German Steffen Sontheimer Dominates Inaugural Poker Masters Prelims
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The four $50,000 buy-in prelims ran from Wednesday, September 13 through Sunday, September 17. The Poker Masters will conclude with the three-day $100,000 buy-in championship event running from Monday, September 18 through Wednesday, September 20.
The player who earns the most cash through all five events will be awarded a one-of-a-kind purple jacket marking the accomplishment.
Early poker boom hero turned TV commentator Nick Schulman won the first $50,000 prelim, which drew 51 entries.
Event #1 Results
- 1st Nick Schulman $918,000
- 2nd Matt Hyman $561,000
- 3rd Stefan Schillhabel $306,000
- 4th Steffen Sontheimer $204,000
- 5th Dominik Nitsche $178,500
- 6th Koray Aldemir $153,000
- 7th Adrian Mateos $127,500
- 8th Daniel Negreanu $102,000
Sontheimer followed up his fourth-place finish in Event #1 with a win in the second $50,000 prelim, which drew a field of 50 entries.
Event #2 Results
- 1st Steffen Sontheimer $900,000
- 2nd Fedor Holz $550,000
- 3rd Tom Marchese $300,000
- 4th Phil Hellmuth $200,000
- 5th Christian Christner $175,000
- 6th Adrian Mateos $150,000
- 7th Bryn Kenney $125,000
- 8th Dan Shak $100,000
The third $50,000 prelim drew 48 entrants, dropping the number of places paid to just seven. This left Event #3 with the largest payout for the win. Ultimately, the $960,000 first-place prize went to 2017 Global Poker Index Player of the Year leader Bryn Kenney, who defeated veteran, Erik Seidel in an epic heads-up match to collect the title.
Event #3 Results
- 1st Bryn Kenney $960,000
- 2nd Erik Seidel $576,000
- 3rd Jake Schindler $312,000
- 4th Dan Smith $192,000
- 5th Doug Polk $144,000
- 6th Cary Katz $120,000
- 7th Sergio Aido $96,000
Finally, the fourth $50,000 prelim drew the smallest field of 39 entries. This time it was Brandon Adams taking the win after coming from behind to defeat YouTube star Doug Polk heads up.
Event #4 Results
- 1st Brandon Adams $819,000
- 2nd Doug Polk $468,000
- 3rd David Peters $273,000
- 4th Justin Bonomo $175,500
- 5th Steffen Sontheimer $117,000
- 6th Jake Schindler $97,500
Sontheimer made three of four final tables. He also bubbled the fourth, finished in eighth place in Event #3. In all, Sontheimer earned $1,221,000 and will go into the $100,000 championship event as the favorite to earn the purple jacket.
Kenney, Polk, Jake Schindler and Adrian Mateos were the only other players to cash in multiple prelims and remain in contention.
Plus, a seven-figure score in the championship event could still help several players earn the inaugural Poker Masters purple jacket. In fact, here’s how the top 15 look heading into the championship event:
- Steffen Sontheimer $1,221,000
- Bryn Kenney $1,085,000
- Nick Schulman $918,000
- Brandon Adams $819,000
- Doug Polk $612,000
- Erik Seidel $576,000
- Matt Hyman $561,000
- Fedor Holz $550,000
- Jake Schindler $409,500
- Stefan Schillhabel $306,000
- Tom Marchese $300,000
- Adrian Mateos $277,500
- David Peters $273,000
- Phil Hellmuth $200,000
- Dan Smith $192,000
The story going into the Poker Masters was the number of $50,000 side bets Team PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu made to win the purple jacket. However, Negreanu managed to cash just one time for $102,000 through the prelims. As a result, he’ll be more likely to push or be forced to pay out a $50,000 loss, then collect the seven-figures he stood to win for claiming the jacket.
Of course, all the action from the Poker Masters can be viewed on upstart poker content subscription service PokerGo. This includes replays of the prelims and live action from the upcoming $100,000 buy-in championship event.