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2022 Poker Showdown in Review
The 2022 Poker Showdown series kicked off on March 24 and had an incredible three-week run that featured plenty of game options, huge payouts, a lot of great poker, and some terrific champs. Here’s a quick look at the raw numbers:
Primary Events: 50
Entries: 20,359
Guarantees: $7,450,000
Prize Pools: $20,833,340
We ran 50 primary trophy events over 20 days, and the players came out in big numbers. In fact, the 20,359 Poker Showdown entries are the most we’ve had come through the door in our history for any single series, and $20,833,340 in prize money is our third-most ever.
On a historical note, during the series we had our 400,000th entry take a seat in one of our major events (that total is now up to 404,812) dating back to the 2011 Poker Showdown series, we have awarded more than $380 million in prize money.
Those big numbers were, of course, made possible by the players. But poker is more than the bottom line, and we had three weeks full of great stories.
The headlining event of the series was the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship, and it attracted a lot of top players. The $3,500 buy-in World Poker Tour event drew 2,010 entries to create a prize pool worth $6,432,000. It is the second-largest field for a WPT main tour event, with only the 2,482 from last year’s Poker Showdown Championship topping it.
The Championship played down to the six-handed WPT final table, and the final tablists will travel to Las Vegas to play for the title on May 25th. The headliner is four-time WPT champion Darren Elias, who holds a massive chip lead with 129 big blinds in his stack.
In addition to the Championship, we had two High Rollers with Andrew “LuckyChewy” Lichtenberger winning the $50,000 event, and Brian Altman taking down the $25K High Roller.
That trophy represents the seventh time Altman won a major Hollywood title and the second-most wins in our history. The leaderboard for career wins saw a lot of movement this series.
Altman and Gabriel Ramos began the series with six wins each, sitting behind David Prociak and Raminder Singh. Ramos picked up his seventh in the $600 Double Black Chip Bounty.
Yuval Bronshtein wasn’t about to be left behind. On the same day Ramos won #7, Bronshtein topped the $600 Eight-Max PLO field for his sixth win and picked up his seventh just a few days later in the $1,100 H.O.R.S.E. freeze-out.
Those three players moving up the leaderboard would be a great story on its own, but Raminder Singh still had something to say about it. The Poker Room regular was tied for most trophies at the start of the series, but now stands alone in the top spot after winning the $150 Big Stack for his eighth trophy.
All-time trophies:
Raminder Singh – 8 wins
Brian Altman – 7 wins
Yuval Bronshtein – 7 wins
David Prociak – 7 wins
Gabriel Ramos – 7 wins
With all seven of Bronshtein’s wins coming in the last 15 months (first during 2021 LHPO) and Singh booking at least one win a year since 2018, we expect to see more changes to this leaderboard before next year’s Poker Showdown.
April 6th was a historic date for us, as we had two female champions win trophies in open events on the same day — Valerie Novak won the $1,100 Deep Stack, and Jennifer Aguilar captured the $200 Double Green Chip Bounty
But that’s just part of the story. Over the course of 50 tournaments, we crowned six female champs (they won 12% of the events) and we think that’s fantastic. In addition to Novak and Aguilar, trophies walked out the door with Nancy Birnbaum, Nohad “Nu” Teliani, Lisa Levy, and Judy Bielan.
Those are only a few of the great stories during this series. John Binns won two tournaments in the first half of the series, James Collins won the opening event for $130,682, and Michael Nye took down the $600 Deep Stack for $328,683.
Matt Bretzfield and Matthew Lambrecht won events on the same day, and both dedicated their wins to their late fathers. Four-time WSOP bracelet winner Jeff Madsen and 14-time WSOP Circuit champ Maurice Hawkins each earned Showdown titles.
There were far too many stories for a single write-up, but you can find links below to all 50 tournaments for full results and recaps.
By multiple metrics, the 2022 Poker Showdown was a huge success, but it would not be possible without our players, both old friends and new, coming out to play in our events.
Thank you to everyone who came out to play, and we look forward to seeing you again during the 2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open, which runs from July 28th through August 9th.
