Ian 'IanMa' Matakis joins WSOP bracelet fraternity

Ian "IanMa" Matakis can now call himself a WSOP bracelet champion after winning Online Event #2: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Bankroll Builder at the 2023 World Series of Poker.

"I've always wanted to win a bracelet," Matakis told PokerNews. "I basically played this tournament on my phone the whole day until the end of the 5k (No-Limit Hold'em Freezout.) I bagged about 50 bigs for the start of Day 2 on that one. When play ended, my buddy drove me home, and I was able to play the final table on my laptop."

Including rebuys, the tournament had 1,253 total entries resulting in a prize pool of $873,900. Some 240 places were paid, with all players in the money banking at least $1,311.

Numerous notable players entered but failed to make the money, including Matt "berkey11_S4Y" Berkey, Vanessa "ContainsNuts" Kade, and Cody "1eggadaymike" Bell, who won Online Event #1: $333 No-Limit Hold'em Triple Treys Summer Tip Off three days prior to today's tournament.

Notable players finishing in the money included Joey "OnSpectrum" Weissman (8th, $15,031,) John "RiverRace" Racener (20th, $3,670,) Davide "drogonzizi" Suriano (27th, $3,146,) and Phil "HeyGuys" Galfond (34th, $2,622.)

Another pro that cashed was Chance "BingShui" Kornuth, who found himself registered for two online tournaments at the same time. Kornuth was seen sitting out in one tournament so that he could open and play in the other. Despite having to miss hands, Kornuth cashed in both events (finishing 129th for $1,486 in this one.)

Eliminations came quickly at the final table. Weissman's ace-queen ran into Baruch "QQlove" Forst's pocket aces to exit in eighth.

Justin "MadTitan" Turner went out in seventh after his top pair fell to the flopped trips of "worldsgrtest." "Deeznutz" then fell in sixth to a rivered straight by Matakis.

Paul "plenkeit2" Lenkeit exited in fifth when his king-queen lost to king-deuce.

Matakis then played two big hands against "Worldsgrtest," first doubling up with pocket aces before eliminating them in fourth via pocket tens over pocket sevens.

Thomas "Pkrwarrior23" Rosa finished third when their pocket nines fell to a flopped pair of aces from Forst.

Matakis and Forst then played heads-up for about twenty minutes before the hand that ended the tournament.

Matakis held king-jack while Forst had ace-eight. After limping, Matakis bet on the ace-jack-four flop.

"It was a limped pot, so that flop is usually better for me,” said Matakis. “That's why I bet out. The turn came a king. On the turn, I hit two pair and block his two pair, and so I kept betting."

Matakis bet and Forst raised all in with top pair.
"When he jammed, it was a snap call," said Matakis. “The river came a meaningless two, and Matakis became a WSOP bracelet winner.

"I'll be playing Day 2 of the 5k tomorrow," said Matakis, "but after that, this year, I was planning on taking it day by day."

Final table results:
Place Player Country Prize
1 Ian "IanMa" Matakis United States $120,686
2 Baruch "QQlove" Forst United States $88,089
3 Thomas "Pkrwarrior23" Rosa United States $64,756
4 "worldsgrtest" United States $47,977
5 Paul "plenkeit2" Lenkeit United States $35,480
6 "Deeznutz" United States $26,479
7 Justin "MadTitan" Turner United States $19,837
8 Joey "OnSpectrum" Weissman United States $15,031

(Article courtesy of World Series of Poker)