London’s Ryan O’Donnell Wins Big at World Series of Poker
Author:
Roy Brindley
The 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) has entered its second week. Victory for British or Irish players has so far been elusive, but Londoner Ryan O’Donnell claimed $1,049,577 for finishing second in a $25,000 entry tournament. Compatriot, Lewis Spencer, took fourth in the same event for a $511,782 prize.
O’Donnell is one of seven players who have claimed a $1 million-plus payday during the series. Tyler Brown won precisely $1 million when overcoming 18,187 rival entries in the $1,000 entry ‘Mystery Millions’ tournament.
Kelsey Plum (a professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces) has been playing some poker at the 2023 World Series. ©GettyImages
An identical sum went to two other players in the tournament, Shant Marashlian and Patrick Liang. They drew the competition’s top two mystery prizes – draw tokens are awarded to players who eliminate rivals deep into the competition – which bolstered their $8,541 and $17,700 ‘winnings’ considerably.
22-Year-Old Sturm Takes WSOP by Storm
To date, Issac Haxton – Ryan O’Donnell’s conqueror – has been the biggest 2023 WSOP winner. His prize for winning the high-roller event was $1,698,215. However, Germany’s Leon Sturm has had the best week in tournament poker.
Aged just 22, Sturm won the WSOP’s $50,000 High Roller tournament netting $1,546,024 on Sunday. A few days earlier, he collected $1,518,400 when taking a major $10,000 entry online poker tournament.
Gladiatorial Display From Simon in Super Field
Numerically, the $300 Gladiators of Poker tournament has been the largest event of the 2023 World Series. Attracting 23,088 entries, it has entered the record books as the second-largest live poker field of all time. The record-setter is 2019’s $500 entry ‘WSOP Big 50’. It featured 28,371 entries.
The official numbers are in… 🥁
Across four flights, the $300 Gladiators of Poker event attracted 23,102 entries making it the second-largest live poker tournament in history!
8,467 of those entries came today, which also makes for the second-largest single flight ever! pic.twitter.com/GBAoruYbfO
— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) June 11, 2023
After six days of action – including four first-day flights – the last man standing was Jason Simon from St Louis. His $500,322 winner’s prize represented an impressive 1,667x yield on his $300 entry fee!
America Needs a Main Event Winner
The 2023 World Series of Poker – comprising of 95 tournaments and not concluding until July 18 – is now at its one-third distance. Still to come are 18 championship events that demand a minimum entry fee of $10,000.
$250,000 is required to play the most expensive tournament of the 2023 WSOP. This Super High Roller No-Limit Hold’em competition will get underway on Friday. The CBS-televised World Series Main Event starts on July 3rd, and its final session is scheduled to be played on July 17th in the Horseshoe Las Vegas Casino.
Espen Jorstad won the 2022 World Series Main event and a $10 million prize. The Norwegian’s success means it is now over four years since an American player has won the jewel in tournament poker’s crown.
