Shaun Deeb has some legit competitors for 2023 World Collection of Poker (WSOP) Participant of the Yr, and it is not Daniel Negreanu or Phil Ivey. The identify you have to study, if you have not grow to be conversant in him already, is Ian Matakis, who’s about to take over the lead, and it seems he’ll be within the POY race till the top.
PokerNews caught up with the Minnesota native on break of Occasion #65: $5,000 No-Restrict Maintain’em (6-Handed), the place he is nonetheless in it on Day 3.
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Matakis, who gained a web based bracelet earlier this summer season, stated he is “extra of a web based” poker participant, however “I am transitioning extra to dwell.” The Midwest poker professional with simply over $1 million in Hendon Mob outcomes has 15 bracelet occasion cashes this summer season, six of which have taken place on WSOP.com.
He’ll add a 16th money when the $5k at Horseshoe Las Vegas wraps. On the time of publishing, he had over 2.Three million in chips, placing him within the high 10 out of 31 remaining gamers. The ultimate desk is ready for Saturday, and the winner within the 1,199-player occasion will obtain $938,244.
Can Up-and-Coming Poker Professional Beat Shaun Deeb?
As of now, Deeb leads the Participant of the Yr race with 3,358 factors, whereas Matakis is at 3,338 factors. Chad Eveslage, the one a number of bracelet winner this summer season, is in third place with 2,745 factors. Probability Kornuth can also be in competition as he sits on 2,648 factors.
On the conclusion of the $5k, Matakis will regain the lead, and will earn as many as 1,237 factors, which might put him properly forward of Deeb. He is assured to rack up no less than 247 factors, additionally simply sufficient to maneuver into first place. After all, this all is dependent upon Deeb’s efficiency over the weekend. He is all the time a risk to run deep in any occasion.
One benefit Deeb has over Matakis is that he performs nearly any sport. Matakis, alternatively, has caught with no-limit maintain’em and pot-limit Omaha tournaments, the video games he focuses on. However now that he is a critical Participant of the Yr contender, he simply would possibly develop his horizons.
“I’d play a pair additional ones that I wasn’t going to play for the Participant of the Yr factors, however apart from that I am taking part in a fairly regular schedule,” Matakis, pronounced (muh-take-iss), stated.
“Yeah, that is undoubtedly a bonus, however I’ve discovered some blended video games, so he ought to be careful,” Matakis continued when requested if Deeb had an edge over him within the Participant of the Yr race on condition that he performs the blended video games.
Matakis expressed confidence in beating Deeb, who gained the award in 2018. However Deeb, who additionally gained a bracelet this summer season, does not appear to agree.
https://twitter.com/shaundeeb/standing/1673890966493876224
Yearly, there’s one or two gamers no one projected would compete for WSOP Participant of the Yr who contend deep into the collection. This summer season, it is Matakis, and it appears as if the Minnesota poker professional would be the race for the long-haul.
“It was by no means something I used to be chasing,” Matakis stated of his pre-WSOP Participant of the Yr competition. “After all, now I am working in direction of it.”
Matakis says that his pink sizzling summer season has been as a consequence of a mix of things — working sizzling and the “preparation I’ve put in.” The query now’s can anybody cool him off? Deeb higher hope so or he’ll have fairly a tricky battle the previous couple of weeks of the summer season.
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