Michael Holtz started proceedings by raising to 4,500 in the hijack, called by the cutoff and Benjamin Wiora in the big blind.
Three players saw a flop of J♣8♠7♠. Wiora's check allowed Holtz to continue to 7,000. The cutoff folded, opening the door for Wiora's check-raise to 22,000. After much deliberation, Holtz folded and conceded this pot.
The player in the small blind raised to 5,000. Filippos Stavrakis three-bet to 15,000 and the small blind called.
The board came 8♠J♠Q♣. Undeterred, the small blind chose to lead for 20,000 into Stavrakis, the preflop aggressor. Stavrakis called and both players went to a turn.
The K♥ landed and the small blind moved all in. Stavrakis snap called tabling his cards as he did so. He showed A♦10♦ for the turned nut straight. The small blind forced to show tabled A♠4♦ with only hopes of a chop - no help for the small blind on the river and Stavrakis doubles up.
The action picked up on the river in this blind versus blind hand with the board reading 8♣K♣7♣3♠9♠, where Jay Hoebe bet 25,000 from the small blind and Ryan Dell reluctantly called, revealing K♦J♦ for top pair. However, it wasn't good enough as Hoebe flipped over 5♣4♣ for a flopped flush.
Level: 12
Blinds: 1,000/2,500
Ante: 2,500
A player in early position raised to 5,000. Carlos Welch chose to defend his big blind and both players went to the flop.
Welch checked on K♣2♦Q♦ and was faced with a small bet of 3,000 to which he called.
On the 4♦ turn Welch broke the flow of play and lead into the aggressor for 6,000. His opponent called.
The 9♦ landed on the river bringing a four-flush on board. Welch fired one last bullet of 17,000 forcing a fold from his opponent and taking down this pot.
The final tally for the 2023 Tournament of Champions was 741 entrants. The total prize pool for the tournament is $1,000,000, with $200,000 going to first and a min-cash of $2,400 for the top 100 finishers.
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | 10-11 | $12,300 |
| 2 | $120,000 | 12-13 | $9,700 |
| 3 | $87,000 | 14-17 | $7,800 |
| 4 | $63,000 | 18-26 | $6,400 |
| 5 | $46,000 | 27-35 | $5,400 |
| 6 | $35,000 | 36-44 | $4,500 |
| 7 | $26,000 | 45-56 | $3,900 |
| 8 | $20,000 | 57-62 | $3,400 |
| 9 | $16,000 | 63-71 | $3,000 |
| 72-85 | $2,600 | ||
| 86-100 | $2,400 |
Anthony Pitesa raised to 5500 from early positon and was called by Thomas "Tiny-House Tom" Ulch. Pitesa followed through with a bet of 12,000 on the 10♦2♣4♠ flop and Ulch called.
The 7♥ turn checked through, bringing a K♣ river. Pitesa then bet 16,000 and was quickly called by Ulch, who showed A♠K♠, besting Pitesa's Q♦Q♥.
John Topham raised to 5,000 on the button and Scott Wilson jammed his 41,000 across the line from the small blind. Topham thought about it for about 10 seconds before making the call.
Scott Wilson: A♠9♣
John Topham: A♣3♥
Wilson had his opponent dominated and the board ran out Q♥J♦9♥6♦4♥, giving him a pair of nines as he collected his double up, leaving Topham with just 30,000 in chips.
Giuseppe Pantaleo raised under the gun to 5,500, which was called by both Nicholas Hobbs in middle position and the big blind.
The flop came 7♦8♦6♣ and it was checked around to Hobbs, who now took the lead for 7,500. All three players reached the turn J♠.
Again it was checked to Hobbs and he continued for another 21,000. The big blind stepped aside while Pantaleo came along.
The river came the 8♣ to which each player gave ample time to their decisions before both checking the hand down. Hobbs tabled 9♥9♦ and Pantaleo mucked.
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