2023 RRPO in Review

The 2023 Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open ran from November 15 through November 29 with 49 trophy events and a busy Grand Ballroom from start to finish.

Events:  49
Entries:  18,323
Guarantees:  $7,360,000
Prize Pools:  $14,250,170

By the numbers, this was the biggest RRPO series in our history in terms of both entries and prize pools, and it was also the fifth-biggest attendance for any series in our history.

2023 Showdown – 22,035 entries
2022 Showdown – 20,359 entries
2022 SHRPO – 20,045 entries
2021 SHRPO – 19,881 entries
2023 RRPO – 18,323 entries

This series also posted some big overall numbers for our big series. Since the 2011 Poker Showdown, we have hosted 48 major festivals, hit $250,000,000 in guarantees, and surpassed 500,000 entries. Come to Lucky Hearts Poker Open in January when we just might cross over $500,000,000 in prize money.

Series: 48
Entries: 515,464
Guarantees: $250,023,500
Prize Pools: $484,905,676

Istvan Briski, 2023 WPT RRPO Champion

The series headliner was the 2023 WPT RRPO Championship, which drew 1,447 entries to create a prize pool worth $4,630,400. The last 181 players earned a share and Istvan Briski took the top spot of $647,300 after winning in front of the WPT live-stream cameras.

Three locals made the final table with Darryll Fish, Fred Goldberg, and Sandy Sanchez among the last six. This was Sanchez’s third cash of the series and all came at final tables: third in the $600 H.O.R.S.E., fourth in the $600 Eight-Game Mix, and third in the Championship.

Richard Saunders

The series started with a $400 Deep Stack No-Limit Hold’em tournament featuring a $2,000,000 guarantee and eight starting flights. The tournament drew 7,532 entries, and Richard Saunders took the top prize of $192,398 plus the RRPO trophy.

Matt Bretzfield won three events during the 2023 RRPO series

Matt Bretzfield (smiling above) had himself a series, not content to book just one title, but he earned three RRPO trophies; he won the $1,100 PLO, the $400 Bounty PLO, and the $600 Eight-Game Mix. Bretzfield tied a long-standing record as only the third person in our history to win three titles in the same series and the first to do it since 2012.

2012 Showdown – Julio Fernandez
2012 RRPO – Atanael Thomas
2023 RRPO – Matt Bretzfield

Bretzfield wasn’t the only one who made moves up our all-time list. David Shmuel captured his ninth title, Yuval Bronshtein grabbed his eighth, and Shmuel finished two spots short of his tenth on the last night of the series.

Raminder Singh sits alone at the top, but it’s getting crowded behind him. All-time major Hollywood titles:

Raminder Singh – 10 wins
Yuval Bronshtein – 9 wins
David Shmuel – 9 wins
Michael Newman – 9 wins
John Holley – 8 wins
Matt Bretzfield – 8 wins
Brian Altman – 7 wins
David Prociak – 7 wins
Gabriel Ramos – 7 wins

Other notable wins include A.J. Kelsall with his fourth trophy, David Brookshire winning two this series, and Adam Hendrix capturing the one-day $5K event when he max late registered after busting the $25K High Roller in sixth place.

All told we had 49 RRPO trophies find a new home over the two weeks of the series, and you can find links to all of the results below.

We cannot overstate our appreciation for the players who come out to support every one of our series. Thank you, and thank you again.

We look forward to seeing old friends and making new ones during the upcoming 2024 Lucky Hearts Poker Open in January!