2022 Poker Showdown Schedule and Results
Event 1 ($400 NLH): James Collins – $130,682
Event 2 ($400 O8): Michael Bozeman – $11,330
Event 3 ($400 H.O.R.S.E.): John Simcox – $6,543
Event 4 ($400 PLO8): John Binns – $10,720
Event 5 ($400 NLH): Zoltan Czinkota – $12,255
Event 6 ($1,100 NLH): Nick Palma – $41,050
Event 7 ($200 Big Stack): Vendel Johnson – $26,497
Event 8 ($400 Bounty): Maurice Hawkins – $7,895
Event 9 ($400 Big O): Anatolii Zyrin – $10,950
Event 10 ($400 6-Max NLH): Nohad “Nu” Teliani – $9,986
Event 11 ($400 OE): Gary Kosakowski – $8,645
Event 12 ($400 8-Handed NLH): Enreko Fracassi – $14,490
Event 13 ($400 6-Max PLO): Nancy Birnbaum – $11,830
Event 14 ($200 Bounty): Richard Coppola – $5,943
Event 15 ($600 NLH): Michael Nye – $328,683
Event 16 ($600 O8): John Binns – $14,540
Event 17 ($600 H.O.R.S.E.): David Shmuel – $13,890
Event 18 ($600 PLO8): Jeff Madsen – $16,335
Event 19 ($400 NLH): Aaron Ang – $14,686
Event 20 ($1,100 Bounty): Matthew Lambrecht – $24,065
Event 21 ($600 Mixed PLO): Matt Bretzfield – $11,475
Event 22 ($400 Seniors): James Calderaro – $20,265
Event 23 ($600 Bounty): Gabriel Ramos – $11,174
Event 24 ($600 PLO): Yuval Bronshtein – $20,630
Event 25 ($150 Big Stack): Andre Bryan – $6,379
Event 26 ($1,100 O8): Leonard August – $18,000
Event 27 ($600 6-Max NLH): Scott Carragher – $37,630
Event 28 ($600 6-Max Bounty): Steven Steinmetz – $10,245
Event 29 ($400 Turbo): Georges Boyadjian – $12,327
Event 30 ($1,100 NLH): Valerie Novak – $91,835
Event 31 (Super High Roller): Andrew Lichtenberger – $638,223
Event 32 ($200 Bounty): Jennifer Aguilar – $5,095
Event 33 ($1,100 H.O.R.S.E.): Yuval Bronshtein – $21,645
Event 34 ($2,200 NLH): Andres Jeckeln – $126,541
Event 35 ($150 Big Stack): Raminder Singh – $5,008
Event 37 ($250 Ladies): Lisa Levy – $4,015
Event 38 ($600 Turbo): Michael Bagdasarov – $10,343
Event 39 ($400 NLH): Francois Gagne – $20,753
Event 40 ($1,700 Bounty): Eugene Kotlyarevskiy – $54,155
Event 41 ($1,100 PLO): Frank Lagodich – $26,575
Event 42 ($1,100 Seniors): Judy Bielan – $19,285
Event 43 ($600 NLH): Prithvi Rudrappa – $31,873
Event 44 ($25K High Roller): Brian Altman – $692,661
Event 45 ($150 NLH): Oscar Arrieche Sierralta – $7,270
Event 46 ($1,100 Turbo): Nicholas Rigby – $44,355
Event 47 ($1,100 5-Card PLO): Kirk Steele – $21,620
Event 48 ($400 NLH): Igor Evseev – $12,142
Event 49 ($5K One-Day): Brandon Lulov – $246,125
Event 50 ($200 Bounty): Gene Hughes – $6,034
Championships: WPT Final Table Set; Darren Elias Leads
$3,500 WPT Poker Showdown Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 32: 150,000/300,000 with a 300,000 ante
Players Remaining: 6 of 2,010
The 2022 WPT Poker Showdown Championship final table is set and there’s a familiar face at the top of the counts.
Four-time WPT champ Darren Elias has a big lead looking for number five and heading to Las Vegas where the final table six will play for the Championship. Mark Davis sits in second followed by Marcos Exterkotter, Mike Laufer, Andrew Barfield, and Viet Vo making his second straight WPT Poker Showdown Championship final table.
The live-streamed final table will run on May 25 at the HyperX eSports Arena in Las Vegas.
Seat 1: Mark Davis – 26,550,000 (89 bb)
Seat 2: Viet Vo – 11,925,000 (40 bb)
Seat 3: Mike Laufer – 6,750,000 (23 bb)
Seat 4: Andrew Barfield – 5,500,000 (18 bb)
Seat 5: Marcos Exterkotter – 10,900,000 (36 bb)
Seat 6: Darren Elias – 38,825,000 (129 bb)
Remaining payouts:
1st: $1,000,300
2nd: $660,000
3rd: $490,000
4th: $370,000
5th: $280,000
6th: $215,000
Gene Hughes Wins Event 50 of the 2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown In Seven-Way Deal
2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 50
$200 Quad Stack Double Green Chip Bounty (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed
Entries: 377
Prize Pool: $41,570
Bounty Prize Pool: $18,750
April 12, 2022
The final event of the 2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown was a $200 Quad Stack Double Green Chip Bounty (Re-Entry). A field of 377 entries generated a prize pool of $41,570, with an additional $18,750 set aside for bounties. All told, the $30,000 guarantee was more than doubled.
