted the flop for 1,100,000 with straight and flush draws. Suzuki called with two aces and held on as he let out a loud yell and ran over to celebrate with his supporters on the rail, including Nakamura who stuck around to cheer him on after his elimination.
The win was Suzuki’s, but it was also for all of Japan. There’s a new Japanese star who’s just at the start of his poker journey. But Suzuki doesn’t want to stop at just being famous back home. He has much loftier goals than that.
“I want to be more famous in Japan, but also more famous in the world. A worldwide poker player like Daniel Negreanu. This is the first event for me becoming a more great player,” he said.
The celebration that began around the feature table will soon travel across the Pacific back to Suzuki's home. In a field full of poker stars and bracelet winners, he proved he belongs with the game's best.
That concludes PokerNews' coverage of Event #36: Nine Game Mix. Stay tuned for more updates throughout the 2023 WSOP.
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In this Series
- 1 Peter Thai Wins First Bracelet of the 2023 WSOP: Event #1: $500 Casino Employees ($75,535)
- 2 Alexandre Vuilleumier Captures 2023 WSOP Event #2: $25K High Roller Title
- 3 Cody "1eggadaymike" Bell Wins WSOP Bracelet and $87,665 in the Triple Treys Summer Tip Off
- 4 Michael Moncek Wins Event #6: $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha for $534,499
- 5 Chad Eveslage Steamrolls to Second WSOP Bracelet in Event #5: $1,500 Dealer's Choice (6-Handed) ($131,879)
- 6 Ronnie Day Reigns Supreme in Event #4: Tournament of Champions ($200,000)
- 7 Vadim Shlez Takes Down Event #7: $1,500 Limit Hold’em For $146,835
- 8 Chanracy Khun Wins Event #8: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship
- 9 Nick Schulman Wins Event #9: Seven Card Stud For Fourth WSOP Bracelet ($110,800)
- 10 Ian "IanMa" Matakis Wins Online Event #2: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Bankroll Builder for $120,686
- 11 Ryan "dna2rna" Hughes Wins Third Bracelet, Defeats Shaun "fortnite" Deeb in Online Battle
- 12 Tyler Brown Crowned Champion of Event #3: $1,000 Mystery Millions ($1,000,000)
- 13 Kenneth O’Donnell Wins Event #11: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack For $351,098
- 14 The Chosen One: Chad Eveslage Wins Third Bracelet in the $10,000 Dealer's Choice Championship
- 15 Estes Nabs Second WSOP MI Online Bracelet; Kershaw Victorious in First PA Event
- 16 Joseph Altomonte Returns to Poker With a Bang; Rakes in $217,102 and a WSOP Bracelet
- 17 Jeremy Eyer Defeats Felipe Ramos in Gruelling Heads Up Duel for $5K Freezeout Title ($649,550)
- 18 Danny "jackdaniels1" Wong Finally Bags WSOP Bracelet After 13 Hour Day
- 19 Isaac Haxton Removes Name from "Best Without a Bracelet" List w/ $25K High Roller Win
- 20 Brian Yoon Wins 5th WSOP Bracelet in $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship
- 21 Brazil Out in Force for Reis' First Bracelet in $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em
- 22 Three Isn't a Crowd for Jim Collopy Who Wins His Third WSOP Bracelet
- 23 Valentino Konakchiev Denies Andres Korn a Second Bracelet in $2.5K NLHE Freezeout
- 24 Michael Rodrigues Becomes First Badugi Champion in Event #20: $1,500 Badugi
- 25 Stephen Nahm Toasts To His Victory in Event #21: $1k Pot-Limit Omaha
- 26 Fifth Bracelet for Josh Arieh in Event #22: $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship for $316,226
- 27 Leon Sturm Bests Bill Klein in Event #23: $50,000 High Roller ($1,546,024)
- 28 Two Big Bets and a Chair - David “ODB” Baker Fights Back from the Felt to Win His Third Bracelet