2024 Lucky Hearts Poker Open schedule

2023 RRPO Schedule and results

WPT RRPO Championship: Istvan Briski – $647,300
Event 1 ($400 NLH): Richard Saunders – $192,398
Event 2 ($600 Seniors): Amir Baron – $26,035
Event 3 ($600 Big O): Fred Stones – $17,475
Event 4 ($200 Bounty): Scott Sommer – $4,925
Event 5 ($600 8-Game): A.J. Kelsall – $13,380
Event 6 ($1,100 PLO): Matt Bretzfield – $21,583
Event 7 ($200 Big Stack): Yang Lu – $8,890
Event 8 ($400 PLO): Steven Haynes – $9,275
Event 9 ($600 O8): Jose Paz – $11,131
Event 10 ($600 Bounty): Andre Bryan – $12,066
Event 11 ($600 PLO): Andrea Mastrogiovanni – $11,452
Event 12 ($600 PLO8): David Brookshire – $8,602
Event 13 ($600 Turbo): Zachary Fischer – $10,560
Event 14 ($400 NLH): Austin Thieleman – $44,440
Event 15 ($600 6-Max PLO): Steven Langert – $17,495
Event 16 ($1,100 NLH): Armando Romero – $78,000
Event 17 ($400 Turbo): Omer Rotman – $10,355
Event 18 ($400 Triple Stud): Allen Kessler – $6,796
Event 19 ($200 Big Stack): Jen-Yue Chiang – $34,911
Event 20 ($400 Bounty): Martynas Brazdzionis – $8,035
Event 21 ($400 6-Max): Michael Wetcher – $10,128
Event 22 ($400 2-7): David Shmuel – $7,165
Event 23 ($400 Turbo): Ferenc Deak – $31,705
Event 24 ($400 Turbo): David Sathue – $8,810
Event 25 ($600 HORSE): Yuval Bronshtein – $14,405
Event 26 ($400 Bounty PLO): Matt Bretzfield – $8,073
Event 27 ($200 Bounty): Peter Shapiro – $6,810
Event 28 ($200 Holiday): Jason Rocha – $11,476
Event 30 ($600 8-Game): Matt Bretzfield – $8,481
Event 31 ($600 Bounty): Richard Price – $8,520
Event 32 ($600 Mixed PLO): David Brookshire – $12,051
Event 33 ($300 NLH): Josh Zur – $6,536
Event 34 ($600 Turbo): Brett Bassock – $9,790
Event 35 ($400 NLH): Jay Chaudhary – $18,339
Event 36 ($600 PLO8): Grant Hart – $9,530
Event 37 ($10,000 PLO High Roller): Danny Shiff – $108,180
Event 38 ($1,700 Bounty): Eddy Mroczkowski – $25,469
Event 39 ($600 NLH): Nathan Thrush – $48,961
Event 40 ($1,100 Turbo): Christian Harder – $16,380
Event 41 ($1,100 NLH): Anthony Piacquadio – $30,200
Event 42 ($25K High Roller): Aleksejs Ponakovs – $682,238
Event 43 ($600 O8): Hal Klein – $9,583
Event 44 ($2,200 PLO): Elliott Kampen – $36,005
Event 45 ($200 NLH): Alejandro Arana – $6,596
Event 46 ($400 Seniors): Peter Fellows – $14,350
Event 47 ($5K NLH): Adam Hendrix – $192,150
Event 48 ($1,100 PLO): Pawel Andrzejewski – $28,305
Event 49 ($300 Bounty): Chris Lewis – $9,695

Istvan Briski Wins the WPT Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Championship for $647,300

2023 Seminole Hard Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Hollywood, Florida
$3,500 WPT RRPO Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  1,447
Prize Pool:  $4,630,400
November 24 – 29, 2023

2023 WPT Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Champion Istvan Briski

The 2023 WPT Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Championship began several days ago and drew 1,447 entries, generating a prize pool of $4,630,400. Emerging victorious was Istvan Briski, winning outright for $647,300.

Briski hails from Hungary and mainly plays poker online. This was his first time playing at the Seminole Hard Rock and he made it a time he’ll never forget.

“It’s amazing,” said Briski of winning. “I ran really good in the tournament, and yeah, I’m very happy. My biggest score so far. I’m very grateful.”

Briski bagged a below-average stack after Day 1 and was 274th of the returning 513 players, but still was comfortable with 45 big blinds. His Day 2 went fantastic, as he finished 8th in chips of the remaining 83 players. From there he bagged the chip lead after Day 3, leading the remaining 15 players.

Istvan Briski and Seminole Hard Rock Poker Tournament Manager Jason Heidenthal

He began the WPT final table second in chips and started off well, eliminating Darryll Fish in sixth place.  Briski fell back a bit before getting back in on the action, picking up pocket aces and doubling through Rayan Chamas to take the chip lead, before eliminating Fred Goldberg in fourth place.