A seven-handed deal was reached at the final table with Gene Hughes as the chip leader, making him the official winner for $6,034.
| Place | First Name | Last Name | Prize Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gene | Hughes | $6,034* |
| 2 | Mansoor | Kader | $3,629* |
| 3 | Igor | Korkhin | $3,449* |
| 4 | Alan | Ago | $3,023* |
| 5 | Tom | Thomas | $2,973* |
| 6 | Carl | Cajuste | $2,713* |
| 7 | Michael | Yehudai | $2,454* |
| 8 | Santana | Noronha | $1,120 |
| 9 | Mikhail | Prokopchuk | $900 |
| 10 | Ethan | Blauner | $900 |
| 11 | Thomas | Gari | $775 |
| 12 | Dan | Kashvin | $775 |
| 13 | Anthony | Casas | $650 |
| 14 | Robert | Leff | $650 |
| 15 | Steven | Raeman | $650 |
| 16 | Juan | Mubarak | $525 |
| 17 | Anthony | Talavera | $525 |
| 18 | Tyler | Femling | $525 |
| 19 | Ilan | Hadida | $425 |
| 20 | Kyle | Heath | $425 |
| 21 | Minh | Nguyen | $425 |
| 22 | Vladimir | Florent | $350 |
| 23 | Angelo | Castaldi | $350 |
| 24 | Michael | Mendez | $350 |
| 25 | Ysrael | Rodriguez | $325 |
| 26 | Adam | Zeltser | $325 |
| 27 | Ginold | Rendel | $325 |
| 28 | Valery | Litvak | $300 |
| 29 | William | Haworth | $300 |
| 30 | Raminder | Singh | $300 |
| 31 | Alain | Candales Falcon | $300 |
| 32 | Melissa | Kaiser | $300 |
| 33 | Lars | Rimmereid | $300 |
| 34 | Marcela | Aguilar | $300 |
| 35 | Mark | Cannon | $300 |
| 36 | Fadil | Sadiku | $300 |
| 37 | Avram | Lockwood | $275 |
| 38 | Devin | Travis | $275 |
| 39 | Lawrence | Rubenstein | $275 |
| 40 | Roman | Pipman | $275 |
| 41 | David | Barbieri | $275 |
| 42 | Claudio | Piedrabuena | $275 |
| 43 | Sebastien | Giraldo | $275 |
| 44 | Erik | De Souza | $275 |
| 45 | Erik | Dominguez | $275 |
| 46 | Ory | Hen | $275 |
| 47 | Scott | Robb | $275 |
| 48 | Mark | Bernstein | $275 |
*denotes seven-handed deal
Brandon Lulov Wins Event 49 of the 2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Outright for $246,125
2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 49
$5,000 Eight-Max No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed
Entries: 232
Prize Pool: $1,102,000
April 12, 2022
Event 49 of the 2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown was the $5,000 Eight-Max No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry), the usual big buy-in event on the last day of the series. A field of 232 entries was the second-largest for this event, behind only the 2021 Showdown’s 287. The guarantee was more than doubled with a prize pool of $1,102,000.
Winning the tournament outright was Brandon Lulov for $246,125.
Lulov overcame a nearly 10:1 chip disadvantage to Matt Berkey, doubling up three times in about 15 minutes to take the lead before ultimately taking it down.
| Place | First Name | Last Name | Prize Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandon | Lulov | $246,125 |
| 2 | Matt | Berkey | $171,825 |
| 3 | Nir | Cohen | $110,955 |
| 4 | David | Coleman | $71,800 |
| 5 | Nick | Schulman | $53,000 |
| 6 | Rodney | Turvin | $43,970 |
| 7 | Alexandre | Vuilleumier | $37,465 |
| 8 | T.K. | Miles | $31,200 |
| 9 | Erik | Seidel | $25,975 |
| 10 | George | Wolff | $25,975 |
| 11 | Nitis | Udornpim | $22,680 |
| 12 | Michael | Rossitto | $22,680 |
| 13 | Duff | Charette | $19,450 |
| 14 | Ema | Zajmovic | $19,450 |
| 15 | Damien | Wilkinson | $16,825 |
| 16 | Daniel | Corbett | $16,825 |
| 17 | Brek | Schutten | $14,800 |
| 18 | Richard | Rice | $14,800 |
| 19 | Ian | O'Hara | $14,800 |
| 20 | Tony | Dunst | $14,800 |
| 21 | Jake | Schwartz | $12,900 |
| 22 | Raul | Martinez Gallego | $12,900 |
| 23 | Salim | Admon | $12,900 |
| 24 | Geneva | Pinney | $12,900 |
| 25 | Amarender | Sartaj Puri | $11,000 |
| 26 | Carlos | Chadha-Villamarin | $11,000 |
| 27 | Rajiv | Maragh | $11,000 |
| 28 | Taylor | von Kriegenbergh | $11,000 |
| 29 | Kristen | Bicknell | $11,000 |
Igor Evseev Wins Event 48 of the 2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown in Three-Way Deal
2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 48
$400 Big Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry)
$30,000 Guaranteed
Entries: 170
Prize Pool: $56,950
April 12, 2022
Event 48 of the 2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown was a $400 Big Stack No-Limit Hold’em (Re-Entry). A field of 170 entries created a prize pool of $56,950, nearly doubling the guarantee.