- 29 Jason Simon Becomes WSOP's First Gladiator of Poker for $499,852
- 30 Renji Mao’s Deepstack Aggression Earns Him First WSOP Bracelet ($402,588)
- 31 Belyalovsky Defeats 2020 WSOP Online Domestic Main Event Champion Hebert
- 32 12 Year Drought Ends: Ben Lamb Runs "Hotter Than the Sun" to Win 2nd WSOP Gold Bracelet
- 33 Six is Sweet For Shaun Deeb in Event #27: $1,500 Eight Game Mix
- 34 Jans Arends Tops Star-Studded Final Table to Win $100K High Roller for $2,576,729
- 35 Benjamin Ector Busts Seven Straight to Win Event #28: $1,500 NLH Freezeout ($406,403)
- 36 Houston Firefighter Scott Dulaney Extinguishes the Opposition in Event #31 of 2023 WSOP
- 37 Cash Game Specialist Mark Ioli Wins First WSOP Bracelet for $558,266
- 38 John Monnette Joins Five-Timers Club With $1,500 Triple Draw WSOP Title
- 39 Sean Troha Wins 2nd WSOP Bracelet; Takes Down Event #34: $1,500 PLO for $298,192
- 40 “It’s Gonna Be Tough for You” Says Jerry Wong on Way to Winning 1st WSOP Bracelet
- 41 Chris Klodnicki Returns to WSOP, Wins $10,000 NLH Secret Bounty for 2nd Career Bracelet
- 42 Ryutaro Suzuki Becomes Japan's Mixed-Game Master in Event #36: $3,000 Nine Game Mix
- 43 Yuan Li Adds Name to List of 2023 WSOP Bracelet Winners after $2K NLHE Triumph ($524,777)
- 44 Benny Glaser Joins Five-Timers Club with Win in Event #38: $10K 2-7 Triple Draw Championship
- 45 Morgan Magee & Josh Dempsey Lay Claim to WSOP Online Bracelets in MI & PA
- 46 "suited_h13" Last One Standing in WSOP Online Event #6: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo ($134,527)
- 47 Chris Brewer Wins $250k Super High Roller and First Bracelet ($5,293,556)
- 48 Joe "jimjam01" Serock Wins 2023 WSOP Online Event #7: $500 PLO 6-Max ($93,911)
- 49 "I've Got It!" Qiang Xu Wins First Bracelet in $800 Deepstack ($339,033)
- 50 Scott Abrams Becomes Inaugural Big O Champion for $315,203
- 51 Braxton Dunaway Wins Monster Stack for $1,162,681; Now Headed to Son’s College World Series
- 52 Jeremy “ChipChecka” Ausmus Claims Sixth Bracelet in Online Event #8: $3,200 No-Limit Hold’em
- 53 Jay Lockett Turns $500 into $262,526 and a Bracelet at the 2023 WSOP
- 54 Braxton Dunaway Wins Monster Stack for $1,162,681; Now Headed to Son’s College World Series
- 55 William Leffingwell Brings A Bracelet Home to Houston a Week After His Friend Did the Same!
- 56 Pengfei Wang Plays First Tournament Ever; Wins $270,700 in Event #49: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty
- 57 Brian Rast Wins $50,000 Poker Players Championship For the Third Time ($1,324,747)
- 58 Yang Zhang Captures 2023 WSOP $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Title ($717,879)
- 59 Yuri Dzivielevski Wins Third Bracelet and $207,678 in Event #47: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.
- 60 Poker Player Proposes to Girlfriend After Winning WSOP Bracelet & $1,309,232
- 61 Team Savakinas Reign Supreme in WSOP Tag Team Event ($190,662)
- 62 Nick Pupillo Wins First Bracelet In $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw for $181,978
- 63 Justin Vaysman & Rudy Gavaldon Win WSOP Online Bracelets in Pennsylvania & Michigan
- 64 Ryan "GoFeltaFish2" Eriquezzo Multitasks His Way to His Third WSOP Bracelet
- 65 Lonnie Hallett Defeats Billy Baxter Heads-Up to Win 2023 WSOP Seniors Championship ($765,731)
- 66 Mike Gorodinsky Blazes Down the Home Stretch to Win $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship ($422,747)
- 67 Marcin Horecki Denies Mike Matusow as he Captures Poland's First-Ever Live WSOP Bracelet
- 68 Retired Fireman Steven Genovese Climbs a Different Type of Ladder to Take Home a WSOP Bracelet!