When heads-up play was reached, Briski was trailing. However, he found a quick double-up to retake the lead, before eventually closing it out.

“There were some very good players, but I was running very good in important spots, and that’s really what tournaments are about a lot of the time.”

Photos by Joe Giron / PokerPhotoArchive.com / Courtesy of World Poker Tour

PlaceFirst NameLast NamePrize Amount
1IstvanBriski$647,300*
2RayanChamas$600,000*
3SandySanchez$366,500
4FredGoldberg$274,000
5MattBond$206,900
6DarryllFish$157,800
7LukeGraham$121,500
8JasonSagle$94,500
9RishiMakkar$74,300
10AlejandroGonzalez Olaechea$74,300
11ViktorKovachev$59,000
12LucianSilveira$59,000
13NikoKoop$47,300
14JackMcDonald$47,300
15GergelyKulcsár$38,300
16RobertKennedy$38,300
17AlessioIsaia$31,400
18DmitriiPerfilev$31,400
19ChadEveslage$31,400
20JoeReddick$31,400
21JustinZaki$26,000
22MartinStausholm$26,000
23SachaRymland$26,000
24JerryMaher$26,000
25MaksimPisarenko$21,800
26AleksDimitrov$21,800
27BryceMcVay$21,800
28KyleJulius$21,800
29ShawnNguyen$21,800
30ZiadAlameddine$21,800
31BrandonWittmeyer$21,800
32BlakeNapierala$21,800
33StefanJedlicka$18,400
34NazarBuhaiov$18,400
35GuyNaimi$18,400
36AristotlesNeto$18,400
37DavidNowling$18,400
38EricZheng$18,400
39FredParadis$18,400
40BorisKolev$18,400
41KharlinSued$15,800
42JohnDepersio$15,800
43BryanRosen$15,800
44DulanDuran$15,800
45MaheshwarManthani$15,800
46JerryWong$15,800
47AnthonyZinno$15,800
48ChengXu$15,800
49AlexLivingston$13,700
50NicholasVerderamo$13,700
51AlexNguyen$13,700
52PetkoTsakov$13,700
53VladasTamasauskas$13,700
54ElliotKampen$13,700
55AndrewMoreno$13,700
56HengZhang$13,700
57YuvalBronshtein$12,000
58JuanMembreno Orellana$12,000
59AlexFoxen$12,000
60KyleArora$12,000
61DiegoPaulo Uez$12,000
62NirCohen$12,000
63GalYifrach$12,000
64AdamHendrix$12,000
65LucianoNardi$10,600
66SangHo$10,600
67LyleDiamond$10,600
68BrianLuo$10,600
69ChanceKornuth$10,600
70JoshuaWang$10,600
71SamLaskowitz$10,600
72BrianAltman$10,600
73JaredHemingway$9,500
74JarodEinsohn$9,500
75BrianMurphy$9,500
76NorbertSzecsi$9,500
77MichaelLiang$9,500
78KrasimirYankov$9,500
79DavidUvaydov$9,500
80ZacharyBruch$9,500
81FemiFashakin$8,600
82ArmandMatti$8,600
83IgorHot$8,600
84AndrewOstapchenko$8,600
85DominiqueMosley$8,600
86DionJagroo$8,600
87OscarBlanco$8,600
88AaronThivyanathan$8,600
89ArunasSapitavicius$7,800
90NadeemHirani$7,800
91SenhaoCao$7,800
92RobBrown$7,800
93PeterFellows$7,800
94JoshRothberg$7,800
95BarryMcGovern$7,800
96SeanAstwood$7,800
97JasonRocha$7,800
98NancyBirnbaum$7,800
99AlexanderStewart$7,800
100Matthew M.Martin$7,800
101NicholasRichards$7,800
102ScottEskenazi$7,800
103FredericNormand$7,800
104JasonBullock$7,800
105NitisUdornpim$7,100
106JohnGrout$7,100
107ScottWeidema$7,100
108JakeOzyman$7,100
109JulioBelluscio$7,100
110AlejandroBurazco$7,100
111SandeepMathai$7,100
112BrandonWilson$7,100
113MikeVanier$7,100
114PeterMugar$7,100
115MichaelTait$7,100
116RafalMichalowski$7,100
117OmerRotman$7,100
118MaksimLebedev$7,100
119MichaelVinkour$7,100
120AndersonPremdas$7,100
121ThomasReynolds$6,600
122KamelMokhammad$6,600
123RyanBlank$6,600
124KennyHallaert$6,600
125BrianNerney$6,600
126JackCorrigan$6,600
127BrentHoover$6,600
128EricBonin$6,600
129MatthewZarcadoolas$6,600
130AliTurkan$6,600
131CarlCarodenuto$6,600
132GeoffreyHum$6,600
133JeremiahWheeler$6,600
134OlgaIermolcheva$6,600
135CraigVarnell$6,600
136KevinRines$6,600
137SteveBuckner$6,200
138AsherConniff$6,200
139JohnStevenson$6,200
140MichaelStashin$6,200
141ChristianHarder$6,200
142JonathanMattia$6,200
143StoykoKolev$6,200
144RonaldKatz$6,200
145KurtLichtman$6,200
146MichaelO'Malley$6,200
147DavidKozma$6,200
148FrankLagodich$6,200
149MichaelMcNicholas$6,200
150ScottBall$6,200
151HamedZia$6,200
152KevinDavis$6,200
153FranklinRojas$5,900
154RudyMamo$5,900
155DanielSmiljkovic$5,900
156ErkutYilmaz$5,900
157StephenGerber$5,900
158Ya YunLiu$5,900
159StephenKehoe$5,900
160JoseGonzalez$5,900
161AaronKupin$5,900
162BrandonNavarrete$5,900
163StephenSong$5,900
164YangLu$5,900
165T.K.Miles$5,900
166StevenPiper$5,900
167JesseLonis$5,700
168GlennFishbein$5,700
169LeonardMaue$5,700
170ToddMiller$5,700
171GediminasUselis$5,700
172JordanPolk$5,700
173MatthewLambrecht$5,700
174BenjaminGrise$5,700
175AleksejsPonakovs$5,700
176ArtemMetalidi$5,700
177JuanMora Lasso$5,700
178JosephPetrolino$5,700
179AnthonyHu$5,700
180JeremyMintz$5,700
181FrancisAnderson$5,700