A three-handed deal was reached at the final table, with Igor Evseev chip leading at the time, making him the official winner for $12,142.
| Place | First Name | Last Name | Prize Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Igor | Evseev | $12,142* |
| 2 | Tam | Ho | $9,731* |
| 3 | Jonathan | Marcu | $8,427* |
| 4 | Don | Flynn | $3,555 |
| 5 | Roberto | Bendeck | $2,745 |
| 6 | Artur | Nazarenko | $2,275 |
| 7 | Eric | Siegel | $1,965 |
| 8 | John | Colucci | $1,720 |
| 9 | Joshua | Multack | $1,500 |
| 10 | Chad | Lipton | $1,500 |
| 11 | Bradley | Young | $1,275 |
| 12 | Raminder | Singh | $1,275 |
| 13 | Barry | Rosenkranz | $1,080 |
| 14 | Vinny | Pahuja | $1,080 |
| 15 | Alessio | Isaia | $1,080 |
| 16 | Kenneth | Nicoletti | $900 |
| 17 | William | McPhillips | $900 |
| 18 | Haim | Toorgeman | $900 |
| 19 | John | Valevich | $725 |
| 20 | Anatolii | Zyrin | $725 |
| 21 | Ducarmel | Beaubien | $725 |
| 22 | Wilmer | Chavira | $725 |
*denotes three-handed deal
Kirk Steele Wins Event 47 of the 2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Outright for $21,620
2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
Event 47
$1,100 5-Card PLO Championship (Freeze-Out)
Entries: 62
Prize Pool: $60,140
April 12, 2022
Event 47 of the 2022 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown was a $1,100 5-Card PLO Championship (Freeze-Out). The event drew 62 entries, generating a prize pool of $60,140.
Winning outright was Kirk Steele, earning $21,620 for the victory.
| Place | First Name | Last Name | Prize Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kirk | Steele | $21,620 |
| 2 | Millard | Hale | $12,720 |
| 3 | Sean | Shah | $8,000 |
| 4 | Donald | Maloney | $5,415 |
| 5 | Sangwook | Byun | $4,210 |
| 6 | Lisa | Seamans | $3,305 |
| 7 | Jim | Collopy | $2,705 |
| 8 | Charles | Gomez | $2,165 |
Event 49: Brandon Lulov Wins! ($246,125); Matt Berkey Eliminated in 2nd Place ($171,825)
$5,000 Eight-Max NLH (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27: 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining: 1 of 232
Brandon Lulov limped in, Matt Berkey raised all in for about 760,000, and Lulov called.
Lulov: 
Berkey: 
The board ran out 
, clean for Lulov to lock up the outright victory for $246,125.
Berkey finished runner-up for $171,825.
A recap of the event will be posted later tonight.
Event 49: Brandon Lulov Doubles Up for a Third Time to Take the Lead
$5,000 Eight-Max NLH (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 27: 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 232
Brandon Lulov raised to 120,000 and Matt Berkey called.
The flop was 
and Berkey check-called 100,000 from Lulov.
The turn was the 
and Berkey check-called 400,000 from Lulov.
The river was the 
, Berkey checked, and Lulov moved all in for 1,150,000. Berkey tanked for about three minutes before he called.
Lulov tabled 
for a pair of kings with an ace kicker.
“Wow, nice hand,” said Berkey, as he showed a defeated 
.
Matt Berkey – 1,040,000 (17 bb)
Event 49: Brandon Lulov Doubles Up Again
$5,000 Eight-Max NLH (Re-Entry)
$500,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts
Level 26: 25,000/50,000 with a 50,000 ante
Players Remaining: 2 of 232
Brandon Lulov limped on the button, Matt Berkey raised all in, and Lulov called all in for 910,000 with 
, leading Berkey’s 
.
The flop came 
, giving Berkey the lead with a pair of eights.
The turn was the , giving Lulov a pair of tens to retake the lead.
The river was the 
, safe for Lulov to double up once again.
Brandon Lulov – 1,920,000 (38 bb)
Matt Berkey – 2,720,000 (54 bb)