- 69 Jason Daly Steamrolls Final Table of Event #58: $3,000 Limit Hold'em to Win First WSOP Bracelet
- 70 Millionaire Maker Winner Pavel Plesuv Becomes Moldova's First WSOP Champion ($1,201,564)
- 71 Ka Kwan Lau Finds Redemption in $25K PLO High Roller ($2,294,756)
- 72 WSOP Online Pennsylvania & Michigan: Christopher Nunez & David Ferus Find Mystery Bounty Success
- 73 Calm, Collected, and Deadly: Robert Schulz Becomes a WSOP Champion
- 74 Jason Mercier Defeats Mike Watson to Capture Sixth WSOP Bracelet
- 75 Brazil’s Gabriel Schroeder Bad Beats Andy Black on Way to Super Turbo Bounty Bracelet ($228,632)
- 76 Austria's Klaus Ilk Wins 2023 WSOP Event #61: $1,000 Super Seniors for $371,603
- 77 "Can't Stop Kopp!" William Kopp Wins Event #66: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better ($259,549)
- 78 David Simon Emerges Victorious in Battle of Davids to Win Maiden Bracelet in $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em/Pot-Limit Omaha ($410,659)
- 79 Ryan Miller Wins Maiden Bracelet in Event #63: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship ($344,677)
- 80 David Guay Celebrates on Canada Day with WSOP Gold ($271,032)
- 81 Weiran Pu Captures His First Bracelet in Event #65: $5,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold'em ($938,244)
- 82 Phil Hellmuth Wins Record-Extending 17th World Series of Poker Bracelet
- 83 Brewer Beats Baker and Livingston in 2-7 Single Draw Championship for Second Bracelet of the Summer
- 84 Jesse Lonis Steamrolls to Victory for Second Bracelet in Event #71: $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller
- 85 An Unstoppable Tamar Abraham Wins Record-Breaking Ladies Event for $192,167
- 86 Tom “lultaxpayers” Hall Emerges Victorious to Claim Maiden WSOP Bracelet ($176,920)
- 87 Moshe Refaelowitz Fulfils a Promise to His Wife; Wins Event #70: $400 Colossus
- 88 Bradley Gafford Rallies Back to Win the Mini Main Event ($549,555)
- 89 Hassan Kamel Speeds to Victory in Event #75: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship ($598,613)
- 90 Sam Soverel Wins World Series of Poker Bracelet in Live/Online Hybrid Tournament
- 91 Zachary Grech & Blaze Gaspari Pick Up NV/NJ WSOP Online Bracelets
- 92 Thomas Skaggs Adds a WSOP Bracelet to His Circuit Ring in Event #76: $1,500 Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha
- 93 Shawn Daniels Wins Event #77: $777 Lucky 7's for $777,777
- 94 Josh Arieh Steam Rolls Final Table For Sixth Bracelet in Event #80: $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. High Roller
- 95 VAMOS!! Samuel Bernabeu Wins First Bracelet in Event #79:$2,500 No-Limit Holdem
- 96 Thai Ha Wins First Bracelet in 2023 WSOP Event #83: $1,500 Short Deck ($111,170)
- 97 Brazilian Vitor Dzivielevski Wins NV/NJ WSOP Online Event #16 Bracelet ($185,316)
- 98 Alex Kulev Wins $50K High Roller for $2,087,073; Moves Atop Bulgarian All-Time Money List
- 99 Tom Marchese Wins First Gold Bracelet in WSOP Online Event #17: $1,000 Online Championship
- 100 Matthew Parry Wins 2023 WSOP Event #82: $3,000 PLO 6-Handed ($480,122)
- 101 Prominent Poker Coach Faraz Jaka Leads By Example and Wins First Bracelet in Event #85: $1,500 Shootout
- 102 Diego Does It! Ventura Earns First Live Bracelet for Peru in $1,979 Poker Hall of Fame Bounty
- 103 Oh Canada! Bradley Smith Wins Maiden Bracelet and $221,733 in Mixed Omaha/Stud Hi-Lo
- 104 Beginner's Luck? Pierre Shum Wins a WSOP Bracelet in His First Ever Tournament
- 105 Dong Meng Holds Off "Westside" Wesley to Win 2023 WSOP Event #89: $1,000 Flip & Go
- 106 Alexandre Reard Wins Second Bracelet in Prestigious $10K 6-Handed Championship ($1,057,663)
- 107 Kang Hyun Lee Takes the Event #92: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout Bracelet Home to Canada!
- 108 Two Bracelets in Five Events; Ryan Miller Victorious in Event #91: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E.
- 109 Summer Saved! Nielsen Takes Home Short Deck Bracelet and $270,160 in Second Cash of 2023 WSOP!
- 110 14 Years in the Making: Alex Keating Wins His Maiden Bracelet at the 2023 WSOP
- 111 Paul Berger Didn't Plan to Play Event #95: Super Turbo No-Limit Hold'em But He is Now Its Champion