*denotes modified heads-up payouts

Championship: Istvan Briski Wins! ($647,300); Rayan Chamas Finishes Runner-Up ($600,000)

$3,500 WPT RRPO Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts | Results
Level 35:  300,000/600,000 with a 600,000 ante
Players Remaining:  1 of 1,447

2023 WPT Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Champion Istvan Briski

Rayan Chamas raised all in for 9,800,000 from the button and Istvan Briski called in the big blind.

Chamas:  Ts8c
Briski:  Qd4c

The board came As7s2hKh5s, keeping Chamas’ queen best to win the 2023 WPT Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open for $647,300. Chamas finished runner-up for $600,000.

A recap of the Championship will be posted later tonight.

Rayan Chamas

Photos by Joe Giron / PokerPhotoArchive.com / Courtesy of World Poker Tour

Championship: Rayan Chamas Doubles Up

$3,500 WPT RRPO Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts | Results
Level 35:  300,000/600,000 with a 600,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 1,447

Rayan Chamas

Istvan Briski limped in for 600,000 from the button, Rayan Chamas raised all in for 6,800,000 from the big blind, and Briski called with KcTc, leading Chamas’ Qs4c.

The board ran out Kd9d4h2sQh, giving Chamas queens and fours on the river to double through Briski and survive.

Rayan Chamas  –  14,200,000  (24 bb)
Istvan Briski  –  58,200,000  (97 bb)

Photo by Joe Giron / PokerPhotoArchive.com / Courtesy of World Poker Tour

Championship: Istvan Briski Doubles Up and Takes a Big Chip Lead

$3,500 WPT RRPO Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts | Results
Level 35:  300,000/600,000 with a 600,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 1,447

Istvan Briski

Rayan Chamas raised to 1,500,000 from the button, Istvan Briski three-bet to 5,700,000 from the big blind, and Chamas called.

