Masashi Oya’s very first recorded dwell match money got here within the ultimate days of 2021, taking down a $1,100 buy-in occasion on the Venetian DeepStack New Year’s Extravaganza. Less than two years after that first in-the-money end, the Japanese participant earned the biggest victory of his profession on the 2023 World Series of Poker Paradise competition. Oya defeated a discipline of 111 entries within the WSOP Paradise $100,000 buy-in extremely excessive curler no-limit maintain’em occasion. For the win Oya was awarded his first gold bracelet and the highest prize of $2,940,000.
Oya overcame a stacked ultimate desk that included a number of superstars of the sport, together with bracelet winners Danny Tang (eighth), Ben Heath (seventh), Ivan Luca (sixth), four-time bracelet winner Nick Schulman (fifth), Leon Sturm (third), and Jason Koon (2nd).
This breakthrough victory on the nosebleed-stakes circuit additionally noticed Oya earn 1,200 Card Player Player of the Year factors. This was his first title and ninth final-table end of 2023. With 2,590 whole POY factors, he now sits in 123rd place within the 2023 POY race standings introduced by Global Poker.
The 550 PokerGO Tour factors he secured with the win moved him into thirty ninth place within the year-long PGT standings, placing him ready to qualify for the season-ending PGT Championship.
This occasion performed out over the course of three days on the Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas. The sturdy turnout resulted in a prize pool of $11,100,000 that was break up up amongst the highest 17 finishers. Several massive names made the cash, solely to hit the rail late on day 2. Among them have been four-time bracelet winner David Peters (seventeenth), Ren Lin (fifteenth), bracelet winner Rui Ferreira (14th), bracelet winner Pieter Aerts (thirteenth), World Poker Tour champion Taylor von Kriegenbergh (twelfth), and three-time bracelet winner Justin Bonomo (Eleventh).
The ultimate day started with 10 remaining and Oya within the lead. Koon was in second chip place to start out, and he scored the primary knockout of the day Leonard Maue (tenth) to shut the hole a bit on Oya.
A 3-way all-in spelled the top of Lucas Greenwood’s run, together with his A-Okay clashing in opposition to the pocket aces of Quan Zhou and the pocket queens of Luca, who made queens full to win the pot. Greenwood earned $268,000 because the ninth-place finisher.
Luca additionally scored the following knockout, together with his Okay-10 outrunning the A-6 of Tang (eighth – $336,000) to slender the sphere to seven. Oya rivered a wheel in opposition to the pocket aces of Heath to ship the British poker professional to the rail in seventh place ($430,000). This was tang’s twenty first final-table end of the yr, with seven titles gained. He now sits in seventh place within the 2023 POY race with 8,308 whole factors.
Sturm, who gained a $50,000 occasion this summer season for his first bracelet, gained the following massive all-in with A-9 holding versus the Okay-7 of Luca. The Argentinian was awarded $555,000 for his sixth-place displaying.
Schulman was the following to fall. He bought his final chips in with A-J suited dominating the Okay-J of Koon, however a king on the river left Schulman in want of an ace on the river to stay within the match. The board paired as a substitute and Schulman was eradicated in fifth place ($731,000). This was the seventeenth final-table end of the yr for Schulman, who has gained three titles this yr together with his fourth bracelet. He now sits in twenty first place within the POY rankings.
A battle of the blinds noticed Zhou knocked out in fourth place ($976,000). Oya shoved from the small blind with Q-10 and Zhou known as all-in with Okay-7 for 9 massive blinds. Oya flopped a pair and turned a queen-high straight, which was good to safe the pot by the river. This was Zhou’s thirteenth final-table end, with three titles gained this yr. He now occupies the Eleventh-place spot on the POY leaderboard.
Sturm was difficult Oya for the lead throughout three-handed play, however an enormous conflict between the 2 massive stacks quickly noticed the leaderboard shift dramatically. Sturm had flopped high two pair whereas Oya hit a flush draw with backdoor straight potentialities. He picked up a gutshot on the flip as effectively and weathered a examine elevate from Sturm on that avenue. The river noticed Oya hit his flush. Sturm guess practically all of his remaining chips on the river and Oya known as, leaving the German with simply greater than a single massive blind.
Sturm was eradicated shortly after that by Koon, who entered heads-up play with 18,100,000 to Oya’s 48,500,000.
Oya was capable of pull even additional forward within the early going. In the ultimate hand, Koon limped in with Q6 from the button and Oya checked with 106. The flop got here down 975 to provide each gamers gutshot straight attracts.
The 8 stuffed each participant’s straights, with Oya’s ten-high straight being greatest. He led out and Koon made the decision. The river was the 4 and Oya moved all-in. Koon known as after loads of consideration, solely to be proven the upper straight. He took house $1,817,000 because the runner-up, rising his profession earnings to $54,649,145. He stays in fourth place on poker’s all-time cash checklist, however is now lower than $131,000 behind third-ranked Stephen Chidwick.
Koonb climbed to eighth place within the POY rankings because of this deep run. He now has 17 ultimate tables and 6 titles in 2023, with greater than $11.7 million in POY earnings and eight,082 factors accrued alongside the way in which.
Here is a have a look at the payouts and rankings factors awarded on the ultimate desk:
Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points | PGT Points |
1 | Masashi Oya | $2,940,000 | 1200 | 550 |
2 | Jason Koon | $1,817,000 | 1000 | 450 |
3 | Leon Sturm | $1,322,000 | 800 | 400 |
4 | Quan Zhou | $976,000 | 600 | 293 |
5 | Nick Schulman | $731,000 | 500 | 219 |
6 | Ivan Luca | $555,000 | 400 | 167 |
7 | Ben Heath | $430,000 | 300 | 129 |
8 | Danny Tang | $336,000 | 200 | 101 |
9 | Lucas Greenwood | $268,000 | 100 | 80 |
Photo credit score: WSOP / Matthew Berglund.