2023 U.S. Poker Open Gets Underway with Weissman and Lin Winning Opening Events

2023 U.S. Poker Open series gets underway over the weekend and PokerGO Tour marks another record event as 105 players enter the opening $10,000 buy-in NLHE event, making it the biggest ever U.S. Poker Open tournament.
 
Justin Young started the final table with the chip lead and 101 big blinds, followed by Joey Weissman with 75bbs. On the shorter end of the stick were Jonathan Little and Matthew McEwan, holding 16 and 19 big blinds. 40 minutes into the final table, just two players remained, and all were pretty standard poker situations.

Young started the heads-up battle with a slight lead, but only a couple of hands later, Weissman was in the pole position, never really looked back and secured himself a win and $231,000 prize.

“I love playing here. They do everything right, and it’s just catered to the players, so the experience is just super high quality,” Weissman praised the PokerGO event. “To be able to win under those conditions obviously is even more special. So not only is it somewhere that I look forward to playing, but I also associate it with running good and making money. It’s just special, you know, it’s great.”

This is Weissman’s second U.S. Poker Open title after his win in 2021 for $204,000. He now has over $5 million in career tournament winnings.

2023 U.S. Poker Open Event #1 Final Table Results

First PGT title for Ren Lin

If the opening event broke the record for the highest U.S. Poker Open attendance ever, the second $10,000 event on Saturday matched the number with 105 entries again. Didn’t exactly match the final table though, except for the Nacho Barbero, who has played in the third consecutive FT at the PokerGO Tour.

Nate Silver, the founder of statistical website FiveThirtyEight, finished the Day 1 with a chip lead over Aram Zobian. But it was the third in chips Ren Lin who outlasted them all at the end, capturing his first ever title in PokerGO studio.

A week ago, Lin finished 2^nd just behind Lautaro Guerra Cabrerizo in the $25,000 PLO Championship, which left a bad taste in his mouth. It was his time in this tournament, as he started the final day with a big two outer against Erik Seidel, which propelled him into the chip lead.

He made through to the heads-up where he had a commanding lead of nearly 5:1 over Barbero. Argentinian had no answer for the Chinese born Lin who pocketed $231,000 for his win.

“It was my first time winning a tournament in here, and it feels great.” Lin said after winning his first PGT event. “I like this place and all the guys. It’s very nice and comfortable here. Everything is perfect here at the PokerGO Studio.”

2023 U.S. Poker Open Event #2 Final Table Results