They checked to the turn of an AcJhThJc board where Briski bet 5,500,000. Chamas called.

The river was the 5s, Briski went all in for 18,200,000, and Chamas used a time extension before he called.

Briski showed Jd4c for trip jacks, besting Chamas’ Ad5d to double into a sizable chip lead.

Istvan Briski  –  59,400,000  (99 bb)
Rayan Chamas  –  12,500,000  (21 bb)

Photo by Joe Giron / PokerPhotoArchive.com / Courtesy of World Poker Tour

 

Championship: Modified Payouts

$3,500 WPT RRPO Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts | Results
Level 34:  300,000/500,000 with a 500,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 1,447

Rayan Chamas (left) vs. Istvan Briski (right)

Before heads-up play began, the players agreed to modify the remaining two payouts.

1st:  $647,300  – includes WPT World Championship seat
2nd:  $600,000

Photo by Joe Giron / PokerPhotoArchive.com / Courtesy of World Poker Tour

Championship: Sandy Sanchez – 3rd Place ($366,500)

$3,500 WPT RRPO Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts | Results
Level 34:  300,000/500,000 with a 500,000 ante
Players Remaining:  2 of 1,447

Sandy Sanchez

Rayan Chamas raised to 1,200,000 from the button, Sandy Sanchez three-bet all in for 13,700,000 from the big blind, and Chamas called.

Chamas:  9s9c
Sanchez:  5h5d

The board came Ah7s3dKsKd, no help to Sanchez, ending his Championship run in third place.

Rayan Chamas  –  41,500,000  (83 bb)
Istvan Briski  –  30,900,000  (62 bb)
Sandy Sanchez  –  Eliminated in 3rd Place  ($366,500)

1st:  $752,500 – includes WPT World Championship seat
2nd:  $494,800

Play will resume in a little while as the players take an unscheduled break.

Championship: Fred Goldberg – 4th Place ($274,000)

$3,500 WPT RRPO Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts | Results
Level 34:  300,000/500,000 with a 500,000 ante
Players Remaining:  3 of 1,447

Fred Goldberg

Istvan Briski raised to 1,000,000 from the cutoff, Fred Goldberg reraised all in for 3,700,000 from the button, and Briski called with JhJc, leading Goldberg’s Ad2s.

The board ran out Jd7d6h7hQs, giving Briski jacks full of sevens to eliminate Goldberg in fourth place.

Istvan Briski  –  36,900,000  (74 bb)
Fred Goldberg  –  Eliminated in 4th Place  ($274,000)

Championship: Istvan Briski Doubles Into the Chip Lead Through Rayan Chamas

$3,500 WPT RRPO Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts | Results
Level 34:  300,000/500,000 with a 500,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 1,447

Istvan Briski

Rayan Chamas raised to 1,000,000 from the cutoff,  Istvan Briski three-bet to 2,500,000 from the button, Chamas four-bet all in with a covering stack, and Briski caled all in for 15,300,000.

Chasmas:  QdJh
Briski:  AsAh

The board ran out 7s5h3s3c4s, safe for Briski to double into the chip lead.

Istvan Briski  –  31,900,000  (64 bb)
Rayan Chamas  –  20,000,000  (40 bb)

Championship: Fred Goldberg Slips

$3,500 WPT RRPO Championship
$3,000,000 Guaranteed | Structure | Payouts | Results
Level 33:  200,000/400,000 with a 400,000 ante
Players Remaining:  4 of 1,447

Fred Goldberg

Rayan Chamas raised to 800,000 from the cutoff, Fred Goldberg three-bet to 2,600,000 from the small blind, and Chamas calls.

The flop was Td8d2s, Goldberg continued for 1,500,000, and Chamas called.

The turn was the Qc and both checked.

The river was the 8c, Goldberg checked, Chamas bet 4,400,000, and Goldberg called.

Chamas showed Qh9h for queens and eights, Goldberg mucked, and Chamas won the pot.

Rayan Chamas  –  26,500,000  (66 bb)
Fred Goldberg  –  14,000,000  (35 bb)